JP2017037636A - System and method for providing virtual communication session for partial participant on communication session - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and method for providing a virtual communication session for partial participants on a communication session.SOLUTION: In the system of a server, a processor includes: a session management part for setting a communication session to which electronic equipment of users of a first group are connectable in the account of an instant messaging service; an account display control part for providing information on the account to electronic equipment of users of a second group, and for controlling the server to display the account; a virtual session management part for causing the electronic equipment of the users of the second group to participate in the communication session, and for setting a virtual communication session for at least one user assigned to the users of the second group among the users of the first group and the users of the second group; and a messaging control part for controlling the server to transmit/receive messages of the electronic equipment of at least one assigned user and the electronic equipment of the users of the second group via the virtual communication session.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The following description relates to a system and method for providing a virtual communication session for some participants on a communication session.

  Messages transmitted from the electronic devices of the participants participating in the communication session are transmitted to the electronic devices of all participants participating in the communication session. For example, in an instant messaging service, electronic devices of a plurality of participants existing on one communication session share messages to be transmitted and received.

  In particular, in the instant messaging service, in the case of a user who connects to a communication session set for one account, the account administrator's message is shared with all users connected to the communication session.

  In addition to this, when all users connected to a communication session request a conversation with the corresponding account, it is difficult for the account administrator to satisfy all the user's requests, and each user's request or the account administrator's request The answer corresponding to is also displayed to other users.

PCT / KR / 2014/010167 US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0019540 US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0332543 US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0260893

  In a communication session for one account, all users of a first group for an account and a second group of users connected to the communication session for conversation with the account are joined in the communication session, Assigning a user to a second group of users and providing a virtual communication session of the first group of users assigned to the second group of users; Provides a system and method that can send and receive messages over separate and virtual communication sessions.

  A system of a server including one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors set up a communication session to which an electronic device of a first group of users can connect to an account of an instant messaging service via a network. A session management unit that provides information related to the account to electronic devices of users of a second group through the instant messaging service, and connects to the communication session, an account display control unit that controls the server to display the account At least one user assigned for the user of the second group among the users of the first group in the communication session by joining the electronic device of the user of the second group to be joined to the communication session And the second group A virtual session manager for setting up a virtual communication session for a group of users, and messages of the assigned at least one user electronic device and the second group of user electronic devices through the virtual communication session A system is provided, comprising a messaging control unit for controlling the server to be transmitted and received.

  A method implemented by a computer, wherein the electronic device connects to a communication session established for an account of an instant messaging service in accordance with control of an application driven by the electronic device; Displaying a message transmitted / received through a session in a chat room corresponding to the communication session, wherein the electronic device includes at least a user assigned to the electronic device among a first group of users connected to the communication session. A step of transmitting and receiving a message through a virtual communication session set in the communication session with one user's electronic device, and a chat room corresponding to the communication session in the electronic device corresponding to the virtual communication session To Switching to a room and displaying messages sent and received through the virtual communication session in the switched chat room, the communication session being made to an account of the instant messaging service by a server providing the instant messaging service. A computer-implemented method is provided that is characterized by being set.

  In a communication session for one account, all users in the first group for the account and a second group of users connected to the communication session for conversation with the account are joined in the communication session, By assigning a second group of users to the second group of users and providing a virtual communication session with the first group of users assigned to the second group of users. Messages can be sent and received through a separate and virtual communication session with the user.

It is the figure which showed the example of the network environment in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the internal structure of the electronic device and server in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the component contained in the processor of the server in one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method that can be executed by a server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example in which many participants participated in the chat room with respect to one account in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the message display screen in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example in which the new participant was added to the chat room with respect to one account in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the other example of the message display screen in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the message stored in the database in one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the component which can be included in the processor of an electronic device in one Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method that can be executed by an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example of a screen of the electronic device on which the information regarding the account was displayed in one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network environment in an embodiment of the present invention. The network environment of FIG. 1 shows an example including a plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, 140, a plurality of servers 150, 160, and a network 170. FIG. 1 is merely an example for explaining the invention, and the number of electronic devices and the number of servers are not limited as shown in FIG.

  The plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 may be fixed terminals or mobile terminals realized by a computer device. Examples of the plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 include a smart phone, a mobile phone, a navigation, a computer, a notebook type pancon, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player). ) And tablet PCs. As an example, the electronic device 1 (110) may communicate with other electronic devices 120, 130, 140 and / or servers 150, 160 via the network 170 using a wireless or wired communication method.

  The communication method is not limited, and not only a communication method using a communication network (for example, a mobile communication network, a wired Internet, a wireless Internet, a broadcast network) that can be included in the network 170, but also a short distance between devices. Wireless communication may be included. For example, the network 170 includes a PAN (personal area network), a LAN (local area network), a MAN (metropolitan area network, etc.), a WAN (wide area network, etc.), a WAN (wide area network, etc.), and a WAN (wide area network, etc.). One or more arbitrary networks may be included. Further, the network 170 may include any one or more of network topologies including a bus network, a star network, a ring network, a mesh network, a star bus network, a tree or a hierarchical network, etc. This is not a limitation.

  Each of the servers 150 and 160 is realized by a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that communicate with a plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 via a network 170 and provide instructions, codes, files, contents, services, and the like. May be.

  As an example, the server 160 may provide a file for installing an application in the electronic device 1 (110) connected via the network 170. In this case, the electronic device 1 (110) can install an application using a file provided from the server 160. The electronic device 1 (110) is connected to the server 150 according to the control of an operating system (OS) and at least one program (for example, a browser and the installed application) included therein, It is also possible to receive services and content provided by 150. For example, when the electronic device 1 (110) transmits a service request message to the server 150 via the network 170 according to application control, the server 150 transmits a code corresponding to the service request message to the electronic device 1 (110). Alternatively, the electronic device 1 (110) may provide the content to the user by configuring and displaying a screen based on the code according to the control of the application.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the internal configuration of the electronic device and the server in one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the internal configuration of the electronic device 1 (110) as an example for one electronic device and the server 150 as an example for one server will be described. Other electronic devices 120, 130, 140 and server 160 may also have the same or similar internal configuration.

  The electronic device 1 (110) and the server 150 may include memories 211 and 221, processors 212 and 222, communication modules 213 and 223, and input / output interfaces 214 and 224, respectively. The memories 211 and 221 are computer-readable recording media and may include a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a permanent mass storage device (permanent mass storage device) such as a disk drive. Good. The memories 211 and 221 may store an operating system and at least one program code (for example, a code for a browser installed and driven in the electronic device 1 (110) or the above-described application). . Such a software component may be loaded from a computer-readable recording medium different from the memories 211 and 221 using a drive mechanism. Such another computer-readable recording medium may include a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy drive, a disk, a tape, a DVD / CD-ROM drive, and a memory card. In other embodiments, the software components may be loaded into the memories 211 and 221 using the communication modules 213 and 223 that are not computer-readable recording media. For example, at least one program is a program (for example, as described above) that is installed by a file provided by a file distribution system (for example, the server 160 described above) that distributes an installation file of a developer or an application via the network 170. May be loaded into the memories 211 and 221 based on the application.

  The processors 212, 222 may be configured to process computer program instructions by performing basic arithmetic, logic, and input / output operations. The instructions may be provided to the processors 212, 222 by the memories 211, 221 or the communication modules 213, 223. The processors 212 and 222 may be configured to execute received instructions in accordance with program codes stored in a recording device such as the memories 211 and 221.

  The communication modules 213 and 223 may provide a function for the electronic device 1 (110) and the server 150 to communicate with each other via the network 170, or an electronic device (for example, the electronic device 2 (120)). Alternatively, a function for communicating with another server (for example, the server 160) may be provided. As an example, a request generated by the processor 212 of the electronic device 1 (110) according to a program code stored in a recording device such as the memory 211 (for example, a request for a streaming service for content) is controlled according to the control of the communication module 213. It may be transmitted to the server 150 via the network 170. On the other hand, control signals, commands, contents, files, and the like provided in accordance with the control of the processor 222 of the server 150 are transmitted via the communication module 223 and the network 170 through the communication module 213 of the electronic device 1 (110). (110) may be received. For example, the control signal or command of the server 150 received by the communication module 213 may be transmitted to the processor 212 or the memory 211, and the storage medium that the electronic device 1 (110) can further include content, files, and the like May be stored.

  Input / output interfaces 214, 224 may be means for interfacing with input / output devices 215. For example, the input device may include a device such as a keyboard or mouse, and the output device may include a device such as a display for displaying an application communication session. As another example, the input / output interface 214 may be a means for interfacing with a device that integrates functions for input and output, such as a touch screen. As a more specific example, the processor 212 of the electronic device 1 (110) uses data provided by the server 150 and the electronic device 2 (120) when processing instructions of the computer program loaded in the memory 211. The configured service screen and content may be displayed on the display through the input / output interface 214.

  In other embodiments, electronic device 1 (110) and server 150 may include more components than the components in FIG. However, most prior art components need not be clearly illustrated. For example, the electronic device 1 (110) may be realized so as to include at least a part of the input / output device 215 described above, a transceiver, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module, a camera, and various sensors. It may further include other components such as a database.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of components that can be included in the processor of the server according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram that can be executed by the server according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the method. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the processor 222 of the server 150 may include a session management unit 310, an account display control unit 320, a virtual session management unit 330, and a messaging control unit 340. Such components of the processor 222 may control the server 150 to perform the steps 410 to 440 included in the method of FIG. 4, and for such control, the operating system contained in the memory 221 and It may be implemented to execute code of at least one program.

  In step 410, the server 150 may set up a communication session to which an electronic device of a first group of users can connect via the network for an account of the instant messaging service. For example, step 410 may be executed by the session management unit 310 described above.

  In general, in an instant messaging service, each individual user has his own account and can be identified by the account. In an instant messaging service, one communication session can correspond to one chat room. For example, when the user A requests the server 150 to converse with the user B (message transmission / reception), the server 150 may generate a chat room in which the user A account and the user B account are added. The server 150 may provide a service so that the electronic device of the user A and the electronic device of the user B can exchange messages with each other through the generated chat room (communication session). As a more specific example, a message that the electronic device of user A transmits through the corresponding communication session may be transmitted to the server 150 and transmitted from the server 150 to the electronic device of user B.

  Further, a chat room including three or more users may be generated. For example, a user C may newly join a chat room in which the user A and the user B are participating, and a group chat room may be generated. In this case, the message transmitted by the electronic device of the user A through the corresponding group chat room (a communication session in which three or more users (for example, the user A, the user B, and the user C) are connected) And transmitted from the server 150 to the electronic device of the user B and the electronic device of the user C, respectively.

  The communication session set in step 410 by the server 150 is a communication session in which a large number of users can connect to one account, and corresponds to the chat room of the corresponding account in which the users of the first group can participate. May be. The users in the first group will be described in more detail later.

  In step 420, information about the account may be provided to the second group of user electronic devices through an instant messaging service to display the account. For this purpose, the account display control unit 320 may control the server 150 such that the server 150 executes step 420. The account displayed on the electronic device will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  The instant messaging service may display to the user the account of another user who has a personal relationship such as a friend. At this time, it is assumed that the user selects the displayed account (as an example, the user taps an area where the account is displayed with a mobile electronic device including a touch screen). The server 150 establishes a chat room (communication session) including the user's account and the selected account, so that a conversation between the user and the user of the selected account can be established.

  The server 150 may provide information about the account to the electronic device of the second group of users so that the second group of users can access the communication session established for the account at step 420. Information about the provided account may be displayed on the electronic device of the user of the second group, and by selecting the information about the account displayed by the user of the second group, the communication session set for the account is set. It becomes accessible. In this case, the chat room corresponding to the communication session may be a chat room in which a user of the first group and at least one user of the second group participate. As an example, the users of the second group may be users who have received information related to the account by the electronic device. At least one user of the second group of users may participate in the chat room using information about the account received by the electronic device. The user of the first group is an agent for processing the request of the user of the second group by conversation (message transmission / reception) with at least one user who participated in the chat room among the users of the second group. possible. Here, at least one of the users in the first group may be an account manager. The account manager will be described in more detail later.

  In operation 430, the server 150 may join the electronic devices of the second group of users who want to connect to the communication session to the communication session. For example, information related to an account provided from the server 150 can be displayed on the screen according to control of an application executed on the electronic device on the electronic device of the second group of users. Here, when the user of the second group selects an area of information related to the account displayed on the screen (as an example, an area where information related to the account is displayed on the touch screen screen is tapped), the electronic device In addition, a connection request for the communication session can be transmitted. In this case, the server 150 may connect the electronic device that has transmitted the connection request to the communication session.

  At step 440, the server 150 may assign at least one user of the first group of users for the second group of users. The process of assigning the first group of users to the second group of users will be described in more detail later.

  In step 450, the server 150 may set up a virtual communication session for the second group of users with at least one user assigned for the second group of users.

  Such steps 430, 440, and 450 may be performed by the virtual session management unit 330 described above.

  As described above, when the user of the second group selects information related to the account displayed on his / her electronic device, the electronic device of the user of the second group transmits a request for participation in the communication session to the server 150. be able to. Based on such a participation request, the server 150 may cause the electronic devices of the second group of users who want to connect to the communication session to participate in the communication session. The user of the first group is a user for processing a request of the user of the second group through a conversation with the user of the second group, and the user of the second group participating in the communication session includes the first group. At least one of the users may be assigned. Basically, one user is assigned to one user, but two or more responders may be assigned to one user as necessary. Such assignment of the responder will be described in more detail later.

  Server 150 may set up a virtual communication session in step 450 for the users assigned in step 440 (first group of users) and the second group of users. Such a virtual communication session may be a virtual session set in the communication session for the account described above. The message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session is actually a message transmitted through the communication session for the account, and can be identified as a message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session by another method described later.

  In step 460, the server 150 may send and receive messages of the assigned electronic devices of the at least one user and the electronic devices of the second group of users through the virtual communication session. For this, the messaging control unit 340 may control the server 150 such that the server 150 executes step 460.

  In this way, the server 150 provides a virtual communication session for some participants within one communication session, so that some of the many participants participating in one communication session participate. Sub-conversation only for the person becomes possible. As a result, companies, organizations, and the like can place a large number of respondents in one account and process user requests through a one-to-one conversation with a large number of users.

  As described above, a message transmitted / received through a virtual communication session is actually transmitted / received through an account communication session. In order to distinguish messages sent and received through a virtual communication session, the server 150 may add a virtual communication session identifier to the message. In other words, when the virtual communication session identifier is included in the message received by the user's electronic device, the electronic device can grasp that the received message is a message received through the virtual communication session. . In the electronic device of the participant of the virtual communication session, it is possible to separately display a transmission / reception list of messages transmitted / received through the virtual communication session. A conversation between participants in a communication session can be performed. For example, in at least one user electronic device and a second group user electronic device assigned by setting up a virtual communication session, the account chat room for the communication session is a separate chat room for the virtual communication session. It may be switched to. In this case, the above-described transmission / reception list may be displayed in the switched chat room. The chat room for the account is a chat room on the instant messaging service, while the other chat room that was switched is a chat room for displaying a message containing the virtual communication session identifier on the electronic device. Good.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a large number of participants participate in a chat room for one account according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 illustrates a message display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example.

  First, in FIG. 5, an attendant a 521, an attendant b 522, and an attendant c 523 are participating as users in the first group in an account chat room 510 corresponding to a communication session for a specific account. As an example, a user a531 and a user b532 are participating.

  In the following, an example is given on the assumption that the user a 531 is in a conversation state with the responder c 523 through a virtual communication session and the user b 532 participates in the account chat room 510.

  Here, the first screen 610 of FIG. 6 shows an example of a message displayed on the screen of the user b532. One of the users in the first group may be an account manager, and in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the respondent a521 is an account manager. When the user b532 joins the account chat room 510, all messages except for messages transmitted and received through the virtual communication session may be displayed on the screen of the user b532. As described above, since the user a 531 and the responder c 523 are in conversation through a virtual communication session, the messages transmitted and received between the user a 531 and the responder c 523 are not displayed on the screen of the user b 532.

  Here, the dotted line box 611 may be a system message indicating that the user b 522 is assigned to the user b 532. Such a system message may be sent by the server 150 or by a server associated with the account. Here, the server associated with the account may be a system such as a company or an organization that maintains the account. For example, if the assignee is made by the server 150, the server 150 may provide a system message. As another example, if the assignee assignment is made by a server associated with an account, a system message may be provided by the server associated with the account. Even if a system message is provided by the server associated with the account, the system message will be displayed in the account chat room 510 via the server 150.

  Again, from the perspective of user b532, when an agent b522 is assigned to user b532, the message between user b532 and agent b522 is a virtual communication session established at server 150 for user b532 and agent b522. It may be sent and received through. Here, the message transmitted and received through the virtual communication session may be displayed in another chat room that appears while the screen of the user b532 is switched. The second screen 620 shows another chat room provided to the user b532. At this time, the first screen 610 may be switched to the second screen 620 at the same time as the communication session is switched to the virtual communication session.

  Actually, the user b 532 is connected to the account chat room 510 and transmits / receives a message through a communication session corresponding to the account chat room 510. However, the server 150 may convert the message to send the message through a virtual communication session. The converted message is displayed to the user b532 through another chat room, so that the user b532 has an experience of having a one-on-one chat with the respondent b522 through a chat room different from the account chat room 510. Can be provided. For example, when the responder b522 transmits the first message 621 to be transmitted to the user b532 to the server 150, the server 150 includes the identifier of the virtual communication session in the first message 621 and transmits the first message 621 to the user b532. May be communicated. In this case, the user b 532 can determine that the first message 621 has been transmitted / received through the virtual communication session based on the identifier of the virtual communication session included in the first message 621. Therefore, the user b 532 can continue the one-to-one conversation with the client b 522 by displaying the messages transmitted / received through the virtual communication session as one transmission / reception list like the second screen 620. become. At this time, a message not including the identifier of the virtual communication session (hereinafter, “group message”) may be ignored from the viewpoint of the user b532. In another embodiment, the group message is not displayed in the one-to-one chat room by the virtual communication session, and the one-to-one chat room is switched to the original group chat room screen after the virtual communication session ends. Alternatively, it may be displayed on the group chat room screen.

  Although the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 describes that a user sends and receives a message and the message is displayed on the user's screen, the message is substantially sent and received by a user electronic device that is not the user, Interfaces such as chat rooms and messages are also displayed on the screen of electronic devices. However, in order to facilitate the explanation and to facilitate understanding of the invention, explanation regarding the electronic device is omitted. In the following, description regarding the electronic device is omitted.

  Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, for each second group of users participating in the account communication session, an assignment of at least one user of the first group may be attempted. As described above, the assignment of the first group of users to the second group of users participating in the communication session may be processed by server 150, but may also be processed by the server associated with the account.

  For example, the first group of users may be assigned to the second group of users participating in the communication session by at least one of an order set by the account administrator and a random order. Alternatively, it may be assigned based on a message received from the electronic device of the second group of users. As a specific example, in FIG. 6, the server 150 or the server associated with the account may simply assign an agent b 522 to which the user has not yet been assigned to the user b 532. On the other hand, the server 150 or the server related to the account extracts the keyword “deposit inquiry” from the message “deposit inquiry” of the user b 532, and selects the respondent b 522 corresponding to the extracted keyword “deposit inquiry” as the user. You may assign to b532. In other words, a specialized field to be assigned to each user of the first group may be set in advance, and the server 150 and the server related to the account determine which field the keyword belongs to, and the determined field is the specialized field. The user (or user) of the first group set as may be assigned to the user of the corresponding second group.

  In this case, the server 150 may set a virtual communication session with the assigned user of the first group individually for each user of the second group to which the user of the first group is assigned in step 430. Good. In addition, if the server 150 cannot assign the user of the first group to the user of the second group participating in the communication session in step 440, the server 150 may send the electronic device of the user of the second group participating in the communication session to A guidance message for waiting for allocation may be transmitted through the communication session.

  Also, the virtual communication session may be terminated according to at least one of an instruction received from an account administrator and an instruction received from a first group of users participating in the virtual communication session.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which a new participant is added to a chat room for one account in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a message display screen in one embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the other example.

  FIG. 7 shows a situation where the user c 710 is additionally connected to the account chat room 510 in the situation of FIG. 5 described above. At this time, it is assumed that the agent a521 is assigned to the user c710. However, assuming that the respondent a521 is an account manager and cannot be assigned to a user, there is a shortage of respondents that can be assigned to the user c710.

  A first screen 810 in FIG. 8 shows messages transmitted and received through a communication session from the viewpoint of the user c 710. It is assumed that the user c 710 has transmitted a message that the user c 710 desires, such as “inquiry for accumulation”. However, due to the current situation that there are not enough respondents that can be assigned to the user c 710, a guidance message (system message) for waiting for assignment may be provided to the user c 710 as shown in the first dotted box 811. .

  Here, when the response person c523 finishes the response with the user a531, it becomes possible to assign the response person c523 to the user c710. The second dotted line box 812 is a system message indicating that the response person c523 is assigned to the user c710. Here, the server 150 may set a virtual communication session for the user c 710 and the agent c 523. Messages sent and received through the virtual communication session may be displayed in the switched chat room as in the second screen 820 of FIG. A switched chat room is a window in which an electronic device collects and displays messages including virtual communication session identifiers under the control of an application driven by the electronic device. Different from the chat room 510.

  When the response to the user c 710 is completed, the response person c 523 may transmit a command for ending the response (for example, an end message) to the server 150. In this case, the server 150 may end the virtual communication session. When the virtual communication session ends and the server 150 is switched to the original communication session (group chat room) again, the screen of the user c 710 is changed to the first screen 810 again. It may be switched. If necessary, the response person a521 who is an account administrator can also send a command to the server 150 to terminate the virtual communication session. As described above, the account administrator may control the switching of the session so that the communication session is switched to the virtual communication session, or the virtual communication session is switched to the original communication session. In addition, the account administrator may have an authority to access a management screen for the group chat room corresponding to the communication session. Such a management screen may provide an account manager with an interface for managing various settings for the group chat room. The account manager may access the management screen to control settings for the group chat room. As an example, session switching control can also be controlled by the management screen.

  Referring again to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second group of users who are not assigned a first group of users can freely send and receive messages through the communication session. For example, the second group user who has finished the conversation with the assigned first group user and the virtual communication session has ended, or the first group user is not assigned yet because the first group user is insufficient. Two groups of users can also talk to each other through a communication session.

  In addition, messages transmitted and received through a communication session may be stored in a database. For example, in another embodiment, the method of FIG. 4 may further include storing (not shown) messages sent and received over the communication session in a database, which can be further included in the processor 222 of the server 150. The management control unit (not shown) may control the server 150 so that the server 150 executes a step not shown in the drawing. As described above, since the message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session is substantially transmitted / received through the communication session, both of the messages may be stored in the database. Here, based on the identifier of the virtual communication session added to the message, the message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session among the messages stored in the database may be identified. As discussed above, the virtual communication session identifier may include a communication session or account identifier, an assigned at least one user identifier, and a second group of user identifiers. Further, the message may be stored separately for each virtual communication session through the message identified based on the identifier of the virtual communication session added to the message. By using such a method, it is possible to record which users in the second group have exchanged with which users in the first group.

  The message management control unit assigns a message extracted from the database using the identifier of the second group user in response to a request from the electronic device of the assigned at least one user (first group user). The server 150 may be controlled to transmit to at least one user's electronic device. In this case, the assigned user can grasp in advance what kind of request the user of the second group who has to deal with has made before. Each time a user in the second group connects to the communication session of the account, the user in the first group currently assigned to the user in the second group may be different because the user in the first group assigned may be different. It is necessary to know what kind of conversation the two groups of users have had before. The message extracted from the database by the server 150 includes a message transmitted / received to / from the electronic device of the user of the second group through a virtual communication session previously set for the user of the second group. A user of one group can grasp a conversation history related to the account of the user of the second group. The conversation history may be used for various purposes (for example, customer consultation records).

  When the virtual communication session ends, the message in the corresponding virtual communication session may be permanently stored separately. A technique such as digital forensic may be applied to the content of the separately stored message so that the content is not changed. By using such a method, it will be possible to re-search the contents of customer consultations and guidance, and to add legal effects.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of messages stored in the database according to the embodiment of the present invention. A table 900 shown in FIG. 9 shows an example in which the messages displayed on the first screen 610 and the second screen 620 of FIG. 6 are stored. The “communication session identifier” may be information for identifying a communication session message for an account. The “sender identifier” may be information for identifying the user who transmitted the message. Furthermore, the “virtual communication session identifier” may be information for identifying a message transmitted and received through the virtual communication session. At this time, the server 150 can retrieve the identifier of the virtual communication session including “user b” from the database, and can reproduce the conversation shown on the second screen 620 in FIG. 6.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user does not have a relationship (for example, a friend relationship of the instant messaging service) with each responder's account, but only needs to have a relationship with one account. In response, you will be able to talk to at least one of the respondents. At this time, the respondent does not necessarily need to be an actual person. For example, at least one user in the first group may be replaced by an artificial intelligence character (for example, a bot) provided from the server 150 or a server associated with the account. In this case, the artificial intelligence character may connect to the communication session through a virtual device provided from the server 150 or a server associated with the account. Since a technique for providing an instant messaging service conversation using an artificial intelligence character such as a bot is a well-known matter, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of components that can be included in the processor of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram that is executed by the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the flowchart which showed the example of the method which can be performed.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the processor 212 of the electronic device 1 (110) may include a connection control unit 1010, a display control unit 1020, and a transmission / reception control unit 1030. Such components of the processor 212 may control the electronic device 1110 to perform steps 1110 to 1140 included in the method of FIG. 11, and for such control, an operating system included in the memory 211. The system may be implemented to execute at least one program code. Here, the at least one program code may include code of an application that is installed and driven in the electronic device 1 (110) and provides a service of the server (for example, the server 150) to the electronic device 1 (110). Good.

  In step 1110, the electronic device 1 (110) may connect to a communication session established for the instant messaging service account according to the control of the application. For this purpose, the connection control unit 1010 may control the electronic device 1 (110) such that the electronic device 1 (110) executes step 1110 according to the code of the application. The user of the electronic device 1 (110) may be a user of the second group described above, and the fact that the user of the second group connects to the communication session means that the user joins the account chat room. Also good. Here, the communication session may be set up for an account of the instant messaging service by a server that provides the instant messaging service.

  In operation 1120, the electronic device 1 (110) may display a message transmitted / received through the communication session in a chat room corresponding to the communication session. For this purpose, the display control unit 1020 may control the electronic device 1 (110) such that the electronic device 1 (110) executes step 1120 according to the code of the application.

  In step 1130, the electronic device 1 (110) communicates with the electronic device of at least one user assigned for the user of the electronic device 1 (110) among the users of the first group connected to the communication session. Messages may be transmitted and received through a virtual communication session set in the network. For this purpose, the transmission / reception control unit 1030 may control the electronic device 1 (110) such that the electronic device 1 (110) executes step 1130 according to the code of the application. Since the setting of the virtual communication session and the transmission / reception of the message through the virtual communication session have already been described in detail, repeated description will be omitted.

  In step 1140, the electronic device 1 (110) switches the chat room corresponding to the communication session to the chat room corresponding to the virtual communication session, and displays messages transmitted and received through the virtual communication session in the switched chat room. It's okay. For this purpose, the display control unit 1020 may control the electronic device 1 (110) such that the electronic device 1 (110) executes step 1140 according to the code of the application. As described above, the virtual communication session is not displayed in the chat room for the account of the instant messaging service, but is displayed in another chat room generated by the application on the electronic device 1 (110).

  For matters omitted in FIGS. 10 and 11, the contents of FIGS. 1 to 9 may be referred to.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a screen example of an electronic device on which information related to an account is displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows an example of the electronic device 1200 of the user, and the screen of the electronic device 1200 shows that the user searches for an account with the keyword “banking consultation” in the instant messaging service, and the account corresponding to the keyword is the search result. A displayed example is shown. As described above, the account may be selected and provided to the user according to an explicit condition of the user (such as keyword input or category selection). As another example, an account may be provided to a targeted user for publicity purposes and displayed on the user's electronic device.

  When the user selects the displayed account, the user is connected to the communication session with the corresponding account, and the user can participate in the group chat room of the account. FIG. 12 shows that the user selects the account “** bank customer consultation” (tap the area where the account is displayed on the touch screen), and the user looks like the first screen 610 described with reference to FIG. Shows an example in which joins a group chat room and the screen of the electronic device 1200 is switched to the group chat room.

  Thus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a communication session for one account, a first group of users for an account and a second group of users connected to the communication session for a conversation with the account All of the communication sessions, assigning a first group of users to a second group of users, and providing a virtual communication session with the first group of users assigned to the second group of users, Messages can be sent and received through a separate and virtual communication session from the first group of users to which the second group of users is assigned.

  The apparatus described above may be realized by hardware components, software components, and / or a combination of hardware and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments include, for example, a processor, a controller, an ALU (arithmetic logic unit), a digital signal processor (digital signal processor), a microcomputer, an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and a PLU (programmable gate array). may be implemented using one or more general purpose or special purpose computers, such as a logic unit), a microprocessor, or various devices capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the OS. The processing device may also respond to software execution, access data, and store, manipulate, process and generate data. For convenience of understanding, a single processing device may be described as being used, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing device includes multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. But you can understand. For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or a processor and a controller. Also, other processing configurations such as a parallel processor are possible.

  The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, configuring the processing device to operate as desired, or processing independently or collectively. You may instruct the device. Software and / or data may be interpreted based on a processing device, or any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device to provide instructions or data to the processing device Or may be permanently or temporarily embodyed in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed on a computer system connected by a network, stored and executed in a distributed state. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer-readable recording media.

  The method according to the embodiment may be realized in the form of program instructions executable by various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment or may be usable by those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floppy disks and Hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. are included. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language code such as that generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that is executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

  As described above, the embodiment has been described based on the limited embodiment and the drawings, but those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations from the above description. For example, the described techniques may be performed in a different order than the described method and / or components of the described system, structure, apparatus, circuit, etc. may be combined in a different manner than the described method. Or, in combination, substituted or replaced with other components or equivalents, can achieve suitable results.

  Accordingly, even different embodiments belong to the appended claims as long as they are equivalent to the claims.

222: Processor 310: Session management unit 320: Account display control unit 330: Virtual session management unit 340: Messaging control unit

Claims (19)

A system of servers including one or more processors,
The one or more processors are:
A session management unit configured to set up a communication session to which an electronic device of a first group of users can connect to an account of an instant messaging service via a network;
An account display control unit configured to control the server to display the account by providing information on the account to a second group of user electronic devices through the instant messaging service;
The second group of user electronic devices to be connected to the communication session is allowed to participate in the communication session, and is allocated for the second group of users of the first group within the communication session. A virtual session manager configured to set up a virtual communication session for at least one user and the second group of users; and the assigned at least one user electronic device and the second group of users A system comprising: a messaging control unit that controls the server to send and receive electronic device messages through the virtual communication session. The messaging control unit
Controlling the server to send and receive the message through the virtual communication session by adding an identifier of the virtual communication session to the message and transmitting the message through the communication session;
Displays a message transmission / reception list including an identifier of the virtual communication session among messages transmitted / received through the communication session by the electronic device of the allocated at least one user and the second group of users. The system according to claim 1, wherein: According to the setting of the virtual communication session, the chat room of the account by the communication session in the electronic device of the allocated at least one user and the electronic device of the second group of users is for the virtual communication session. Switch to another chat room at
The system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission / reception list is displayed in the switched chat room. For each user of the second group participating in the communication session, an assignment of at least one user of the users of the first group is attempted,
The virtual session management unit
The virtual communication session with the user of the assigned first group is individually set for each user of the second group to which the user of the first group is assigned. System. The messaging control unit
When the user of the first group cannot be assigned to the user of the second group participating in the communication session, the communication session is transmitted to the electronic device of the user of the second group participating in the communication session. The system according to claim 1, wherein the server is controlled to transmit a guidance message for waiting for allocation through the server.   The user of the first group is assigned to the user of the second group newly joining the communication session according to at least one of an order set by an administrator of the account and a random order, or the new group The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is assigned based on a keyword of a message received from an electronic device of a user of a second group who participated.   The virtual communication session is terminated according to at least one of an instruction received from an administrator of the account and an instruction received from a user of the first group participating in the virtual communication session, The system of claim 1. The one or more processors are:
A message management control unit for controlling the server to store a message transmitted and received through the communication session in a database;
The message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session among the messages stored in the database is identified based on an identifier of the virtual communication session added to the message. The described system.   9. The identifier of the virtual communication session includes an identifier of the communication session or the account, an identifier of the assigned at least one user, and an identifier of the second group of users. The described system. The message management control unit
In response to a request from the electronic device of the assigned at least one user, using the identifier of the user of the second group, the message extracted from the database is transmitted to the electronic device of the assigned at least one user. Control the server to send to the device,
The system according to claim 9, wherein the extracted message includes a message transmitted / received by an electronic device of the user of the second group through a previously set virtual communication session. At least one user of the first group can be replaced with an artificial intelligence character provided by the server or a server associated with the account;
The system according to claim 1, wherein the artificial intelligence character connects to the communication session using a virtual device provided by the server or a server associated with the account. A computer-implemented method comprising:
Connecting to a communication session established for an account of an instant messaging service at the electronic device according to control of an application driven by the electronic device;
Displaying a message transmitted / received through the communication session in the electronic device in a chat room corresponding to the communication session;
In the electronic device, at least one user's electronic device assigned for the user of the electronic device among the users of the first group connected to the communication session, and virtual communication set in the communication session Transmitting and receiving messages through a session; and, in the electronic device, a chat room corresponding to the communication session is switched to a chat room corresponding to the virtual communication session, and the switched chat room is transmitted and received through the virtual communication session. Including the step of displaying
The computer-implemented method, wherein the communication session is established for an account of the instant messaging service by a server providing the instant messaging service.   The computer according to claim 12, wherein the message transmitted / received through the virtual communication session includes a message transmitted / received through the communication session by adding an identifier of the virtual communication session at the server. The way that is realized. At the server, for each user of a second group participating in the communication session, an assignment of at least one user of the users of the first group is attempted,
In the server, a virtual communication session with the assigned first group user is individually set for each user of the second group to which the first group user is assigned. 13. A computer-implemented method according to claim 12. Displaying in the chat room corresponding to the communication session,
13. The allocation waiting information message is received from the server and displayed in a chat room corresponding to the communication session when the user of the first group cannot be allocated. A method realized by computers.   The first group of users is assigned to a second group of users who newly join the communication session according to at least one of an order set by an administrator of the account and a random order, or the new join 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the second group of user electronic devices are assigned based on keywords of messages sent to the server. The virtual communication session is terminated at the server according to at least one of an instruction received from an administrator of the account and an instruction received from a user of the first group participating in the virtual communication session;
The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein messages sent and received after the virtual communication session ends are displayed in a chat room corresponding to the communication session.   The virtual communication session is identified based on an identifier comprising the communication session or account identifier, the assigned at least one user identifier, and the electronic device user identifier. A computer-implemented method according to claim 12, characterized in.   A computer program for executing the method according to any one of claims 12 to 18.