JP2002041430A - Network server, method for providing communication service and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network server, a communication service providing method and a storage medium for realizing various kinds of chat services by setting up a speaking condition in each of a plurality of areas for speech made to simultaneously participate from a plurality of communication terminals. SOLUTION: The network server for providing communication service to a plurality of communication terminals, accessed via communication network is provided with a speech area setting means for setting a plurality of speech areas allowed to simultaneously participate from a plurality of communication terminals; a speaking condition setting means for setting a speaking condition in each speech area set in the speaking area setting means and a control means for comparing the speaking condition of each speech area set in the speaking condition setting means, with speech contents transmitted from the communication terminal and controlling the speaking state of the communication terminal participating in each speech area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a network server for providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network, a communication service providing method, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a virtual "conversation" by exchanging character information by a plurality of users writing messages on a common chat screen using a communication network.
Communication services that realize are widely used. In such a chat service, a participant of the chat browses or inputs a plurality of speakers and the contents of the speech in one speech area provided from the network server to each terminal.

In the chat service, a network server causes a communication terminal of each participant to display a speaker's name and the contents of the utterance in association with each other. For this reason, even if there is a comment from a plurality of participants at once, the content of the statement can be reliably transmitted to other participants without making a mistake.
In addition, since the content of the remark is displayed in a history on the display unit of each communication terminal, it can be stored as character data.

[0004]

However, in the conventional chat service, usually, only one comment area is provided for one chat screen. For this reason, it has been impossible for participants of the same chat service to simultaneously proceed with a chat in a plurality of different speech areas for each broadcast.
Therefore, for example, while watching the content of the conversation of the opponent team while watching the match-up game, it is not possible to enjoy the conversation with the corresponding team.

[0005] In addition, utterance conditions such as the number of utterances and the number of utterance characters on a chat screen are constant for each participant regardless of the participation time, and lack interest. In addition, for example, in sports watching chats, there is unfairness such as those who participated in the chat before the start of the game and those who participated in the latter half of the game easily lose their voice, and rants and abuses remain on the chat screen There were inconveniences such as being displayed.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a network server and a communication service providing method for realizing various chat services by setting speech conditions for each of a plurality of speech areas that can be simultaneously participated by a plurality of communication terminals. , And a storage medium.

[0007]

The present invention has the following features to solve the above-mentioned problems. In the description of the following means, a configuration corresponding to the embodiment is exemplified by parentheses. Reference numerals and the like correspond to reference numerals in the drawings described later.

The invention according to claim 1 provides a network server that provides a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network (for example, FIG.
In the chat server 1 of FIG. 2, a plurality of speech areas (for example, the X team side chat space 62 a of FIG. 7, the Y team) that can simultaneously participate from the plurality of communication terminals (eg, the communication terminals 11 and 41 of FIG. 1). Side chat space 62
b) a speech area setting means (for example, CP in FIG. 2)
U2) and utterance conditions (for example, utterance count information, character number information, character size information, and character color number information stored in the utterance condition table 71 in FIG. 3) for each utterance area set in the utterance area setting means. And a speech condition setting means for setting (for example, the CPU 2 in FIG. 2).

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication service providing method for providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network (for example, FIG.
In the chat process), a comment area setting step (for example, step S3 in FIG. 5) for setting a plurality of comment areas that can simultaneously participate from the plurality of communication terminals, and a comment area set in the comment area setting step A utterance condition setting step of setting utterance conditions for each (for example, step S4 in FIG. 5)
And characterized in that:

[0010] The invention according to claim 8 is a storage medium storing a computer-executable program for controlling a process of providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network, A program code for setting a plurality of speech regions that can simultaneously participate from a plurality of communication terminals, and a program code for setting speech conditions for each of the set speech regions, storing a program including I do.

According to the first, sixth and eighth aspects of the present invention, a participant of a communication service can simultaneously participate in a plurality of speech areas from a plurality of communication terminals. Therefore, it is possible to provide a communication service such as a chat in which different utterance areas are simultaneously displayed on the same screen for each predetermined broadcast and proceed. Furthermore, while watching the conversation content of the opponent team while watching the battle type game, for example, it is possible to enjoy the conversation of the corresponding team progressing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, based on the speech condition of each speech region set in the speech condition setting means, the communication terminal is transmitted from a communication terminal participating in each speech region. Control means (e.g., the CPU shown in FIG.
It is characterized by further comprising 2).

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the sixth aspect of the present invention, transmission is performed from a communication terminal participating in each of the speech regions based on the speech conditions of each speech region set in the speech condition setting step. And a control step (e.g., steps S6 to S13 in FIG. 5) of determining the content of the utterance to be made and controlling the utterance state of the communication terminal.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the eighth aspect of the present invention, the content of a message transmitted from the communication terminal participating in each of the speech regions is determined based on the speech conditions set for each of the speech regions. And storing a program further including a program code for controlling a speech state of the communication terminal.

According to the second, seventh and ninth aspects of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first, sixth and eighth aspects, the speech state of the participating communication terminals is controlled based on the speech conditions of each speech area. Has the function of Therefore, if the communication service is applied to the chat service, for example, the number of remarks,
It is possible to speak in various speech states with different speech conditions such as the number of characters, character size, and character color. As a result, a more entertaining chat service can be provided as compared with the conventional case where all participants speak in the same speaking state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the utterance condition setting means further utters a specific utterance (for example, character data registered in the prohibited word registration memory 72 of FIG. 2). A condition is set, and the control means controls the speech state of the communication terminal based on the specific speech for which the speech condition is set by the speech condition setting means.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, a function is provided for controlling a speech state of a communication terminal participating in each speech area for a specific speech.
Therefore, as a means for controlling the speech state of a specific speech including a forbidden phrase, for example, if the display of a forbidden phrase is prohibited, an insult or an abuse that slanders another participant is directly displayed in the speech region. Can be avoided.

Further, by imposing restrictions such as prohibiting subsequent speech for a certain period of time on a person who has made a specific speech including a prohibited word, recurrence of rant can be prevented. Further, for example, when the number of times the prohibited word is used by the speaker exceeds a predetermined value, if the speaker's utterance area of the prohibited word is closed for a certain period of time, the prohibited word can be prevented more effectively. it can.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a participation condition (for example, a support team selected in step S3 of FIG. 5,
It further comprises a statement area selection means (for example, CPU2 in FIG. 2) for setting a support seat type, etc., presenting the respective participation conditions to the communication terminal, and selecting a desired statement area.

According to the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 1 are provided.
In addition to the effects described in any one of (3) and (3), the communication service participant has a function of allowing a participant of the communication service to select a condition for participating in speech in a desired speech area. Therefore, for example, by applying the communication service to the chat service during baseball watching and setting the cheering team, the type of cheering seats, and the like as participation conditions, those who participated in the chat before the start of the game and those who participated in the latter half of the game Inequality, such as being easily deprived of the floor, can be avoided.

Also, by displaying a virtual cheering seat screen imitating a stadium, for example, as a participation condition selection screen, a chat participant can secure cheering seats and support the baseball team as if they were watching an actual baseball game. It can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a more entertaining and attractive chat service to each participant. Furthermore, the number of participants (the number of spectators) can be limited for each utterance area or seat type of each team. As a result, a support battle under various conditions becomes possible while giving each participant a certain degree of speech opportunity.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, an image display means for displaying an image relating to a theme to be spoken in the speech area set by the speech area setting means. For example, the CPU 2 in FIG. 2)
Is further provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the first to fifth aspects are provided.
In addition to the effects described in any one of the above items 4, by having a function of displaying an image related to the theme to be uttered in the utterance area, the interest of the participant or the viewer is visually attracted, and the desire to participate in the communication service is provided. Can be increased. Further, the theme of the communication service can be easily known from the displayed image. Furthermore, by displaying a virtual cheering seat screen imitating, for example, a stadium as a display image, participants who are interested in baseball are attracted, and a cheering battle with a cheering team of an enemy team is performed in a manner similar to watching a real baseball game. It can be performed. Therefore,
A more entertaining and attractive chat service can be provided.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A chat system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described.

First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the chat system 100. In FIG. 1, a chat system 100 includes a chat server 1 that provides various information such as a chat screen, speech conditions, participation conditions, and the like in response to a participation request from each communication terminal, and a communication terminal that inputs speech content on the chat screen. 21,31,41,5
1, 61, and 71. Chat server 1
And each communication terminal are configured to be mutually accessible via the communication line network N.

The network N is a communication network constituted by wired or wireless communication means, such as the Internet or a personal computer communication network. For example, a normal telephone line, ISDN (Integrated) capable of transmitting digital data.
Services Digital Network) It has a plurality of public lines such as lines, and a plurality of independently constructed dedicated lines. Although the connection lines between the terminals are shown as wired lines in the figure, they may be wireless lines such as infrared rays.

As a premise, the chat system 100 according to the present embodiment assumes a baseball game between the X baseball team and the Y baseball team to be performed in a virtual stadium (see FIG. 6), and is performed in parallel with the actual baseball broadcast. Execution or execution control. Also, the users of the communication terminals 21, 31, 41 are the supporters of the X team, and the users of the communication terminals 51, 61, 71 are the supporters of the Y team.

Next, the internal configuration of the chat server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the chat server 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the chat server 1 includes a CPU 2, an input unit 3, a RAM 4, a transmission control unit 5, a display unit 6, and a storage unit 7 having a storage medium 8, and each unit is connected by a bus 9.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2
Controls each unit in the chat server 1 based on a control program for realizing the function as the chat server 1 stored in the storage unit 7 to realize the function as the chat server 1.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 2 executes a statement display process (see FIG. 5) described later. That is,
After providing the chat screen to the communication terminal to which the login has been made, the CPU 2 causes the chat screen to display the utterance conditions corresponding to the selected chat space and the seat rank. Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the message transmitted from the communication terminal satisfies a predetermined comment condition and whether or not the message includes a prohibited word, and the non-display setting of the prohibited word and the closing process of the chat screen are executed.

The input unit 3 includes a keyboard having kana / alphanumeric input keys, cursor keys, various function keys, and the like.
It is configured to include a mouse as a pointing device, and outputs to the CPU 2 as an input signal a signal of a key pressed by a keyboard and an operation signal of the mouse.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 4 stores C
In the utterance display process controlled by the PU 2, a work memory 4a is formed as a temporary storage area for programs, input or output data, parameters, and the like corresponding to various processes read from the storage unit 7.

The transmission control unit 5 includes a modem (MODEM: MO
dulator / DEModulator), terminal adapter (Termin
al Adapter) or a router, etc., and controls communication with an external device connected to the network N via a communication line such as a telephone line, an ISDN line, or a dedicated line.

The modem is connected to the communication terminal 11 via a telephone line.
In order to communicate with an external device such as, for example, the digital data processed by the CPU 2 is modulated into an analog signal suitable for the frequency band of the telephone line, and the analog signal input via the telephone line is converted into a digital signal. It is a device for demodulation. The terminal adapter is a device for converting an existing interface into an interface corresponding to ISDN in order to perform communication with the external device via an ISDN line, and the router is a communication terminal connected via a dedicated line. Is a device for connecting a LAN on the provider side including the chat server 1 and a LAN including the distribution chat server 11 when a LAN (Local Area Network) is configured.

The display unit 6 is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
And an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and performs screen display of various display data according to an instruction of a display signal input from the CPU 2.

The storage unit 7 has a storage medium 8 in which programs, data, and the like are stored in advance, and the storage medium 8 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium, or a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor. The storage medium 8 is fixedly provided in the storage unit 7 or is detachably mounted. The storage medium 8 has a system program corresponding to the chat server 1 and a CM data transmission corresponding thereto. It stores various processing programs such as processing programs, and data, files, and the like processed by these programs. Each of these processing programs is stored in the form of a readable program code, and the CPU 2 sequentially executes operations according to the program code.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 8 are partially or entirely received from an external device such as a server or a client from the transmission control unit 5 via a transmission medium such as a network line. The storage medium may be configured to be stored, and the storage medium 8 may be a storage medium of a server constructed on the network N. Further, the program may be configured to be transmitted to a server or a client via a transmission medium such as a network line and installed in these devices.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of data storage in the comment condition table 71. The utterance condition table 71 includes a seat rank information storage area 71a, an utterance count information storage area 71b, a character number information storage area 71c, a character size information storage area 71d, and a character color number information storage area 7 therein.
1e, divided into a plurality of storage areas,
Comment condition data such as the number of characters, character size,
The data is stored as data for one record (a series of data groups constituting one row of data in the storage area) in association with the seat type (seat rank) data.

That is, the seat rank information storage area 71a
Stores four types of seat rank information indicating different types of seats in a virtual baseball field. As shown in FIG. 6, the first base (home team side) stands are classified into three types of seats A, B, and C as cheering seats of the X baseball team. The number of seats in parentheses indicates the availability of the corresponding seat type. In other words, there are two, ten, and one vacant seats for the support ranks A, B, and C on the X team side, respectively. Similarly, stands on the third base (visitor team side) are classified into three types of seats A, B, and C as cheering seats for the Y baseball team. Further, a stand corresponding to the back of the back net has a support rank of seat rank D as a support seat for both teams.

The utterance count information storage area 71b stores four types of utterance count information different for each of the seat ranks A to D. That is, for example, the supporter of the seat rank A can speak once a minute, the supporter of the B once every 2 minutes, the supporter of the C once every 3 minutes, and the supporter of the D every 4 minutes. The frequency at which speech can be made is reduced, such as once.

The character number information storage area 71c stores three types of character number information for each of the seat ranks A to D. That is, for example, a supporter of the seat rank A can speak up to 50 characters at a time, a supporter of B below has a maximum of 30 characters, a supporter of C has a maximum of 30 characters, and a supporter of D has a maximum of 50 characters. The number of characters that can be spoken at one time, such as 20 characters, decreases.

The character size information storage area 71d stores
Four types of character size information are stored for each of the seat ranks A to D. That is, for example, a supporter of the seat rank A,
The character size displayed on the chat screen at the time of speaking, such as 24 points of character size, below 18 points for B supporters, 12 points for C supporters, 9 points for D supporters, etc. Become smaller.

Further, the character color number information storage area 71e stores
Four types of character color number information are stored for each of the seat ranks D to D. That is, the supporter of the seat rank A is, for example,
You can speak in five different character colors: red, green, blue, and purple.
There are fewer types of characters that can be selected when speaking, such as three types of supporters of black, green, and blue, two types of supporters of C, two types of black and green, and one type of supporters of D. .

As described above, on the chat screen, the supporter of the seat rank A has the largest speaking ability, and then the speaking ability decreases in the order of B and C. In addition, since the supporters of both teams can participate in the seat type D, their voice is small. Note that the number of setting items and the content of the stored data in the comment condition table 71 can be appropriately added or changed according to the number of participants.

The prohibited word registration memory 72 in the storage unit 7 in FIG. 2 stores a plurality of prohibited words for giving a penalty such as prohibiting speech for a certain period of time. The prohibition word is a word that abuses or slanders the opponent's team or supporter, a phrase that is against public order and morals, and other rants. In addition to such words, game-like phrases (NG words) set in advance as keywords may be used.

In addition, the cumulative number of times that the supporters of the X team have said the prohibited words registered in the prohibited word registration memory 72 is stored in the X team prohibited word number counter memory 73 of FIG. Similarly, the Y team's prohibited word number counter memory 74 of FIG. 2 stores the cumulative number of times that the supporters of the Y team have said prohibited words registered in the prohibited word registration memory 72. In both cases, the count value stored as the initial value at the start of the chat is “0”.

The input unit 3, the communication control unit 5, and the display unit 6 among the above components are not provided exclusively for the chat server 1 but are shared by various servers provided by communication providers such as providers. It may be a configuration.

Next, the internal configuration of the communication terminal 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication terminal 11. As shown in FIG.
Input unit 13, RAM 14, transmission control unit 15, display unit 1
6 and a storage unit 17 having a storage medium 18, and each unit except the storage medium 18 is connected by a bus 19.

The CPU 12 reads out various control programs stored in the storage unit 17 or the storage medium 18, expands them in a work memory (not shown) of the RAM 14, executes various control processes according to the control programs, and executes the processing. The result is stored in the work memory and displayed on the display unit 16. Then, the processing result is stored in a predetermined storage destination of the storage medium 18.

In addition, when executing a statement display process (see FIG. 8) described later, the CPU 12 logs in the user (chat participant) input data entered by the input unit 13 and user information such as a support team, a desired seat type, and the like. , And its own remarks are transmitted from the transmission control unit 15 to the chat server 1.
Further, the CPU 12 causes the display unit 16 to display the chat screen and the comment condition.

In addition, the input section 13, the RAM 14, the transmission control section 15, the display section 16, the storage section 17, and the storage medium 18 have the essential components of the communication terminal 11, which are the input section 3, the RAM 4, Since they are the same as the transmission control unit 5, the display unit 6, the storage unit 7, and the storage medium 8, detailed description of the configuration is omitted.

The internal configuration of the chat server 1 and the communication terminal 11 has been described above.
Since the configuration of the main parts 1, 51 and 61 is the same as that of the above-mentioned communication terminal 11, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the illustration and description of the configuration are omitted.

Next, the operation of the chat system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. First, a series of operations of the chat system 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As a premise, a program for realizing each function described in the following flowchart is stored in a storage medium of each device in the form of a readable program code, and the CPU of each device stores the program code. Are sequentially executed. Further, the CPU can also sequentially execute operations according to the program code transmitted via the transmission medium. That is, it is also possible to execute an operation unique to the present embodiment using a program or data externally supplied via a transmission medium in addition to a storage medium.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the entire speech processing. When the power button of the communication terminal 11 is pressed, power is supplied to each unit from the power unit, and a program for executing the entire process described below is read from the storage unit 17 and read from the RAM.
14, and executes various operations according to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 8, first, a user of the communication terminal 11 who wants to participate in a chat (hereinafter referred to as “chat participant”) uses his / her own login ID and password to watch a desired baseball game. (Step S1). Then, the seating service screen 61 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S2).

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the seating service screen 61 displays a virtual support seat simulating the seating position of a stadium as a seating screen in baseball broadcasting.
The virtual support seats are divided into three types: a first base stand 161a of the X base, a third base stand 161b of the Y base, and a back net back stand 161c capable of supporting both bases. The seats are "A", "B",
It is divided into three types of seat ranks (seat types) of "C".
In addition, the seat rank of the back net back stand is “D”. Below each seat rank, the number of vacant seats of the support seat of that seat rank is displayed, for example, (2 seats) in the X team A seat.

Next, when the chat participant selects a desired support seat on the seating service screen 61 from the input unit 13,
In accordance with the selection operation, the CPU 12 selects participation teams such as a cheering team and a seat rank from the seating service screen 61 displayed on the display unit 16 (step S3), and transmits the selected participation condition information via the network N. To the chat server 1.

When the CPU 1 detects the reception of the participation condition information, the CPU 1 extracts various comment conditions corresponding to the selected seat rank from the statement condition table 71 (see FIG. 3) based on the participation conditions, and extracts the chat participants' It is set as a comment condition (step S4). For example, when the chat participant takes the battle seat of the seat rank B of the Y team, the number of remarks is once every two minutes based on the data stored in the remark condition table 71,
It is determined that the number of uttered characters per time is 30 characters or less, the display size of uttered characters is 18 points, and the display colors of uttered characters are three types.

Next, the CPU 1 transmits a chat screen to the communication terminal 11 and displays it on the display unit 16 together with the corresponding speech conditions.
(Step S5). FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of the chat screen displayed at this time. As shown in FIG. 7, the baseball chat screen 62 displays X
The team side chat space 62a and the Y team side chat space 62b are displayed simultaneously.

In the X baseball team-side chat space 62a, the contents of the supporters of the X baseball team among the chat participants are displayed in association with the speaker names (handle names).
Similarly, among the chat participants, the contents of the supporters of the Y team are displayed in the Y team side chat space 62b in association with the speaker names (handle names).

That is, the remarks made by the supporters of each baseball team are displayed on the same baseball chat screen 62 in individually prepared chat spaces. For this reason, the supporter of each team can speak while watching the content of the supporter of the partner team, but cannot directly exchange (converse) character information with the supporter of the partner team. In addition, the speech contents of each participant are scrolled downward so that the speech history remains.

The screen center has a participant information display area 62c, a statement condition display area 62d, a statement content input area 62e, and a statement update button 62f in order from the top. In the participant information display area 62c, for example, the handle name of “star of the X team” as the name of the speaker and “X team” as the support team
The name of the team and the rank name of "A" are displayed as the seat rank.

In the comment condition display area 62d, for example, a character string such as "You can rank up to 50 characters per minute because you are A rank" is displayed as the number of words and the number of characters of this speaker. . Also, a character string "Font is 24." is displayed as the character size.
In addition, a character string such as "Please select a character color from the following." Black / Red / Green / Blue / Purple "" is displayed as a selectable character color. Each character of "black / red / green / blue / purple" is displayed with the corresponding sample color.

The comment content input area 62e is a comment content input area displayed only while the speaker can speak. In other words, when the number of remarks is 1 / min, no display is displayed for 1 minute after the end of the remark. In the utterance content input area 62e, a character string "Please enter utterance content here (within 50 characters)" is displayed to indicate an area in which the utterer's utterance content is to be input. Further, this character string is deleted from the input area in accordance with the input of the content of the comment by the speaker.

The comment update button 62f is an icon button for confirming the comment content input to the comment content input area 62e. That is, when the speaker presses the utterance update button 62f after inputting the utterance content, the CPU 12 transmits the input character information to the chat server 1 and additionally displays the input character information at the end of the X team side chat space 62a. To reflect.

Next, the CPU 1 enters a state of waiting for a comment by the chat participant, and monitors the presence or absence of character information transmitted as a comment from the communication terminal 11 (step S6). Here, when the CPU 1 detects a utterance of the chat participant (step S6; Yes), the content of the utterance is determined in step S6.
It is determined whether the utterance condition determined in step 4 is satisfied (step S7). This determination is performed when the comment update button 62f is pressed, and when the comment condition is satisfied in step S7 (step S7; Yes), the CPU 1 reads the prohibited word registration memory 72, and the character information related to the content of the comment is a prohibited word. It is determined whether a prohibited word stored in the registration memory 72 is included (step S8).

If the content of the statement does not satisfy the statement condition determined in step S4 in step S7 (step S7; No), the CPU 1 displays "Cannot speak because the statement condition is exceeded" on the baseball chat screen 62. Is displayed (step S).
Together with 9), the process returns to the statement waiting state in step S6 again.

At this time, if the number of utterances exceeds a predetermined number, a message “Your number of utterances has been exceeded” is displayed. If the number of characters exceeds a predetermined number, the message “Your utterance number exceeds May be displayed, for example, to display which message condition is not satisfied. Thereby, the chat participant can clearly and easily recognize the deficiency of the comment content.

Then, in step S8, when the prohibition word is not included in the content of the remark (step S8; N
o), the CPU 1 displays the name of the speaker and the content of the utterance in association with each other in the X team side chat space 62a in the baseball chat screen 62 (step S10).

On the other hand, in step S8, if the utterance content contains a prohibited word (step S8; Yes),
The CPU 1 adds “1” to the accumulated count value of the X team prohibited word count counter memory 73, and determines whether the count value exceeds a predetermined speech prohibition count value (step S11). The value of the number of times of speech prohibition is arbitrarily set by the administrator of the chat server 1 before the start of the chat, but can be appropriately changed after the chat starts according to the frequency of speech of the prohibition word by each chat participant. is there. Further, a different set value may be set for each team.

In step S11, when the cumulative number of times in the X team prohibited word number counter memory 73 does not exceed the speech prohibited number (step S11; N).
o), the CPU 1 sets the non-display of only the prohibited words in the above-mentioned remarks, and then sets the X team's side chat space 62.
The content of the statement is displayed on a (step S10).

On the other hand, if the cumulative count value of the X team prohibited word number counter memory 73 exceeds the speech prohibition count value in step S11 (step S11; Yes), C
PU1 has a penalty of X
The team-side chat space 62a is closed for a predetermined time (step S13). After a lapse of a predetermined time, the X team side chat space 62 is displayed on the baseball chat screen 62 again.
"a" is displayed to enable speech (step S10).

The closing time is a numerical value arbitrarily set by the chat server 1 before the chat starts, but may be changed as appropriate after the chat starts according to the frequency of closing each chat space. As a method for closing the chat space, for example, the chat space itself may be hidden, or the current display state may be continued, and then, "the X team's speech is prohibited for 2 minutes" on the screen. May be displayed.

As described above, according to the chat system 100 of the present embodiment, two chat spaces 62a and 62b of different speakers are simultaneously displayed on one baseball chat screen 62 provided by the chat server 1. Display. Therefore, by having the function of simultaneously chatting in different areas for each cheering squad of each team, the cheering squads of each team can enjoy chatting between cheers of their own team while watching each other's cheering battles Can be. For example, if this is applied to a program using a streaming technology such as a baseball broadcast, the baseball broadcast can be enjoyed with a feeling similar to actually watching a baseball game.

Further, by changing the speech conditions such as the number of speeches and the number of characters for each chat participant according to the ranking of the cheering seats in the virtual baseball stadium, a more realistic baseball watching with different speaking power depending on the cheering seats is performed. Can be realized. Further, it is possible to avoid unfairness, such as a supporter who has participated in the chat before the start of the game is easily deprived of the floor by the supporter who has participated in the latter half of the game. For this reason, a supporter who wants to improve his / her speaking ability by frequently speaking in large letters needs to log in before the game and secure a high-ranked seat as soon as possible.

When the content of the remark includes a prohibited word, the prohibited word is hidden, so that a field such as an abuse or abuse frequently issued during watching a baseball game is displayed on the screen as it is. Can be prevented beforehand. In addition, if the number of words in the prohibited word exceeds a certain value, the cheering team's remarks are prohibited for a certain period of time and a penalty is imposed on the supporter who makes a lot of rants. You can enjoy watching games comfortably.

The description contents in the present embodiment are as follows.
This is a preferred example of the chat system according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, baseball has been described as an example of sports to watch. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and includes, for example, soccer, boxing, professional wrestling, tennis, volleyball, and other general sports.

In addition, if the user chats in the two chat rooms and speaks (inputs) a word ending with “n” or an arbitrarily set prohibited word, the chat is performed only for the speaker for a certain period of time. A penalty such as closing a space may be imposed. Further, the user can log in to one of the two chat rooms on the agenda side on the opposite side and agree with the other side to use the chat system as a debate tool for social and current affairs. In this case, it is also possible to impose a penalty such as prohibiting a person who makes a rant that is not appropriate for the discussion for a certain period of time.

Others, chat server 1, communication terminal 1
The detailed configurations and detailed operations of 1, 21, 31, 41, 51, and 61 can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0081]

According to the first, sixth and eighth aspects of the present invention,
A participant of the communication service can simultaneously participate in a plurality of speech areas from a plurality of communication terminals. Therefore, it is possible to provide a communication service such as a chat in which different utterance areas are simultaneously displayed on the same screen for each predetermined broadcast and proceed. Furthermore, while watching the conversation content of the opponent team while watching the battle type game, for example, it is possible to enjoy the conversation of the corresponding team progressing.

According to the second, seventh, and ninth aspects of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first, sixth, and eighth aspects, the speech state of the participating communication terminals is controlled based on the speech conditions of each speech area. Has the function of Therefore, if the communication service is applied to the chat service, for example, the number of remarks,
It is possible to speak in various speech states with different speech conditions such as the number of characters, character size, and character color. As a result, a more entertaining chat service can be provided as compared with the conventional case where all participants speak in the same speaking state.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, a function of controlling a speech state of a communication terminal participating in each speech area for a specific speech is provided.
Therefore, as a means for controlling the speech state of a specific speech including a forbidden phrase, for example, if the display of a forbidden phrase is prohibited, an insult or an abuse that slanders another participant is directly displayed in the speech region. Can be avoided.

Also, by imposing restrictions such as prohibiting subsequent speeches for a certain period of time on a person who has made a particular speech containing a prohibited phrase, recurrence of rants can be prevented. Further, for example, when the number of times the prohibited word is used by the speaker exceeds a predetermined value, if the speaker's utterance area of the prohibited word is closed for a certain period of time, the prohibited word can be prevented more effectively. it can.

According to the invention described in claim 4, claims 1 to 1 are provided.
In addition to the effects described in any one of (3) and (3), the communication service participant has a function of allowing a participant of the communication service to select a condition for participating in speech in a desired speech area. Therefore, for example, by applying the communication service to the chat service during baseball watching and setting the cheering team, the type of cheering seats, and the like as participation conditions, those who participated in the chat before the start of the game and those who participated in the latter half of the game Inequality, such as being easily deprived of the floor, can be avoided.

By displaying a virtual cheering seat screen imitating a stadium, for example, as a screen for selecting participation conditions, the chat participants can secure cheering seats and support the baseball team as if they were watching an actual baseball game. It can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a more entertaining and attractive chat service to each participant. Furthermore, the number of participants (the number of spectators) can be limited for each utterance area or seat type of each team. As a result, a support battle under various conditions becomes possible while giving each participant a certain degree of speech opportunity.

According to the invention described in claim 5, claims 1 to 1 are provided.
In addition to the effects described in any one of the above items 4, by having a function of displaying an image related to the theme to be uttered in the utterance area, the interest of the participant or the viewer is visually attracted, and the desire to participate in the communication service is provided. Can be increased. Further, the theme of the communication service can be easily known from the displayed image. Furthermore, by displaying a virtual cheering seat screen imitating, for example, a stadium as a display image, participants who are interested in baseball are attracted, and a cheering battle with a cheering team of an enemy team is performed in a manner similar to watching a real baseball game. It can be performed. Therefore,
A more entertaining and attractive chat service can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a chat system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the chat server 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of data storage of a statement condition table 71 in a storage unit 7;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the communication terminal 11 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a chat process executed by the chat system 100 of FIG. 1;

6 is a diagram showing a display example of a seating service screen 61 displayed on the display unit 16 of FIG.

7 is a diagram showing a display example of a baseball chat screen 62 displayed on the display unit 16 in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chat server 2 CPU 3 Input part 4 RAM 4a Work memory 5 Transmission control part 6 Display part 61 Seating service screen 61a X team side virtual cheering seat 61b Y team side virtual cheering seat 61c Both team virtual cheering seat 62 Baseball chat screen 62a X team side chat space 62b Y team side chat space 62c speaker information display area 62d statement condition display area 62e statement content input area 62f statement update button 7 storage unit 71 statement condition table 71a seat rank storage area 71b statement number information storage area 71c Character number information storage area 71d Character size information storage area 71e Character color number information storage area 72 Prohibited word registration memory 73 X team prohibited word number counter memory 74 Y team prohibited word number counter memory 8 storage medium 9 bus 11 communication terminal 12 CPU 1 3 input unit 14 RAM 15 transmission control unit 16 display unit 17 storage unit 18 storage medium 19 bus 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 communication terminal 100 chat system N network

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A network server for providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network, wherein a plurality of speech regions that can simultaneously participate from the plurality of communication terminals are set. And a speech condition setting means for setting speech conditions for each speech area set in the speech area setting means. 2. A speech content transmitted from a communication terminal participating in each speech region is determined based on speech conditions of each speech region set in the speech condition setting means, and the speech status of the communication terminal is determined. 2. The network server according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling. 3. The utterance condition setting means further sets utterance conditions for a specific utterance, and the control means controls the communication terminal based on the specific utterance for which the utterance conditions are set by the utterance condition setting means. 3. The network server according to claim 2, wherein said network server controls the comment state of the network server. 4. A speech area selecting means for setting participation conditions for each said speech area, presenting each said participation condition to said communication terminal, and selecting a desired speech area. 4. The network server according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising image display means for displaying an image relating to a theme to be uttered in the utterance area set by said utterance area setting means.
A network server according to any one of the above. 6. A communication service providing method for providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network, wherein a plurality of speech regions that can simultaneously participate from the plurality of communication terminals are set. A communication service providing method, comprising: a setting step; and a speech condition setting step of setting speech conditions for each speech area set in the speech area setting step. 7. A utterance content transmitted from a communication terminal participating in each utterance region is determined based on utterance conditions of each utterance region set in the utterance condition setting step, and a utterance state of the communication terminal is determined. The communication service providing method according to claim 6, further comprising a control step of controlling the communication service. 8. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program for controlling a process of providing a communication service to a plurality of communication terminals accessed via a communication network, wherein the plurality of communication terminals simultaneously receive a program from the plurality of communication terminals. A storage medium storing a program including: a program code for setting a plurality of utterable regions that can participate; and a program code for setting utterance conditions for each set utterance region. 9. A program code for determining the content of a message transmitted from a communication terminal participating in each of the speech regions based on the set speech conditions of each of the speech regions, and controlling a speech state of the communication terminal. 9. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein a program further comprising: is stored.