JP2002312285A - Electronic greeting card to be transmitted on web - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a service related to an electronic greeting card to be transmitted on Web, with which a transmitter can freely form a screen content to display a desirable message for a receiver to attract the receiver's interest and attention for more comprehension of the receiver. SOLUTION: This greeting card is formed of a first electronic data for displaying a first screen including a banner selected by a transmitter without including a message from the transmitter and a second electronic data for displaying a second screen including the message from the transmitter and to be displayed on the basis of the banner selecting operation by the receiver.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic greeting card transmitted and received on a plurality of connected computer networks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of computer technology, opportunities for providing and collecting information have been increasing in recent years due to the structure of an information network connecting a plurality of electronic information terminals such as the Internet. In particular, various forms that have not been implemented due to the increase in the amount of information transmitted and received on the Web with the development of Web technology, the increase in communication speed, and the enhancement of the performance of electronic mobile terminals such as mobile phones Information is provided.

[0003] Under such circumstances, users not only receive information from a website or transmit information by sending and receiving e-mails between electronic information terminals owned by each user, but also receive information from each user. There is also a service in which the information is transmitted using a service provided on a website, and thereby the electronic information is bidirectionally transmitted between the sender and the receiver.

[0004] As an example of a service for transmitting electronic information that has been conventionally used, there is an electronic greeting card transmitted / received on the Web, which is transmitted from the conventional form of transmission by mail to electronic mail. Have been increasingly seen, and there are many websites that provide electronic greeting cards having various designs and functions.

In an electronic greeting card using an electronic mail, a sender inputs necessary information such as a message from a transmitting terminal after connecting to a website providing the electronic greeting card, and designates an electronic mail address of a receiving destination. By doing so, the e-mail attached with the URL of the website providing the electronic greeting card is transmitted to the specified e-mail address. The electronic greeting card is displayed on the browser of the receiving terminal by displaying the electronic mail on the receiving terminal and connecting to the attached URL.

[0006] Greeting cards have been originally used as communication tools for celebration, seasonal greeting cards and the like, but electronic greeting cards transmitted and received on the Web, for example, receive banner advertisements attached to electronic greeting cards. When a user clicks, there is a service that can read electronic data of any website by hyperlink function and purchase products offered on the website, and provide various services other than just greetings Can be.

[0007]

As described above, in the prior art, the recipient of the electronic greeting card clicks on the banner attached to the first screen of the electronic greeting card displayed on the browser to link to an arbitrary website. Alternatively, electronic data preset on a website that provides an electronic greeting card can be read and displayed on the terminal of the receiver.

However, in the electronic greeting card already provided, when the receiver operates on the screen displayed first and the screens based on the operation information of the receivers are sequentially displayed, the screens sequentially displayed are already displayed. The electronic greeting card is created on the website that provides it, or even if the sender can create it, the characters and images displayed on the screen are limited on the website. There are many options to choose from. Provides a method and service that allows the sender to display a message that the sender wants to convey to the recipient, make the message more understandable to the recipient, and freely create screen contents to increase the interest and attention of the recipient. It is desirable to do.

[0009] In addition to transmitting a sender's message, a link to a website designated by a website that provides an electronic greeting card for transmitting more diverse information from the sender to the recipient. URL
May be displayed on the screen displaying the electronic greeting card, but the recipient may not want to see it or may be linked to a website that does not meet the recipient's intention, and unnecessary line usage fees may be charged. Troubles such as occurrence and leakage of personal information may occur.

[0010]

According to the present invention, first electronic data for displaying a first screen including a banner selected by the sender without including a message from the sender, and a message from the sender. And a second electronic data for displaying a second screen displayed by a recipient's selection operation on the banner.

[0011] In one example of the present invention, a selection operation for selecting one creation screen by selecting a banner displayed on a screen displayed before the creation screen from at least two or more creation screens of the electronic greeting card. Create an electronic greeting card by means,
By adding various functions to the created electronic greeting card, the interest of the recipient and attention to information are increased, and the above-mentioned problem is solved by designating only the URL to be inserted into the electronic greeting card by the sender. .

The recipient is displayed on the first screen by creating a first screen not including the sender's message and a second screen including the sender's message in the transmitted electronic greeting card. The second screen can be displayed based on the received information, and the screen of the electronic greeting card can be sequentially read and displayed on the browser only by the will of the recipient. Next, the receiver compares the screen with the electronic greeting card, which automatically switches the screen regardless of the receiver's will, and displays the second screen displayed based on his / her own will. The message of the person can be recognized more clearly.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a procedure for preparing an electronic greeting card according to the present invention and displaying the first screen of the electronic greeting card on the receiving terminal. First, the transmitting terminal connects to a website that provides an electronic greeting card (S1), and a selection screen for an electronic greeting card creation screen is displayed (S2). On the selection screen, two or more banners are pasted according to the content of the electronic greeting card to be created, and the sender who creates the electronic greeting card can select one of them based on the content and service to be transmitted to the recipient. A creation screen is selected by clicking one banner (S3). A creation screen is displayed (S4), and necessary data is input to a data input unit prepared on the creation screen (S5).

Next, the electronic greeting card created on the creation screen is stored in the web server of the website that provides the electronic data of the electronic greeting card (S6), and the electronic greeting card is displayed on the electronic server on which the URL storing the electronic data is displayed. An e-mail is transmitted from the web server to the destination input on the screen (S7). At this time, a transmission date of the electronic greeting card can be specified on the creation screen, and the electronic greeting card may be transmitted from the web server to a transmission destination on the specified date.

The receiver displays the e-mail on the screen at the receiving terminal and clicks the attached URL, and the electronic data of the first screen is read from the website to the receiving terminal, and the first screen is read. The first screen is displayed by the browser of the receiving terminal (S8).

One banner is selected from one or a plurality of banners displayed on the first screen, and the electronic data of the second screen corresponding to the selected banner is displayed on a screen for reading into the receiving terminal. (S9).

At this time, if the receiver does not perform an operation on the screen that does not select a banner for more than the time set by the sender, a screen with additional selection information is displayed, or Information can also be provided to the recipient by displaying the second screen.

On the second screen, a message of the sender and an image related to the content of the message are displayed, and the receiver recognizes them and, at the same time, hides the URL of the linked website specified by the sender. The electronic data of the designated website can be read by clicking the banner, character, and image that have been set (S1).
0).

Further, a new message may be input to the electronic greeting card and transferred to a plurality of electronic information terminals including the transmitting terminal, and used as an information exchange tool (S11).

FIG. 2 shows an example of a screen for creating an electronic greeting card. The input screen includes a sender's name input section 21, a transmission name input section 22, a sender's e-mail address input section 23, and an e-mail address input section 24 of a transmission destination to be a recipient of the electronic greeting card. The first screen includes an input unit 25 for inputting information that is used as a reference for an operation performed on the receiving terminal to switch the screen from the first screen to the second screen, and a transmission to be displayed on the second screen. Input part 2 of message transmitted from recipient to recipient
6, and a background selection section 27 on the screen are displayed.
The sender creates electronic greeting cards by sequentially inputting necessary items. Input part 2 of the character to be blinked here
8 can also be displayed. At this time, a plurality of options are set by inserting a plurality of banners for switching from the first screen to the second screen, and a plurality of second screens to be displayed according to the options are created. Can also.

Next, FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of the screen of the electronic greeting card displayed on the receiving terminal. FIG.
Is a first screen, which is displayed on the screen with a background 32 and a part thereof, a banner 32 indicating information for changing the screen to the second screen, characters 33 displayed on the banner 32, and other than the banner 32. Character 34 is displayed. When the recipient clicks on the banner 32, the electronic data of the second screen is transmitted from the website providing the electronic greeting card to the receiving terminal.

FIG. 4 shows electronic data of the second screen transmitted from the website displayed on a browser provided in the receiving terminal. On the displayed second screen, a message 45 that the sender wants to convey to the recipient is displayed, and a message image 46 related to the message 45 so that the recipient can effectively recognize the content of the message 45.
Is newly displayed.

Further, on the second screen, a banner 42 in which a URL for moving to a website designated by the sender is hidden is inserted, and banner information 43 expressed by characters displayed on the banner 42 is displayed. By clicking the banner 42 based on the URL, the electronic data of the website specified by the sender can be read. On the first screen,
Not only one banner 32 for switching the screen to the second screen but also two or more banners may be inserted, and a different second screen may be displayed according to the banner selected by the recipient. .

When the recipient opens the first screen of the electronic greeting card, the receipt confirmation information is transmitted to the sender via the web server that transmitted the electronic data of the electronic greeting card to the receiving terminal. You.

At this time, the sender can set in advance conditions for transmitting the reception confirmation information from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal when the electronic greeting card is created. For example, when the receiver displays the electronic data of the electronic greeting card on the browser, the reception confirmation information may be transmitted from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal via the web server. From the time the electronic greeting card is displayed in the browser to the time the acknowledgment information is sent, so that the acknowledgment information is sent after enough time for the recipient to recognize the contents of the electronic greeting card after being displayed in the browser Can be set in the transmitting terminal in advance.

Further, various functions may be provided so that the recipient can view the electronic greeting card with interest and attention. The display format can be set in advance on the electronic greeting card creation screen to attract the recipient's interest, such as the displayed message and banner moving, changing the display color, blinking, etc. Not only the data but also the voice electronic data such as music data can be incorporated into the electronic greeting card.

Next, the procedure for creating the various functions described above will be described. First, FIG. 5 shows a procedure for creating a banner. On a banner creation screen (S51) of a website that provides an electronic greeting card, character information to be displayed in an area other than the banner on the screen is input (S52). The character information to be displayed on the banner is input (S53), and the color of the banner, the font, the color and the size of the character to be displayed, the scroll speed of the character, and the position on the screen where the banner is arranged are designated (S53).
54). The content is confirmed on the preview screen for confirming the setting content (S55).
Move to the banner creation screen to be inserted into the next screen (S5
6).

[0029] The receiver may recognize the electronic greeting card with caution by blinking characters displayed on the screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a procedure for creating a character blinking function is shown in FIG.
In 61), character information is input (S62), the character to be blinked is selected (S63), and the character color and blinking interval (S64) so that the contrast with the surroundings is enhanced when blinking.
Set. By providing this function, the character has a flashing effect, and the receiver can be more effectively impressed with the contents of the character information. The blinking function of character information can be easily set in the blinking function setting section 28 of FIG.

On the other hand, the message of the sender is not limited to image information visually recognized, but may be audio information. By simultaneously adding audio data such as music, the screen is switched when a speaker is connected to the receiving terminal, or a predetermined operation of the receiver on the screen, for example, characters or characters displayed on the screen are displayed. By clicking on the image or moving the mouse, the music is played or switched.

FIG. 7 shows a procedure for creating music data. Display the music data creation screen provided on the website (S
71), the sender himself creates electronic data composed of a combination of music electronic data and applicable sound, or selects music or sound electronic data provided on a website (S72), The sound source data for determining the tone when the electronic data of the sound is played is selected (S
73) After playing back the music or voice electronic data created or selected last and confirming the contents (S74),
Create and select music and voice electronic data to be inserted into the next screen. By providing a function of adding and switching not only image data but also music data and audio data, various information can be provided to the receiver.

Also, a message can be input to the electronic greeting card at the receiving terminal, and the electronic greeting card can be transferred from the receiving terminal to a plurality of terminals including the transmitting terminal. It can also be used as a simple communication tool.

[Second Embodiment] As one embodiment of the present invention, the second screen including the message of the sender not only includes the message from the sender to the receiver, but also includes the message of the sender. Can be used as a means for providing products to recipients. Hereinafter, the procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a connection is made from the transmitting terminal to a website on which an electronic greeting card is provided, and a selection screen for selecting an electronic greeting card creation screen is displayed (S81). On the selection screen, two or more banners describing the content of the creation screen according to the content of the electronic greeting card to be created are pasted, and the sender who edits the electronic greeting card wants to transmit to the recipient One of the banners is selected in consideration of the contents (S82), and the first banner of the electronic greeting card is selected.
Is displayed, and a first screen is created (S
83).

Next, a creation screen for the second screen is displayed (S
84) The sender inserts, into a predetermined portion of the second screen, a URL in which electronic data of a product is stored from an arbitrary website presenting a product to be provided to the recipient together with a message to be transmitted to the recipient. , And other necessary data (S85).

The sender saves the electronic data of the created electronic greeting card on the web server (S8).
6). An e-mail displaying the URL in which the electronic data of the electronic greeting card is stored is transmitted from the website that provides the electronic greeting card to the destination input on the creation screen (S87). At this time, the sender can specify the transmission date of the electronic greeting card on the creation screen, and transmit the electronic greeting card from the website to the destination on the specified date.

Further, the product providing function of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The recipient of the e-mail into which the URL of the web server storing the electronic data of the electronic greeting card is inserted clicks the URL and reads the electronic data of the electronic greeting card into the receiving terminal (S91). Information for the receiver to perform the screen operation is displayed on the first screen, and the receiver performs the operation based on the information to display the second screen (S9).
2). One banner may be attached to the first screen to switch the screen to the second screen, or two or more banners may be attached, and the second banner may be attached according to the banner selected by the recipient. Screens having different screen contents may be displayed. On the second screen, a message from the sender to the recipient is displayed. Not only the message displayed in text but also the first screen is displayed so that the recipient can recognize the message more carefully. The image that was not displayed in the second
Is newly displayed on the screen (S93).

On the second screen, in addition to the message from the sender to the receiver, the URL of the web server where the electronic data of the product is stored is displayed, or the URL is hidden in the banner, Recipient is URL or UR
By clicking on the banner in which L is hidden, the electronic data of the product including the image is displayed on the screen of the receiving terminal (S94). At this time, a banner for the recipient to select whether to receive the product is displayed at the same time. The recipient clicks on the banner to select whether or not to receive the product (S95).

If the receiver has selected to receive the product, an e-mail is sent to the sender notifying the fact that the receiver has selected to receive the product (S96).
At the same time, a bill for payment of the product is sent by e-mail from the web server of the website that provides the product to the sender (S97), and the product is shipped to the recipient (S9).
8). At this time, the sender may set the wrapping paper of the product at the time of creating the second screen in advance. If the receiver selects not to receive the product, only that information is transmitted to the sender (S99).

Further, it is possible to set in advance the conditions for the sender to transmit the reception confirmation information when creating the electronic greeting card. For example, the reception confirmation information may be transmitted from the receiving terminal to the transmitting terminal via the web server when the recipient opens the electronic greeting card, or may be received after the electronic greeting card is opened. The sending terminal must set the time from when the electronic greeting card is opened until the acknowledgment information is sent, so that the acknowledgment information is sent after a sufficient time for the person to recognize the contents of the electronic greeting card. You can also do it.

The displayed message, banner, etc. may not only be displayed, but may be set to a display format that is interesting to the recipient, such as moving, changing the display color, or blinking. Not only text and images but also audio information such as music can be incorporated, the screen switches,
The music may be switched by operating a mouse or the like.

[0042]

As described above, in the electronic greeting card transmitted / received on the web according to the present invention, the recipient switches from the first screen not including the sender's message to the second screen including the sender's message. Switching the screen increases the interest and attention of the recipient for the electronic greeting, and has the advantage that the recipient can more deeply recognize the contents of the electronic greeting card.

Further, the first screen not including the sender's message and the second screen including the sender's message include not only visually recognized information such as a moving image but also music and the like in order to enhance the receiver's attention. By giving information recognized by the auditory sense of the user and switching the information by changing the screen, the message transmitted from the sender to the recipient can be made to be more strongly recognized by the recipient.

In addition, if the sender designates the website to which the electronic greeting card is linked, the receiver may not want to view the website, or may be linked to a website that does not meet the recipient's intention, or may be unnecessary. It is possible to prevent troubles such as generation of a high line usage fee and leakage of personal information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure for creating an electronic greeting card according to the present invention and a process until an operation is performed on a second screen of the electronic greeting card at a receiving terminal.

FIG. 2 is an example of a screen for creating an electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an example of a first screen of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example of a second screen of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a banner creation procedure of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a procedure for creating a character blinking function of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a music data creation procedure of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a procedure for creating a product providing function of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an operation of a product providing function of the electronic greeting card of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21: Input part of sender's name 22: Input part of transmission name 23: Input part of e-mail address of sender 24: Input part of e-mail address of destination 25: Character information input part of first screen 26: Second Message input part of screen 27: Background selection part 43: Banner information 45: Message 46: Message image

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) G10L 21/06 G10L 3/00 S (72) Inventor Shigeki Ozaki 82-14 Kashiwacho, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F term (reference) 5D045 DB10 5D108 CA02 CA04 CA27 CA30 5E501 AC01 BA06 CA08 DA02 EA10 EB05 FA03 FA14 FA32

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. First electronic data for displaying a first screen including a banner selected by the sender without including a message from the sender, and the banner of a recipient including a message from the sender. And a second electronic data for displaying a second screen displayed by a selection operation for the electronic greeting card. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising means for selecting a screen for creating the electronic greeting card by a selection operation on a banner displayed on a screen displayed before the screen for creating the electronic greeting card. greeting card. 3. The electronic greeting card reception confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission terminal of the electronic greeting card includes means for presetting conditions when the reception confirmation electronic data is transmitted. Item 2. The electronic greeting card according to Item 1. 4. The electronic greeting card according to claim 3, wherein the electronic data of the reception confirmation is transmitted when the electronic greeting card is displayed on the receiving side terminal for a predetermined time or more. 5. A creating means for creating one or a plurality of music data or audio data at said transmitting terminal, a selecting means for selecting said music data or said audio data from existing music data or audio data, The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, further comprising an insertion unit that inserts data and the voice data into the electronic greeting card. 6. The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, wherein the music data and the voice data played by switching the screen of the electronic greeting card at the receiving terminal are switched. . 7. A connecting means for connecting from the transmitting terminal to a website providing the electronic greeting card, a generating means for selecting or creating a banner at the transmitting terminal, and a message for the banner at the transmitting terminal. 2. The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, further comprising: input means for inputting a password, and insertion means for inserting the banner into one or a plurality of screens of the electronic greeting card. 8. An input means for inputting a message to said electronic greeting card at said receiving terminal, a reply means for transmitting said electronic greeting card from said receiving terminal to said sender terminal, and The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer unit that transmits the electronic greeting card to a plurality of electronic information terminals. 9. A selecting means for selecting the product at the receiving terminal based on information on the product attached to the electronic greeting card, and selection information for the product at the receiving terminal is transmitted to the transmitting terminal. The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits the electronic greeting card. 10. A transmitting device comprising: setting means for giving a blinking function to characters and images displayed on the electronic greeting card at the transmitting terminal; and setting means for setting the blinking cycle at the transmitting terminal. The electronic greeting card according to claim 1, wherein: 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: setting means for providing a scroll function to said character or image at said transmitting terminal, and setting means for setting said scrolling speed at said transmitting terminal. Electronic greeting card described in. 12. A means for automatically updating the screen when the screen of the electronic greeting card is displayed on the receiving terminal and no operation is performed from the input device of the receiving terminal for a predetermined period of time. Claim 1 characterized by the following:
Electronic greeting card described in.