JP2002132694A - Chat system, terminal and server to be used for the same, and chat method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chat system capable of chatting with a desired opposite party in real time, and a terminal and server to be used for this chat system, and a chat method. SOLUTION: When a user transmits a chat request by informing a server 12 of the portable telephone number of the opposite party with which the user wants to chat from a portable telephone 14a, the server 12 transmits the chat request to portable telephones 14b and 14c of the other party with which the user wants to chat according to this. The other party which receives the chat request responds to this as necessary. When the request permission is transmitted from the other party, the request permission is transmitted from the server 12 to the request side, and a participant list is transmitted to all the participants, and a chat mode is established. When a message from the participants is received by the server 12, the message is transmitted to all the participants by the server 12, and the message contents are displayed on a display part 46 of the portable telephone of each participant. The other party can participate in the chat from the middle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chat system, a terminal and a server used therefor, and a chat method, and more specifically, a chat system capable of chatting using a plurality of terminals connected to a server. The present invention relates to a terminal and a server used therefor, and a chat method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, chat is widely used as an example of a communication service provided to a user using a communication network such as the Internet or personal computer communication. Chat is a service in which text messages are exchanged on a communication service and conversation (chat) is possible.

[0003]

However, in the conventional chat, a user accesses a chat room and enters the room to chat with a participant who has already entered the room. Therefore, when a user wants to chat with a specific partner, the time to enter the chat room must be notified to the partner in advance, and each user who wants to chat must enter the room at that time. Therefore,
Even when the user suddenly wants to chat, the user cannot chat in real time unless the other user enters the chat room, which is inconvenient.
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a chat system, a terminal and a server used therefor, and a chat method that can chat with a desired partner in real time.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a chat system according to claim 1 is a chat system for chatting using a plurality of terminals connected to a server. When requesting a chat, means for notifying the server of the telephone number of the other party to chat with, means for responding to the server when receiving a chat request from the server, means for receiving the participant list from the server, Means for inputting the message, means for transmitting the input message to the server, means for receiving the message from the server, and means for displaying the received message, the server comprising: a means for receiving the chat request; A means to send a chat request to all the people you want to chat with, Means for transmitting a list, comprising means for transmitting means for receiving, and the received message to all participants a message from a participant. The chat system according to claim 2 is the chat system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal further includes means for joining in the middle of the chat, and the server receives the request permission from the halfway participant. It further includes means for notifying all the participants on the way.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the terminal is a terminal connected to the server for chatting, and when a chat request is made, means for notifying the server of the telephone number of the other party with whom the chat is desired, Means for responding to the server if received, means for receiving the participant list from the server, means for the participant to input a message, means for transmitting the input message to the server, means for receiving the message from the server, and Means for displaying the received message. A terminal according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the terminal according to the third aspect, further including a means for joining the chat midway. A terminal according to a fifth aspect is the terminal according to the third or fourth aspect, which is used for a mobile phone.

[0006] A server according to claim 6 is a server used for chatting, wherein a means for receiving a chat request, a means for transmitting a chat request to all the other parties who want to chat in response to the chat request, and a request permission are provided. A means for transmitting a participant list to all the participants when there is, a means for receiving a message from the participants, and a means for transmitting the received message to all the participants. A server according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the server according to the sixth aspect, further including means for notifying all the participants of the midway participant upon receiving a request permission from the halfway participant.

[0007] A chat method according to claim 8 is a chat method for chatting via a server. When a chat request is made, the step of notifying the server of the telephone number of the other party with whom the chat is desired, the server responding to the chat request Sending a chat request to all of the other parties you want to chat with, receiving the chat request from the server, responding to the server, sending the result to the requester in response to the response from the other party, requesting The server sending the participant list to all participants when authorized, and sending the message entered by the participant to the server, sending the message received by the server to all participants, and joining Displaying the message received from the server from the server. A chat method according to a ninth aspect is the chat method according to the eighth aspect, further comprising a step of, when participating in the middle of the chat, notifying the participant to all the participants.

[0008] In the chat system according to the first aspect,
When a chat request is made by notifying the server of the telephone number of the other party with whom the server wants to chat, the server transmits the chat request to the desired other party accordingly. The other party receiving the chat request responds according to circumstances. If it is convenient, the request is output, and if it is not, the request is suspended or the request is rejected. If there is a request permission from the other party, the request permission is transmitted from the server to the requesting side, the participant list is transmitted from the server to all the participants, and the chat mode is established. When the server receives the message from the participant, the server transmits the message to all the participants, and the content of the message is displayed on each participant's terminal. In this way, if there is a chat request, the server can transmit a chat request to a partner who wants to chat in real time, and can chat with a desired partner in real time if it is convenient. The terminal described in claim 3 and the server described in claim 6 are suitable for such a chat system. The same applies to the chat method described in claim 8.

[0009] In the chat system according to the second aspect,
When the other party receives a chat request, even if it is inconvenient, the other party can participate in the chat from the middle if it becomes more convenient after that, so that the chat can be performed at the convenience and the degree of freedom and convenience can be improved. The terminal described in claim 4 and the server described in claim 7 are suitable for this chat system. The same applies to the chat method described in claim 9. By using a mobile phone as a terminal, a chat request from a requesting side and a response from a partner can be performed more reliably in real time, and the convenience can be further improved.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a chat system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention
And a plurality of (three in this embodiment) mobile phones 14a to 14c are connected to the server 12 via the communication network 15. The server 12 manages the chat system 10 and includes a control unit 16 for controlling display and storage of data, as shown in FIG. The control unit 16 includes a message board management structure 18 for managing a message board 48 (described later) provided for use of chat. The control unit 16 includes a ROM 20 for storing an execution program, and an ID of the message board management structure 18.
And a RAM 22 for storing a message board ID and a chat participant list. The destination of the packet is determined by the message board ID. further,
The control unit 16 includes a transmission / reception unit 26 that transmits and receives wireless data via a communication control unit 24 that controls transmission and reception of wireless data.
Are connected, and an antenna 28 is connected to the transmission / reception unit 26.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG.
14 a to 14 c include the housing 30. In the housing 30, a control unit 32, a ROM 34, and an RA similar to those of the server 12 shown in FIG.
M36, a communication control unit 38 and a transmission / reception unit 40,
An antenna 42 is connected to the transmitting / receiving unit 40. However,
The control unit 32 does not include the message board management structure 18. Further, the control unit 32 has a key input unit 44 for inputting data and an LCD for displaying data.
A display unit 46 composed of the above is connected. Key input unit 44
The display unit 46 is provided on the surface of the housing 30. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the key input unit 44 includes basic keys 44a for inputting numbers, kana, alphabets, * and #,
A reject key 44b for rejecting a chat request, a chat key 44c for requesting a chat or outputting a request permission for a chat request, a hold key 44d for holding a chat, and an end key for a chat disconnection request 44e, and further includes a telephone directory key 44f for displaying a telephone directory, a cursor key 44g functioning as a soft key, and a menu key 44h. Display section 46
Displays a message board 48 as shown in FIG.

The main operation of such a chat system 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the requesting user is referred to as a request A, and the responding users are referred to as responses B and C. If the request A sends a chat request to the server 12 by notifying the telephone numbers of the other parties (responses B and C in this case) to the server 12, a chat request is transmitted from the server 12 to the responses B and C accordingly. . Responses B and C that received the chat request
Responds to the server 12 as a chat. The chat result is transmitted from the server 12 to the request A in response to the response. At this time, if there is a request permission response from at least one of the responses B and C, the server 12 transmits a chat result indicating request permission to the request A, and the server 12 transmits a participant list to all participants. The chat mode is established.

When the server 12 receives a message from a participant, the message is transmitted from the server 12 to all the participants at once, and the contents of the message are displayed on the mobile phone of each participant. In this way, real-time communication using text messages can be performed between groups participating in the chat mode. When the user wants to get out of the chat, a disconnection request is output to the server 12. Then, the server 12 notifies the participant of the disconnection notification, that is, the non-participation of the disconnection requester, in response to the disconnection request. In such a chat system 10, a packet having a format as shown in FIG. 6 is used.

The operations of the request A using the mobile phone 14a, the responses B and C using the mobile phones 14b and 14c, respectively, and the server 12 of the chat system 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the operation of the request A will be described with reference to FIG. First, request A
Notifies the server 12 of the chat request (step S1). At this time, the other party's mobile phone number is transmitted by inputting or selecting the other party's mobile phone number using the basic key 44a or the like and pressing the chat key 44c. Then, it is determined whether a request permission has been received from the server 12 (step S3). If a request rejection is received instead of the request permission, a non-permission error occurs (step S3).
5).

On the other hand, if the request permission is received from the server 12, the participant list and the message board ID are received (step S7), and it is determined whether or not the notification of the participant is received (step S9). If the notification of the midway participant is received, the midway participant is displayed on the display unit 46 of the mobile phone 14a of the request A (step S11), and the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if you do not receive notification of the participant on the way,
Proceed to step S13. In step S13, it is determined whether the user, that is, the request A has input a message. If a message is input using the basic key 44a or the like, the message is transmitted to the server 12 (Step S15), and the process returns to Step S9.

If the request A does not input a message, it is determined whether a message has been received from the server 12 (step S17). If a message is received from the server 12, the content is displayed on the display unit 46 (step S1).
9) Return to step S9. If a message is not received from the server 12, it is determined whether or not a disconnection request is to be notified (step S21). If the user presses the end key 44e to notify the disconnection request, the disconnection request is made (step S23).
finish. If the disconnection request is not notified, it is determined whether or not a disconnection notification, that is, a non-participation notification of the disconnection requester has been received (step S25). Upon receiving the non-participation notification, the disconnection requester is displayed on the display unit 46 of the mobile phone 14a of the request A (step S27), and the process returns to step S9. If no non-participation notification is received, the process directly returns to step S9.

Next, the operation of the responses B and C will be described with reference to FIG. Here, for the sake of convenience, the response B will be described. However, the same operation is performed for the response C, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted. First, it is determined whether the response B has received a chat request from the server 12 (step S51). It waits until a chat request is received, and if the chat request is received, it is determined whether the user, that is, response B, has selected any of request permission, request rejection, and hold (step S53). If request rejection is selected by pressing the reject key 44b, a request rejection notification is transmitted to the server 12 (step S55). If the hold key 44d is pressed and the request hold is selected, the process waits until the user permits in step S57, and if the user presses the chat key 44c to permit the request, the process proceeds to step S59. If request permission is selected in step S53, step S5
Go to 9. Then, a chat response of request permission is transmitted to the server 12 in step S59.

Thereafter, the response B receives the participant list and the message board ID (step S61), and it is determined whether or not the notification of the participant has been received (step S61).
63). If the notification of the participant is received, the participant is displayed on the display unit 46 of the mobile phone 14b of the response B (step S65), and the process proceeds to step S67. On the other hand, if the notification of the participant has not been received, the process directly proceeds to step S67.
In step S67, it is determined whether the user, that is, response B has input a message. When the message is input, the message is transmitted to the server 12 (step S69), and the process returns to step S63.

If the response B does not input a message, it is determined whether a message has been received from the server 12 (step S71). If a message is received from the server 12, the content is displayed on the display unit 46 (step S7).
3) Return to step S63. If no message is received from the server 12, it is determined whether or not a disconnection request is to be notified (step S75). If the disconnection request is notified, the disconnection request is made (step S77), and the process ends. If the disconnection request is not notified, it is determined whether or not the non-participation notification of the disconnection requester has been received (step S79). Upon receiving the non-participation notification, the disconnection requester is notified by the display unit 4 of the mobile phone 14b of the response B
6 (step S81), and returns to step S63. If the non-participation notification is not received, directly at step S63
Return to

Next, the operation of the server 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a chat request from a requesting user (request A) is received (step S10).
1). At this time, a list of the mobile phone numbers of the other party is received. Then, it is determined whether or not there is an empty message board management structure 18 (step S103). If not, a busy notification is transmitted to the request A (step S1).
05). If the message board management structure 18 is vacant, a chat request is transmitted to all members (here, responses B and C) in the list of the other party's mobile phone numbers (step S107) and waits for a response until a predetermined time elapses. (Step S109). If the predetermined time has elapsed and the timeout has occurred, a request rejection notification is transmitted to the request A (step S11).
1). On the other hand, if anyone in the list permits the request within a predetermined time (step S113: YES), a request permission notification is transmitted to request A (step S115), and the participant list is registered in the message board management structure 18. (Step S117), the participant list and the message board ID are transmitted to all the participants (Step S11).
9). Then, it is determined whether a request permission has been received from the participant on the way (step S121 in FIG. 10). When the request permission is received from the midway participant, the midway participant is registered in the message board management structure 18 and added to the participant list (step S123), and all the participants are notified of the midway participant (step S125). It returns to step S121.

In step S121, when the request permission from the participant is not received, it is determined whether a message is received (step S127). When the message is received, the message is transmitted to all the participants (step S129), and the process returns to step S121. On the other hand, if no message has been received, it is determined whether a disconnection request has been received (step S131). If the disconnection request has not been received, the process returns to step S121, and if the disconnection request has been received, the disconnection requester sets the message board management structure 1
8 (step S133), and it is determined whether or not the participant list of the message board management structure 18 is empty (step S135). If the participant list is not empty, all members in the participant list are notified of the non-participation of the disconnection requester (step S137), and the process returns to step S121. On the other hand, if the participant list of the message board management structure 18 becomes empty, the chat is disconnected and the message board management structure 18 is released (step S139),
finish.

A more specific description will be given with reference to FIG. For example, when a chat request is made from the request A to the responses B and C, the message board 48 of the responses B and C displays "A has a chat request!". After that chat is established, "Hello ..." For example, from the response B, and the message "Genki?" Is transmitted from the response C, the message is displayed on the message board 48 of each user. Thereafter, for example, when the request A inputs a message "Let's go somewhere", the message is broadcast to the responses B and C and displayed on the message boards 48 of the responses B and C. You can chat in this way.

Next, a charging system of the chat system 10 will be described. First, there are the following (charging units). Packet amount: Charge based on the number of packets transmitted to each other. Communication time: Charge based on the communication time from connection to disconnection. Flat-rate fee for each use of the message board: A fixed amount of message board usage fee is collected each time the message board is used. Monthly flat rate: A flat rate is determined on a monthly basis regardless of the number of times and time, and is collected monthly. In addition, there is the following (method of burden). All participants will be charged equally. The requester bears the full amount. Pay according to the amount of transmitted packets. The burden rate is determined by Equation 1. In this case, the participant who issues more messages (information) becomes cheaper.

[0024]

(Equation 1)

A charging system can be determined by an arbitrary combination of the above (charging unit) and (burden method). According to the chat system 10,
Since a mobile phone number is used as the user ID, there is no need to separately set an ID such as a mail address, and a chat request can be easily made. If there is a chat request from a certain user, the server 12 transmits a chat request to the other user in real time, and, if convenient, can chat with a plurality of desired other users in real time on any topic. In addition, the requesting user has the right to select the participant, and the privacy can be protected, so that the requesting user specifies the chat partner and no other person can participate.

Further, when the other user receives a chat request, if it is inconvenient, it is set to "hold", and if it becomes convenient later, the user can participate in the chat from the middle. It is possible to chat according to circumstances, and the degree of freedom and convenience can be improved. Also, mobile phones 14a to 14c are used as terminals.
Is used, the chat request from the requesting user and the response from the other user can be performed more reliably in real time, and the convenience can be further improved. further,
The possibility of new communication of chatting with the mobile phones 14a to 14c can be expanded. Note that the above-described operation of the chat system 10 may be operated by soft keys. That is, the menu key 44h
The chat function may be called to display the chat procedure on the display unit 46, and the chat system 10 may be operated by operating the cursor keys 44g and the like according to the instruction.
Further, as the terminal of the present invention, not only a mobile phone but also a PHS, an arbitrary portable information terminal, and a fixed telephone can be applied.

[0027]

According to the present invention, if there is a chat request, the server can transmit a chat request to a partner who wants to chat in real time, and can chat with a desired partner in real time if it is convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a server.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a mobile phone.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing an appearance of a mobile phone;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing one example of a format of a packet;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the requesting user.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the responding user.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation on the server side.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an illustrative view showing a specific example of the operation of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 chat system 12 server 14a, 14b, 14c mobile phone 16, 32 control unit 18 message board management structure 20, 34 ROM 22, 36 RAM 24, 38 communication control unit 26, 40 transmission / reception unit 28, 42 antenna 44 input unit 46 Display 48 Message Board

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A chat system for chatting using a plurality of terminals connected to a server, wherein each of the terminals notifies the server of a telephone number of a partner to chat with, when a chat request is made, Means for responding to the server when a chat request is received from the server, means for receiving a participant list from the server,
Means for a participant to input a message, means for transmitting the input message to the server, means for receiving a message from the server, and means for displaying the received message, wherein the server receives a chat request Means for transmitting a chat request to all the other parties who want to chat in response to the chat request, means for transmitting a participant list to all of the participants when the request is permitted, means for receiving a message from the participants, And a means for transmitting the received message to all participants. 2. The terminal further comprises means for joining in the middle of the chat, and the server further comprises means for notifying all the participants of the halfway participant upon receiving a request permission from the middle participant. The chat system according to claim 1. 3. A terminal connected to a server for chatting, a means for notifying the server of a telephone number of a partner to chat with when requesting a chat, and when receiving a chat request from the server. Means for responding to the server, means for receiving a participant list from the server, means for a participant to input a message, means for transmitting the input message to the server, means for receiving a message from the server, and A terminal comprising: means for displaying the received message. 4. The terminal according to claim 3, further comprising means for participating in the chat midway. 5. The terminal according to claim 3, which is used for a mobile phone. 6. A server used for chatting, comprising: means for receiving a chat request; means for transmitting a chat request to all the parties who want to chat in response to the chat request; A server comprising: means for transmitting a participant list to all; means for receiving a message from a participant; and means for transmitting the received message to all the participants. 7. The server according to claim 6, further comprising: means for notifying all the participants of the halfway participant upon receiving a request permission from the halfway participant. 8. A chat method for chatting via a server, wherein, when a chat request is made, a step of notifying the server of the telephone number of the other party with whom the chat is desired, wherein the server has all the other parties who want to chat in response to the chat request Sending a chat request from the server to the server, receiving the chat request from the server, responding to the server, transmitting the result to the requesting side in response to the response from the partner, requesting permission The server sending a participant list to all of the participants when there is, and transmitting a message input by the participant to the server; and the server transmitting the received message to all the participants. , And a participant displays a message received from the server. A chat method with steps. 9. The chat method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of, when participating in the chat on the way, the server notifying all the participants of the way.