JP2002082873A - Message distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system that is useful to efficiently search for the opposite party with whom messages substantial in quality can be exchanged without taking trouble and time. SOLUTION: When a member A transits a message transfer request with retrieval condition data attached thereto to a server P3 by using a client P4, the server 3 searches for members meeting the retrieval condition among members registered in a member information database and stores the message data of the member A in the message box of one person (member B) among the members.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a message distribution system using a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A message distribution service using a computer network represented by the Internet includes:
E-mail, bulletin boards, chats, and the like are known. Such a service can be easily used as a means of one-to-one or one-to-many two-way communication with another person.

[0003]

Today, since a huge number of people use the Internet, it is not so difficult to randomly search for a person who exchanges messages. If a message is exchanged with a person who is randomly searched without considering whether or not it fits, communication with that person should be qualitatively enhanced (for example, it is fun, useful information can be obtained therefrom, and psychological satisfaction can be obtained). It is difficult to be high). The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and it is an object of the present invention to be useful in efficiently searching for a person who can exchange a qualitatively satisfactory message without taking time and effort. To provide a secure system.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems by providing a host computer and a terminal which can communicate with each other through a data communication network, and a server program which operates on the host computer. In the message delivery system including a data storage unit in which information of a number of members to be managed is stored, in the terminal, a procedure for allowing a user to set search conditions for a member search using the data storage unit; A client program that executes a procedure for causing a user to create a message, and a process for transmitting a message delivery request including the search condition data and the message data to the server program via the network is operated. The server program running on the host computer receives the message distribution request. Procedures, sets the search condition based on the data of the search conditions included in the message distribution request,
A step of searching for a member satisfying the search condition from the members registered in the data storage unit, and a step of distributing the message data to at least one of the members when a member satisfying the search condition is found A message delivery system characterized by executing processing including:

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the message delivery system according to the present invention, information (names, names, etc.) of a large number of members who have become members through predetermined procedures are stored in a data storage unit managed by a server program. Gender, address, occupation, hobbies, etc.) are stored. The procedure of member search and message distribution by this system is as follows. First, when a member sets a member search condition using a client program operating on a terminal (a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile phone, or the like), inputs a message, and executes a transmission operation, the client program executes a member search. A message distribution request including the condition data and the message data is transmitted to the server program on the host computer. The server program that has received the message delivery request searches for a member that satisfies the specified search condition from the plurality of members registered in the data storage unit. When a member that satisfies the search condition is found, the server program selects at least one of the members and distributes the message data to the member. On the other hand, when a member satisfying the search condition is not found, the server program transmits a notice to that effect to the client program.

As a method of distributing message data, for example,
A method in which a message storage area (message box) of each member is provided in advance on a storage device such as a fixed magnetic disk, and the message data is stored in the message storage area of the member selected as described above, or When the client program used by the selected member is in a communicable state via the network as described above, there is a method of transmitting message data to the client program online.

In the message distribution system according to the present invention, if message search data is attached to the message data and transmitted to the host computer, the server program distributes the message to an appropriate party satisfying the search conditions. By using such a system according to the present invention, even when a member does not know where (who) should send a message,
Gather useful information without having to spend time and effort,
You can find a message exchange partner.

[0008] In the message delivery system according to the present invention,
Further, the data storage unit stores information for identifying a search target registered member who is a member who has been approved to be a member search target, and the server program targets the search target registered member for the search target registered member. A member search may be performed. In this way, a member search is performed only for members who are ready to actively answer questions from other members. Therefore, the member who issued the search request,
It can be expected to get a full-fledged answer (information) from the registered creator of the subject.

In the message delivery system according to the present invention,
The processing executed by the server program further includes:
A procedure for storing data relating to the transmission / reception history of a message with another member for each member, and checking the transmission / reception status of a message with each other member based on the data relating to the transmission / reception history; May automatically send a message to a member who satisfies a predetermined condition on behalf of the one member. Data related to the transmission / reception history includes the date and time of the first message, the date and time of the last message,
The message transmission cumulative number and the like can be cited. In this system, the server program automatically transmits a message to, for example, a person who has passed a certain number of days since the last message transmission date and time or a person who has just passed one year from the first message transmission date. Thereby, the connection between members is deepened.

[0010] In the message delivery system according to the present invention, the processing executed by the server program includes:
Further, a procedure for storing data relating to the designated history of search conditions for each member, a procedure for calculating a directivity parameter indicating the location of interest of each member based on the data relating to the designated history of search conditions, and one member And a procedure for automatically distributing a message to another member whose directivity parameter substantially matches with that of the one member instead of the one member. The directivity parameter is, for example, a value specified most recently or most frequently in the “hobby” item of the search condition.
In this system, the server program searches for another member in a timely manner with a certain member, and automatically transmits a message to the other member. This allows the member to find a new message exchange partner without having to spend time and effort on his own.

Further, in the message delivery system according to the present invention, the processing executed by the client program further includes a step of displaying an agent image which is a virtual deliverer of the message; A procedure for identifying the content of the given operation signal, a procedure for setting a value of an agent parameter that affects the behavior of the agent according to the content of the operation signal, and data indicating the value of the agent parameter in the message. A procedure for transmitting the data to the server program together with the data may be included. Here, the agent is a virtual actor on the network that delivers a message to another member instead of a member, presents a question (questionnaire) to the other member, and collects the answer. . The agents and their actions are expressed on the display device of the client computer in a form recognizable by humans using images, sounds, and speech strings.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a message distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention. A system 1 in FIG. 1 is a client / server system including a data communication network (for example, the Internet) 2, a host computer 3 (hereinafter, host 3) capable of communicating with each other through the network 2, and a terminal 4. Although only one terminal 4 is illustrated in FIG. 1, many terminals 4 are actually connected to the network 2. Further, in the system of FIG. 1, the server system is configured with only a single host 3, but the server system may be configured as a distributed processing system including a plurality of hosts 3.

In the host 3, a server program P3 (hereinafter, referred to as a server P3) that performs a process according to various requests sent from the terminal 4 through the network 2 is always operating. The host 3 includes a data storage unit 10 configured using a storage device such as a fixed magnetic disk.
The data storage unit 10 includes a member information database (member information DB) 11, a friend link database (friend link D).
B) 12, a message storage unit (message box) 13, a communication log storage unit 14, a search log storage unit 15, a member preference database (member preference DB) 16, and the like. The member information DB 11 stores information of many members registered as users of the system 1. Member registration information includes
Includes member ID, attribute data (name, gender, date of birth, occupation, address, e-mail address, etc.), handle name (arbitrarily determined by the member), and the like.

The terminal 4 includes an input device 41, a storage device 42,
It is a personal computer including a display device 43.
The terminal 4 has a graphical user interface (GU
Operating system (O) that provides the user with I)
S) is installed, and by operating a client program P4 (hereinafter, client P4) on this OS, the user can use various services provided by the message distribution system 1. Storage device 4
2, a member ID of a user of the terminal 4 in addition to files (executable file, library, etc.) of the client P4 body,
A member setting file and an agent setting file in which a handle name and the like are recorded are stored. An agent is
It is a virtual actor represented on the terminal 4 in a form recognizable by humans using images, sounds, and speech character strings. The agent configuration file contains the image number of the agent (the image number of the agent selected by the user from a number of agent images included in the program body), the attribute parameters of the agent (for example, the name of the agent,
Gender, date of birth), state parameters of the agent (eg, personality, health state, intellect, physical strength, energy, etc. of the agent) are recorded.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the main processing executed by the client P4. When the user activates the client P4 on the terminal 4 (step S12), the client P4 checks whether the member registration file is already present in the storage device 42 to check whether the member registration is already completed (step S14). If the member registration has not been completed, a member registration application process is executed (step S15). Here, it is assumed that the user has not yet registered as a member.

In the member registration application process, first, the client P4 displays the member registration data creation screen shown in FIG. On this screen, the user can enter data in the text field for each item of personal information (name, address (nationality, prefecture), occupation, hobby, e-mail address) required for member registration, or select from the selection list. Select a value. Also, the user enters a handle name to be given to himself in the "handle name" text field. Further, the user selects one of the plurality of agents whose images are listed on the screen, and inputs a name to be given to the agent in the “agent name” text field.
Further, the user determines whether or not to perform the searchee registration by selecting the “searchee registration” radio button. The user who has performed the “searchee registration” is a search target of a member search process (to be described later) executed by the server P3. When registering a person to be searched, if an arbitrary character string is entered in the “My Keyword” text field, the character string is subjected to keyword search in the member search process. After the above operation is completed, when the user clicks the "Send" button, the client P4 sends a member registration request including data (member registration data) input / set on the screen to the server P3.

Upon receiving the member registration request from the client P4, the server P3 issues a new member ID and a temporary password, adds a record having the new member ID as a key value to the member information DB 11, and adds the individual to the record. The information data and the value indicating the validity / invalidity of the search person registration are written. The server P3 has a message box 13, a friend link DB
12 and an entry of a new member ID are added to the communication log storage unit 14. After the above processing is completed, the server P3
Transmits a message including a registration completion notification, a new member ID, and a temporary password to the client P4. Upon receiving this message, the client P4 displays a registration completion notification, a new member ID and a temporary password, and creates a setting file in a predetermined format in the storage device 42, where the member ID, handle name, and agent type are stored. And the agent name. After the registration is completed, the user can change the registered content or change the password by a predetermined method as appropriate.

After completion of the processing in step S15, or
If it is confirmed in step S14 that the member has been registered, the client P4 displays the main screen shown in FIG. 4 (step S16). The main screen includes a “message creation” button, a “message reception” button, a “conversation” button, a “status display” button, an “end” button, an image display area, and a message display area. The image display area displays an image of a user's room virtually provided in the computer.

The behavior of the agent on the main screen and the corresponding process by the client P4 are as follows.

First, the agent appears in the image display area of the main screen (FIG. 4). This is because the client P4 refers to the agent image number included in the agent setting data, reads out the agent image data corresponding to the number from a large number of agent images stored in the storage device 42, and reads the agent image data from the data. Generate an image and display it in the image display area of the display device 43 ". The agent image is a moving image (animation), and when the user does not perform any command operation (for example, clicking a command button) while the main screen is being displayed, the behavior determined by the client P4 in a predetermined manner (movement, dialogue display) Etc.). In addition, in the processing of handling an external visiting agent (this will be described later), the client P4
Displays a moving image of the visiting agent opening the door of the room and entering the room.

The agent also has a conversation with the user.
This is because the client P4 displays the character string corresponding to the word (line) of the agent on the text display area of the main screen or on a message window different from the main screen, and, if necessary, the user corresponding to the line. An input interface (for example, a command button or a selection list) for accepting the response of (1) is displayed in a text display area or a message window. " The content of the dialog is appropriately determined by the client P4 according to the agent setting data, information input by the user in various processes to be described later, internal variables related to the operation of the client program, environment variables acquired through the operating system, and the like.

If the content of the dialogue is what the user expects to respond to (for example, a question-type dialogue),
The client P4 displays the input interface and waits for a response operation from the user. When the user performs any response operation, the client P4 newly displays the dialog of the agent corresponding to the response content. In this way, a conversation is established between the user and the agent. When the agent speaks without expecting a response from the user, the series of conversation processing ends. This conversation processing is performed, for example, immediately after the client P4 is started.
Not only is it automatically started at a predetermined timing, but also when the user clicks the "conversation" button on the main screen.

The agent asks the user a question and collects the answer to the question. This is client P4
The user can display a question character string on a text display area or a message box and provide an input interface (for example, a selection list or a text field) for accepting an answer from the user on the text display area or the message box. Corresponds to a process of performing a predetermined operation (for example, clicking an “OK” button) and storing data indicating the answer content in the memory or the storage device 42 ”. The question sentence is created, for example, by appropriately assigning a word to a blank of an insect-feeding question form prepared in advance. In particular, the question form includes a form for asking the user's interests, interests, preferences, etc. (for example, "What is your favorite []?"
Many forms that embed words representing categories such as “food” and “sports” are prepared in advance, and the user's response to the
16. The data stored in the member preference DB 16 can be used together with the data stored in the member information DB 11 for a member search (this will be described later).

Various functions called from the main screen will be described below. During the display of the main screen, the client P4 waits for the user to click any button (step S18), and if any button is clicked, performs a process corresponding to that button (steps S20, S30, S40).

If the "message creation" button is clicked in step S18, the result of the determination in step S20 is Y, and client P4 executes message creation / transmission processing (step S21). In this process, first, the client P4 displays the message creation screen shown in FIG. On this screen, the user performs the following operations.

When the user clicks the "friend link" button on the message creation screen, the client P4 connects to the host 3 via the network 2 and obtains the user's friend link data (member ID, handle name). Are displayed in a list format as shown in FIG. When the user selects any member from this list and clicks the “OK” button, the client P4 writes the member ID of the selected member in the “destination” text field.

When the user clicks the "search condition" button on the message creation screen, the client P4 displays a search condition setting screen as shown in FIG. The search condition setting screen is provided with five selection lists for designating the address, age, gender, occupation, and hobby of the person to whom the message is to be sent in a selection format. When the user sets search conditions on this screen and clicks the “OK” button, the client P
4 stores the data of the search condition in the storage device 42 in a predetermined format, and a character string (for example, a request for member search and determination of the destination to the server P3) is displayed in the “destination” text field of the message creation screen (for example, , A special ID assigned to the host 3).

[0028] Also, the user has the ID of the member who wants to send a message.
May be directly entered in the “destination” text field of the message creation screen.

The "visit purpose" selection list on the message creation screen is used by the user to select the purpose of causing the agent to have a message and visit the destination. The visit purpose is selected from, for example, "Find a friend", "Find information", "Question (questionnaire)", and "Promotion".

The "title" text field on the message creation screen is used by the user to enter a title of the message, and the "attachment" text field is used by the user to specify a file or URL to be attached to the message. When attaching a file, when the user clicks the "Browse" button, the client P4 displays a file selection screen (not shown), and when the user selects a target file, the client P4 sets the path to the file. Write in the "Attach" text field. The user writes a message to the other party in the “message body” text area.

The purpose of the visit is "question (questionnaire)"
In this case, the client P4 activates a “question creation” button. When the user clicks the "Create Question" button, the client P4 displays a question creation screen as shown in FIG. On this screen, the user designs a question screen displayed at the destination. First, the user
Enter the question text in the "Question text" text area and select the format of the answer to the question with the "answer format" radio button below it. The user has 3
When one of the two selection forms is selected, the "selection item setting" list box becomes active (input enabled state). In this list box, the user can arbitrarily set a radio button, a drop-down list, or a selection item of the list box. If the “provide free input field” check box is checked, a free input field (text area) is added to the question screen displayed at the place of visit.

After completing the various settings and data input as described above, when the user clicks the "OK" button,
The client P4 includes a header (including data creation date and time, sender's member ID, destination member ID, visit purpose, message title, etc.), message text, search condition data (when requesting the server P3 for member search) and attachment. File or URL
(When these are attached) are combined into one data in a predetermined format, stored in the storage device, and the message creation screen is closed.

After preparing transmission data as described above,
When the user clicks the "send message" button on the main screen, the client P4 displays the image of the agent in the image display area of the main screen, and displays the dialogue of the agent urging the user to make a final confirmation of the message transmission. In response to this, the user approves the message transmission (for example, "OK"
When the button is clicked), the client P4 transmits the transmission data to the server P3.

The data flow between the terminal 4 and the host 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Now, it is assumed that the member A having the ID U001 creates transmission data (the destination is the ID of the host 3) including the search condition data in the above-described procedure, and transmits the transmission data to the server P3. The server P3 receiving this data recognizes that the sender of the data desires a member search since the destination is not the general member but the host 3, and based on the search condition data included in the data, To perform a member search. In this search,
If multiple members satisfying the search conditions are found, the server P
3 selects one of them as a message distribution destination. Here, it is assumed that the member B whose ID is U002 has been selected as the distribution destination. The server P3 saves the header, the agent setting data, and the message data among the data received from the client P4 in the message box 13 of the member ID “U002”. Further, the server P3 adds the search condition data to the search log file of the member ID “U001” created in the search log storage unit 15. In addition, the server P3 additionally writes data indicating that the message has been delivered to the member whose ID is U002 by using the member search function in the communication log of the member ID “U001” created in the communication log recording unit. If a member satisfying the search condition is not found, the server P3 returns a notification to that effect to the client P4 together with the agent setting data.

[0035] The member B uses the client P
When the client 4 starts, the client P4 displays the main screen of FIG. Immediately after this main screen first appears,
When the user clicks the “message reception” button on the main screen at any time thereafter, the client P4
Executes the following message receiving process (step S3)
1). FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the message receiving process.
In this process, first, the client P4 becomes the server P3
Then, a message transfer request is transmitted (step S402). Upon receiving this request, the server P3 sends the requester's member ID
(Here, U002) is checked, data is read from the message box 13 of the ID "U002", and transmitted to the client P4 that has transmitted the request. If there is no message, the server P3 sends data indicating that there is no message to the client P4.
Send to

The client P4 receiving the data
First checks whether there is data of a visiting agent dispatched from another member (step S40).
4). Client P4 when there is a visiting agent
Executes the following entry negotiation processing. First, the client P4 displays a visiting card describing the name of the visiting agent, the handle name of the sender (here, the member A) and the purpose of the visiting (step S405), and determines whether or not to allow the agent to enter the room (step S405). Then, a dialog window for allowing the member B) to decide is displayed (step S406). When the user performs an operation of permitting entry, the client P4 executes an agent response process described later (step S407). In addition,
When the user performs an operation of refusing entry in step S406, the client P4 skips the agent response process and executes a visit log data creation process (step S408).

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the agent response process. In this process, the client P4
Reads out the agent image corresponding to the agent number specified in the agent setting data and displays it in the image display area (step S501). Next, the client P4 displays the dialogue of the agent (greeting of visit, introduction of self, etc.) (step S502). The tone and content of the dialog of the agent are determined according to the attribute parameter and the state parameter of the agent. Further, the client P4 displays a dialog window (not shown) for allowing the user (member B) to evaluate the dialog of the agent. This dialog window has, for example, a format in which the user gives a five-level evaluation for each question item related to the dialog of the agent. Then, based on the evaluation, the client P4 changes the state parameter of the agent by a predetermined method. After the exchange between the agent and the user as described above, the client P4 displays a message from the sender (here, the member A) (step S503).

In the next step S504, the client P4 checks whether or not the purpose of the visit of the agent is "question (questionnaire)" (step S50).
4) If so, the question is displayed (step S5)
05), and displays an answer input screen (not shown) (step S506). When the user inputs an answer on the answer input screen and clicks the "OK" button, the client P4 checks whether there is any more question (step S).
507) If there is still a question, the process of step S505 is executed again.

If the visit purpose is not "question (questionnaire)" in step S504, or if there is no more question in step S507, the client P
4 is the reply sent to the sender (member A) to the user (member B)
Is displayed (step S508).

Next, the client P4 executes friend link negotiation processing. In this process, first, the client P4 displays a friend link application message as a dialog of the visiting agent (step S509), and displays a dialog window for allowing the user (member B) to determine whether to accept the application (step S509). Step S51
0). Here, when the user performs an operation of accepting the application, the client P4 turns on the link flag (step S511), and displays words of thanks from the agent to the user (step S512). On the other hand, when the user performs an operation of rejecting the application, the client P4 turns off the link flag (step S513). After the above processing, the client P4 displays the greeting at the end of the agent (step S514), deletes the image of the agent (step S515), and executes the visit log data creation processing (step S408).

The visit log data created in step S408 includes at least data indicating whether or not the agent is permitted to enter the room to be visited. Further, when the agent is permitted to enter the room, the visit log data includes, for example, the user's answer to the question, the reply sentence input by the user, and the value of the link flag set in the friend link negotiation process. After creating the visit log data in this way, the client P4 transmits the header (the destination here is U001), the agent setting data, and the visit log data to the server P3 collectively (step S409).

Upon receiving the data, the server P3
Check the destination ID, and check the ID (here, U001)
The received data is stored in the message box 13 (FIG. 9). When the value of the link flag included in the visit log data is ON, the server P3 updates the contents of the friend link DB 12 (here, the member IDs “U001” and “U0”).
02 is updated).

After transmitting the data to the server P3 as described above, the client P4 of the terminal of the member B proceeds to step S4
Returning to step 04, it is checked whether there is a next visiting agent, and if there is, the process of steps S405 to S409 is executed for the agent as described above. When the processing for all the visiting agents is completed in this way, the client P4 checks whether there is a returning agent (own agent returning from the visiting place) (step S410). If there is a return agent, the client P4 executes agent return processing (step S411), and if not, returns to step S16 of the main processing.

The agent return process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, a case is considered in which member A receives the return agent after receiving data from his / her message box 13 using client P4 as described above.

In the agent return process, the client P4 displays the image of the agent of the user (member A) (step S601) and displays the dialog of the agent (greeting of return, brief explanation of the negotiation result at the visited place, etc.). (Step S602). In addition, client P4
A dialog window (not shown) for allowing the user (member A) to evaluate the dialog of the agent is displayed. Then, based on the evaluation made by the user, the client P4 changes the state parameter of the agent by a predetermined method. Next, the client P4 displays the visit log list screen shown in FIG. 13 (Step S603).
On the visit log list screen, the results of entering negotiations, the results of friend link negotiations, and the presence or absence of messages from the other party are displayed in a list for each visit. With such a list displayed, the client P4 waits for a button operation by the user (step S60).
4). The user selects one of the visit logs and clicks "View"
When the button is clicked, the determination result in step S605 becomes Y, and the client P4 displays the details of the selected visit log (step S606). When the user clicks the “close” button, the result of the determination in step S606 becomes N, and the client P4 deletes the image of the agent (step S607), and returns to the main processing.

Other processing executed by the system 1 of the present embodiment will be described below.

[1] Automatic Agent Visit Automatic agent visit is a process in which the server P3 does not receive a message transfer request from the client P4, but automatically causes a member's agent to visit another member's room. . In this processing, the server P3 determines the visit destination of the member's agent based on the friend's link, communication log, and search log of the member, and transmits the agent's setting data together with the automatically generated message data to the visited member's message. Store in box 13. The visit destination of the agent is, for example, (1) a member registered in a friend link, (2)
The server P3 appropriately selects a member from among members who exchange messages frequently, (3) members who have not sent messages recently, or (4) members who have similar hobbies or interests (directivity). In this manner, the response processing at the client P4 for the automatic visiting agent dispatched by the server P3 is the same as the response processing for the general agent shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, except that steps S503 to S507 are omitted.

[2] Agent Online Visit An agent online visit means that the message data and the agent setting data received by the server P3 from the client P4 are transmitted online to the other party's client P4 instead of being stored in the message box 13 of the other party. That means. In the agent online visit process, when receiving a message transfer request from a member, the server P3 checks whether the client P4 of the member who is the destination of the message is in a state capable of online communication with the server P3, If online communication is possible, message data and agent setting data are directly transmitted to the client P4. On the other hand, when online communication with the client P4 is not possible, the server P3 stores data such as a message in the message box 13 of the destination member as described above.

[3] Agent Development As described above, the state parameter of the agent changes according to the user's evaluation in the agent response process and the agent return process. Further, the state parameter also changes according to the visit result (total number of visits, entry success rate, friend link success rate, and the like). The state parameters that change in this way affect the behavior of the agent on the main screen (for example, the expression of the agent displayed on the image, the tone of the agent's speech, the content of the speech). In this way, the system 1 can be enjoyed by the user (both the transmitting side and the receiving side) as a simulation game for fostering agents through transmission and reception of messages. The user can check the attributes and status of the agent (contents of the agent setting data) at any time by clicking the “status display” button on the main screen.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message distribution system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This system 101
, The server P102 executes a program (WW) for processing an HTTP request transmitted through the network 2.
W server) is configured as a CGI program started from P103. The member is a WW operating on the terminal 4
W browsing program P104 (hereinafter referred to as browser P104)
To the server P102 via the WWW server P103.
By transmitting various requests to, various services provided by the system 101 can be received. Various data used by the WWW server P103 and the server P102 are stored in the data storage unit 110. In the following description, it is assumed that the configuration (directory structure and file arrangement) of the data storage unit 110 is as shown in FIG.

The operation of the system 101 shown in FIG. 14 is as follows. First, the user of the terminal 4 starts the browser P104 and accesses the homepage of the Web site of the system 101. FIG. 16 shows an example of a homepage. This home page is provided with hyperlinks to a member registration page and a login page.

When the user clicks on the link to the member registration page on the homepage, a member registration page almost similar to the member registration data creation screen shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the browser P104. The member registration process is executed in the same procedure as that performed in the system 1 of FIG. When the user clicks the "Send" button on the member registration page, browser P104 sends a member registration request including the member information data entered in the form to server P102. Upon receiving the request, the server P102 stores the member information data in the member information DB (key is the member ID), and stores the temporary password issued at the same time as the member registration in the password DB.
(Key is Member ID) and My Keyword is the member's home directory (If Member ID is U001, fmsys /
my keyword file (my_keyw) in usrdat / U001
ords).

Further, the server P102 updates the category-member ID map database (cat_uid_map) using the my keyword. This database is used for member search processing using keywords, and has a structure in which a member ID list is associated with each keyword, for example, as shown in FIG. The system 101 assumes that the keyword specified by the user does not match any of the categories.
onvdic). The category conversion dictionary is, for example, a dictionary in which a large number of keywords are associated with categories as shown in FIG. In this dictionary, up to three categories are associated with each keyword according to the degree of association. For example, consider a case in which a user whose member ID is U083 specifies a word "ice dance" that does not belong to the category of the category-member ID map DB as a my keyword. In such a case, the server P102 refers to the category conversion dictionary in the process of updating the category-member ID map DB, and executes “ice dance”.
U0 in the category of "Ice Skating" which is most related to
Register 83.

The category conversion dictionary can also be used in member search processing. For example, it is assumed that a member specifies the keyword “Snowboard” and requests the member search to the server P102. The keyword “Snowboard” is not included in the category of the category-member ID map DB. Therefore,
The server P102 refers to the category conversion dictionary, and searches the category-member ID map DB for a member ID registered in “snowboard”, which is the category most strongly related to “snowboard”. Now, it is assumed that no member ID is registered in the category “Snowboard”. in this case,
The server P102 searches for a member ID registered in “Ski”, which is the next highest category with “Snowboard”. The category of the degree of relevance to be searched may be specified separately by the member, or the server P102 may automatically specify the category according to the experience value of the agent dispatched together with the search request. You may make it set the intensity lower limit of a degree.

When the user clicks the link to the login page on the homepage, a login page as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the browser P104. When the user inputs the member ID and the password in the text fields of this page and clicks the "OK" button, the browser P104 transmits a login request including the data of the member ID and the password to the server P102. Upon receiving this request, the server P102 performs user authentication using a password database (passwords).
When it is confirmed that the member ID and the password are valid, the server P102 adds the member ID to the connection user list (user_on). By referring to the connection user list, the server P102 can confirm whether or not another member is online, for example, in a process of transmitting a message of a certain member online to another member. When a user performs a logout process, the server P102 deletes the member ID of the user from the connected user list.

When it is confirmed that the member ID and the password are valid, the server P102 transmits data (eg, HTML document, image, plug-in, Java binary, room setting data,
Agent setting data and agent state data) are read from the data storage unit 110 and transmitted to the browser P104. Using these data, the browser P104 displays a main screen as shown in FIG. Among the command buttons provided on the main screen of FIG. 20, the functions called from the “Create message” button, “Receive message” button, “Conversation” button and “Status display” button are the same buttons on the main screen of FIG. It is the same as the function called from. The function called from another button will be described below.

When the user clicks the "friend check" button on the main screen, the browser P104 requests a confirmation of the connection status of the member (hereinafter referred to as a friend member) registered at the user's friend link (hereinafter referred to as a friend member) (hereinafter referred to as a friend member) , A connection confirmation request) to the server P102. Upon receiving this request, the server P102 checks the connection status of the members registered in the friend list in the home directory of the user, and displays a connection confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 21 on the browser P104. On the connection confirmation screen, the connection status of each friend member is displayed as "offline,""connected,""opening a chat," or "participating in a chat with another member."

A message can be transmitted online to a member whose connection status is “connected” or “during chat establishment”. When you select a member row whose connection status is "Chat is open" and click the "Join chat" button, the browser P
A chat participation request is transmitted from 104 to server P102. Upon receiving this, the server P102 dispatches the user agent to the member who is the designated chat organizer. The agent performs the entry negotiation as described above with reference to FIG. When the host of the chat allows the agent to enter, the room image of the host is displayed on the user's browser along with the agent images of other members participating in the chat, and the user can participate in the chat. become. On the other hand, if entry of the agent is not permitted, the user cannot participate in the chat. Chat participants' messages are displayed in the text display area.

When the line of the member whose connection status is “participating in the chat of another member” is selected and the “participation in chat” button is clicked, the server P10 is transmitted from the browser P104 to the server P10.
2, a request to participate in a chat hosted by the other member is transmitted, and the same processing as described above is performed.

Note that even when the chat organizer is in the middle of opening a chat, his / her own room is placed in an offline state by performing a predetermined room lock operation (for example, by clicking a lock on the door of the room). Can be seen.

When the user clicks the "open chat" button on the main screen, the browser P104 opens the server P1.
02, a chat establishment request is transmitted. Upon receiving this request, the server P102 opens the chat list (chat_open)
Is added to the member ID entry of the user. In the established chat list, designation of a chat partner (designation of a member ID, designation of a friend link, etc.), state of a chat room (open / closed), and the like are recorded for each member ID of the chat organizer. When a member performs a chat ending operation, the server P
102 deletes the member's entry from the established chat list.

When the user clicks a "change setting" button on the main screen, a setting change screen (not shown) is displayed on browser P104. On this screen, the user can select the room setting (room_prefs), the agent setting (agent_proper
ty), user preference DB (my_prefs), friend link (my_f)
riends) and the unsolicited user list (unwelcomed) settings can be changed. The unwanted user list is a list of members who do not want to be visited by the agent. When the server P102 receives a message from the member A to the member B, for example, the server P102 checks the unsolicited user list of the member B, and if the member A is registered there, puts the message in a message box (Mail).
Destroy it without saving it to us or submitting it online,
Reply directly to the sender (member B).

As described above, the message delivery system 2 according to the present invention
Although one embodiment has been described, the above embodiment is merely an example, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various other forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the terminal 4
In the case of the system shown in FIG. 14, a mobile terminal (PDA, mobile phone, or the like) having a WWW browsing function can be used as the terminal 4. In this case, when it is difficult to realize functions equivalent to those of the personal computer due to the hardware configuration of the terminal 4, various screens may be appropriately simplified or available functions may be limited. For example, when a mobile phone is used as the terminal 4, the contents included in one screen in the case of a personal computer may be divided into a plurality of screens and displayed sequentially in a hierarchical manner, or some of the screen components may be omitted. I do. Further, the mobile terminal may be used as an auxiliary terminal for a main terminal such as a personal computer. For example, if you use the constant connection of mobile phones to the network, you can send a simple return report message of the agent who returned from the dispatch destination to the mobile phone in real time, and the message transmitted online from other users in real time For example, it is possible to realize a function (a server / push-type service on the assumption of always-on connection) that is not always realizable with a personal computer, such as transmission to a mobile phone.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a main process executed by a client program P4.

FIG. 3 is a member registration data creation screen.

FIG. 4 is a main screen.

FIG. 5 is a message creation screen.

FIG. 6 is an address book.

FIG. 7 is a search condition setting screen.

FIG. 8 is a question creation screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data flow between a client and a server.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a message receiving process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an agent reception process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an agent return process.

FIG. 13 is a visit log list screen.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message distribution system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a data storage unit of the system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a home page of a Web site of the system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of a category-member ID map database.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of a category conversion dictionary.

FIG. 19 is a login page of a Web site of the system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a main screen of a Web site of the system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a connection confirmation screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 101 message distribution system 2 network 3 host computer 4 terminal P3, P102 server program P4 client program P104 WWW browsing software (browser)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A host computer and a terminal that can communicate with each other through a data communication network, and a data storage unit that stores information of many members and is managed by a server program that operates on the host computer. In the message distribution system, at the terminal, a procedure for allowing a user to set search conditions for a member search using the data storage unit, a procedure for causing the user to create a message, and data for the search conditions and the A client program for executing a process including a step of transmitting a message distribution request including message data to the server program via the network is operating. The server program running on the host computer receives the message distribution request. To the search condition data included in the message delivery request. Setting a search condition based on the search condition, searching for a member that satisfies the search condition from the members registered in the data storage unit, and, when a member that satisfies the search condition is found, addresses the member to at least one of the members. A message distribution system, which executes a process including a step of distributing the message data. 2. The data storage unit stores information for identifying a member to be searched who is a member who has been approved as a member to be searched for a member. 2. The message delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the member search is performed for a message. 3. The process executed by the server program further includes: a procedure for storing data on transmission / reception histories of messages with other members for each member; and one member based on the data on transmission / reception histories. A step of checking a message transmission / reception status with each of the other members, and automatically distributing the message on behalf of the one member to a member whose transmission / reception status satisfies a predetermined condition. Item 2. The message delivery system according to Item 1. 4. The processing executed by the server program further includes: a step of storing data relating to a specified history of search conditions for each member; and a step of storing the interest of each member based on the data relating to the specified history of search conditions. And calculating a directivity parameter indicating, and a step of automatically delivering a message instead of the one member to another member whose directivity parameter substantially matches the one member. The message delivery system according to claim 1. 5. The processing executed by the client program further includes a step of displaying an agent image, which is a virtual deliverer of the message, and a step of identifying an operation signal given to the client program from outside. A procedure, a procedure for setting a value of an agent parameter affecting the behavior of the agent according to the content of the operation signal, and a procedure for transmitting data indicating the value of the agent parameter to the server program together with the message data. The message delivery system according to claim 1, further comprising: