JP2003173451A - Character display method and terminal capable of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate customization of a character pattern by a user. <P>SOLUTION: A character receiving part 126 receives character data 118 and item data 120 for changing clothes specific to the day from a server via the Internet 140. A character processing part 108 displays a character on the basis of the character data 118 and receives selection of the item data 120 from the user for changing the clothes of the character for display. The character processing part 108 holds the character in the changed clothes as the character of the day in a storage part 114. A diary processing part 102 displays a calendar by the month for indicating the character stored by the character process part 108 in a column of the corresponding day. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a character display technique. The present invention particularly relates to a character display method for receiving character data from a server and displaying it on the desktop screen of the terminal, and a terminal that can use the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The use of mobile terminals such as personal computers and PDAs, and mobile phones is spreading to women and young people. PCs and other terminals are used not only for business purposes, but also for communication with friends and hobbies.
For applications developed for business purposes, icons and animations are used on the help screen so that operations can be easily learned, and measures have been taken to prevent an allergic reaction to the personal computer. When a character is used for such a help screen, a feeling of familiarity can be provided, the operation can be enjoyed, and the application can be effectively motivated.

In addition, virtual characters often appear in applications such as computer games. Since such a character may hit and the character product may be sold, the effect of the character is not small. Many of the applications that use characters are configured so that the character's face, body shape, and other patterns can be selected according to one's preference, and one of the attractive features is that the user can customize the patterns. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-254352 discloses a game device in which a character appearing in a game can be virtually dressed.

[0004]

However, the characters that can be used in the application are only prepared in advance with specific patterns and parts. Even if the user can customize the characters, the characters can be used only in a predetermined combination. There are many things that cannot be changed. Therefore, the range of selection by the user is limited, and the character used by the user in the application often has a fixed pattern to some extent. When the motivation for changing the character pattern is not strong, the user often continues to use the character once set, and the customizable character is not always effectively used.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a character display technique capable of urging the user to use a wide variety of characters.

[0006]

One aspect of the present invention relates to a character display method. In this method, the character data is distributed to the user terminal on a daily basis, locally stored in association with the corresponding day of the calendar displayed on the screen, and by the display of the calendar, the stored character data corresponds to the corresponding day. Is displayed in the column.

Another aspect of the present invention also relates to a character display method. This method, triggered by the operation of the icon of the character displayed on the desktop screen, receives the daily character data from the server, the step of displaying the daily character data in the daily calendar, and the daily character data. The method includes the steps of locally saving as the character of the day and the step of displaying the saved character on the corresponding day of the monthly calendar. A weekly calendar may be used instead of the monthly calendar.

[0008] A step of receiving and retaining the daily change-over character data from the server, and a step of receiving the selection of the daily change-over data from the user and changing the daily change-out character displayed in the daily turning calendar. Further, the dressed up character may be locally stored as a character of the day.

The image data of the character has a layered structure including a character body and a plurality of items such as hairstyles, accessories, and clothes in terms of the data format. By changing the item for the same character body, Characters having different appearances when displayed are formed. Dress-up data is character item data, and dress-up data is to replace item data included in character data with data of another item.

It is detected whether or not a predetermined number of the daily character data is received and stored locally every month, and if the predetermined number of character data is stored, new dress-up data is downloaded. Allow,
The method may further include the step of adding the downloaded dress-up data to the dress-up data already held locally.

The daily character data has an area for storing a message, and the message area may include information provided by the server. The information provided by this server may be news or advertisement of the day. Information input by the user may be recorded in the message area. This allows the user to use the calendar with characters as a diary.

Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to a terminal.
This terminal is connected to a server, a receiving unit for receiving daily character data, a character processing for displaying the daily character data together with a date, and storing the daily character data as a character of the day according to a user's instruction. And a diary processing unit for displaying the stored character on the corresponding day of the monthly calendar.

The receiving unit receives the dress-up data of the character, and the character processing unit receives a selection of the dress-up data from the user, dresses the displayed character, and changes the dress according to a user's instruction. The data of the obtained character may be saved as the character of the day.

The character processing unit may prohibit or limit the storage of the daily character data in association with a day other than the reception date. The receiving unit may receive the character data other than the daily change, and the character processing unit may store the character data other than the daily change as the character of the date associated with the character data other than the daily change. In addition, saving as characters of dates other than that may be prohibited or restricted. Further, the character processing unit may store the character data other than the daily change as the character of the date designated by the user. For example, regarding character data received from other users via e-mail, you can save it only on the same date that the character data is already associated, and regarding character data downloaded from the server for free or for a fee. Alternatively, the data may be saved on an arbitrary date according to the user's designation. If the character processing unit stores other character data other than the daily special character data, the character data other than the daily special character data is already associated with the date associated with the character data or the date specified by the user. The user may be inquired as to whether or not to overwrite with character data other than the daily change.

A counting unit for counting the number of the stored character data is further included, and when the number of the stored character data satisfies a predetermined condition, the counting unit causes the server to identify the terminal together with identification information of the terminal. You may notify that the said predetermined conditions were satisfy | filled. In response to this notification, the server permits the terminal to download new dress-up data by the CGI (Common Gate Interface) function, and the receiving unit of the terminal receives the new dress-up data. Good.

The daily character data has an area for storing a message, and the character processing unit is
The fact that the information input by the user is recorded is recorded in the message area, and the diary processing section displays the information recorded in the message area when the date of the calendar in the monthly display is clicked. Good.

Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to a computer program. This program is a character that connects to a server and displays a character download function for receiving daily character data and the daily character data together with the date, and saves the daily character data as the character of the day according to a user's instruction. The computer is made to execute the processing function and the diary processing function of displaying the stored character on the corresponding day of the calendar for monthly display.

It should be noted that any combination of the above constituent elements and the present invention expressed as a server, a system, a recording medium, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A character display system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The character display system is a server / client system in which the user terminal 100 and the server 150 are communicably connected via the Internet 140. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the user terminal 100, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the server 150. These configurations can be realized by hardware such as a CPU of a computer and the like by software such as a program having a character display function. Here, they are realized by their cooperation. Drawing a functional block. Therefore, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by combining hardware and software.

The configuration of the user terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The storage unit 114 stores the diary data 116,
The character data 118 and the item data 120 are stored. The character data 118 includes image data of the character body, image data of items such as the character's hairstyle and clothes, and text data such as messages and memos. A plurality of character data 118 are provided for the same character, and the item of each character can be different. The item data 120 is image data of items of types such as a hairstyle, outerwear, innerwear, and shoes of a character, and is used as a sample image displayed in a dress-up window described later. Although the character is displayed in the character viewer described later, the image data of the item actually worn by the character displayed in the character viewer is generally the same as the image data of the item displayed for dressing in the dress-up window. different. The data of the item actually worn by the character belongs to the character data 118 and is distinguished from the image data of the item as the sample image belonging to the item data 120. The item data 120 is managed separately for each type, and a plurality of items can be provided for the same type. The diary data 116 is calendar mount data for each month, and character data is associated with each day's entry. For example, by storing a pointer to the character data 118 in the entry for each day, one character can be associated and stored for that day. The character has a text area for storing messages and memos, and this calendar can be used as a diary.

The character processing unit 108 includes a viewer 110 for browsing the character and an editor 112 for editing the item of the character, and performs processing such as editing, displaying and recording the character.

The diary processing unit 102 displays a calendar to browse a diary with characters.
04 and editor 1 for operating characters of each day
And 06, and performs processing such as diary editing, display, and mail transmission.

The mail processing unit 122 is a diary processing unit 1.
02 or an instruction from the character processing unit 108,
A process of transmitting the mail with the character data 118 attached to another user is performed. The mail processing unit 122 also provides the character data 118 received from another user to the character processing unit 108 to display the character data 118 received from another user.

The purchase processing unit 124 performs a process of purchasing the monthly diary data 116 with the server 150,
The purchased diary data 116 is recorded in the storage unit 114. The character accepting unit 126 connects to the server 150, receives the daily character data 118, and stores it in the storage unit 114. Item collection reception section 1
28 is connected to the server 150 to access the item data 12
A collection of 0s is received, and is recorded in the storage unit 114 separately for each item type.

The totaling unit 130 refers to the diary data 116 to check whether or not the daily character data 118 is registered on every day on a monthly basis, and if the character data 118 is associated with all the days, it is checked. The tabulation result is transmitted to the server 150.

The communication unit 132 connects to the Internet 140, and the mail processing unit 122 and the purchase processing unit 12 are connected.
4, the character receiving unit 126, the item collection receiving unit 128, and the totaling unit 130 exchange data with the server 150.

The configuration of the server 150 will be described with reference to FIG. The user database 160 includes the charge log 16
1, profile 162 and access log 164. The profile 162 is a profile of the user's gender, age, address, etc.
This is data associated with D. The purchase log of the user's diary is recorded in the charging log 161. Access log 1
In 64, a history of the user terminal 100 accessing the server 150 in order to receive the daily character is recorded.

The character database 166 includes character data 168. The character data 168 is daily character data provided to the user terminal 100. The character data 168 includes data such as the character body, hairstyle, clothes, and accessories for the current day, and a sample image when these items are displayed in the dress-up window. And the data of are grouped in one file as a set. When there is a request from the user terminal 100, the character delivery unit 156 refers to the profile 162 and the access log 164 of the user database 160 to check whether or not the character data 168 of the day has been transmitted to the user. , If not sent, character database 1
Read today's character data 168 from 66,
It is transmitted to the user terminal 100. At this time, various items included in the character data 168 are provided to the user terminal 100 as dress-up item data. As a result, the item data for changing clothes is accumulated in the user terminal 100.

Item collection database 172
Includes an access log 174 and item collection data 176. Item collection data 176
Is a collection of items provided to the user terminal 100 when the user collects one month's worth of characters for each month, and the image data of the items actually worn by the character and the display in the dress-up window The image data of the item is collected in one file as a set. The access log 174 is the user terminal 100.
Stores the history of downloading item collections by. When the item collection distribution unit 158 requests the item collection from the user terminal 100,
The profile 162 of the user database 160 and the access log 174 of the item collection database 172 are checked to check the user's access history, and if the specified item collection has not been provided to the user terminal 100, the specified item collection is specified from the item collection database 172. The item collection data 176 is read and provided to the user terminal 100. As described above, the download status of the item collection is monitored on the server 150 side, but as another form, the user terminal 100 can download the item collection as many times as possible, and the item collection requested by the user in the application of the user terminal 100 is displayed. The configuration may be such that it is confirmed whether the data has already been downloaded and the data that has already been downloaded is not saved.

The communication unit 152 connects to the Internet 140, and the charging unit 154 and the character distribution unit 15 are connected.
6, the item collection delivery unit 158 is the user terminal 1
Send and receive data to and from 00.

FIG. 3 shows the daily character data 1 provided to the user terminal 100 and stored in the storage unit 114.
It is a figure explaining the data format of 18. This character data 118 exists as character data 168 in the character database 166 in the server 150. The character data 118 is divided into a header part and a data part. The header part includes header start 180, header length 181, date data 182, client ID 183, WORD type 184, WORD length 1
85, WORD data 186, and end of header 187
including. Character data 11 based on date data 182
8 is identified as the daily character for that date. The client ID 183 is an ID that identifies the user terminal 100 and is encrypted data. WOR
The D type 184, the WORD length 185, and the WORD data 186 specify the message to be provided to the user terminal 100 together with the character. WORD type 1
84 indicates whether the message is normal data or urgent data. The WORD length 185 is the data size of the message, and the WORD data 186 is the content of the message.

The data part has a data length 190 and a data 19
Including 1. The data 191 includes image data of items actually worn by the character and sample images of items displayed in the dress-up window.

The contents of the message stored in the WORD data 186 include information related to the day of delivery of the daily character data, news and advertisements provided by the server 150, and urgent notices from the server 150. The message can be set to either "normal" or "emergency" by designating the WORD type 184. When an urgent message arrives at the user terminal 100, a message button of the character viewer, which will be described later, is displayed in a color different from the normal color in order to distinguish it from the normal message. The WORD data 186 is also used as an area for the user to store a memo.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the data format of the item collection data 176 stored in the item collection database 172 of the server 150. The item collection data 176 is divided into a header part and a data part. The header is header start 21
0, header length 211, date data 212, client ID 213, and header end 214.

The data part has a data length 220 and a data 22.
1 and separator 222. The data 221 includes item image data. A plurality of item data are provided by being separated by the separator 222.

A character display procedure by the character display system having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Note that the screen examples of FIGS. 9 to 21 are appropriately referred to.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the initial process of the character display procedure. When the application is activated, the character icon 12 is displayed on the desktop screen 10 together with today's date as shown in FIG. 9 (S1).
0). Today's date is updated in synchronization with the local clock inside the user terminal 100. Character icon 12
Can be selected and set from several patterns according to the user's preference. When this icon is clicked (Y in S11), it is checked whether or not this is the first access today (S12). If it is the first access (Y in S12), the character reception unit 126 causes the character database of the server 150. By receiving today's daily character data 168 stored in 166,
The character processing unit 108 records the character data 118 and the item data 120 separately in the storage unit 114 (S14). If this is not the first access today (S12
N), the today's character data 118 has already been stored in the storage unit 1.
Since it is held in 14, the character data 11
8 is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the character viewer 14 for browsing and editing the character is activated (S20). The character viewer 14 is activated when the icon 12 of FIG. 9 is clicked, and at this time, the display of the icon 12 disappears. If the icon 12 is not clicked (N of S11), the character viewer 14 is not activated and the display of the icon 12 of FIG. 9 continues.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the character viewer. When the character viewer 14 is activated, the character 16 is displayed in the window of the character viewer 14 as shown in FIG. 10 (S22).
Since today's date is displayed with the character 16,
This window also functions as a day-to-day calendar. A message button 18, a diary button 20, a file button 22, and a close button 24 are provided at the bottom of the window of the character viewer 14, and a predetermined process can be executed by clicking each button. The area where the character 16 is displayed can be operated by clicking.

The character processing unit 108 detects the user's action on the character viewer 14 (S).
24). When the action is the click of the message button 18 (D in S24), the message window 26 displaying the today's message is displayed as shown in FIG. 11, and the information regarding the today's date provided from the server 150 is displayed. In this example, "Today is the sea day" is displayed. Margin area 2 of this message window 26
A user can write a memo or a diary in 8, and the written text data is recorded in the message data 203 of the character data 118. When the above-mentioned urgent message is delivered, the message button 18 is displayed in a color different from the usual color. In this case, by clicking the message button 18, "Due to server maintenance, access will not be possible on December 10th."
The message for emergency contact is displayed. When the close button 30 is clicked (Y in S54), the message window 26 is closed and the process returns to step S22.

If the user's action is a click on the character 16 in step S24 (S2)
4A), it is checked whether or not the clicked place is the outerwear of the character 16 (S26), and if so (Y of S26), the outerwear for trial is selected as shown in FIG. Window 32 is opened,
A list of outerwear is displayed (S30).

The dress-up window 32 is a trial window for users who have not purchased a diary, and tags 34 and 36 are provided for each item type. Tags 34
Only. Other tags 36 include "inner", "bottom", "hair", "shoes", "socks", "face", "other", and "trash", but switching to these tags is not allowed. Can not. When one outer 38 is selected with the outer tag 34 selected, the outer is applied to the character 16 displayed in the character viewer 14 and dressed with the selected outer 38 as shown in FIG. It becomes a state. An arrow button 40 for viewing a list of other outers is provided, but since it is for trial use, it cannot be actually used even if the arrow button 40 is clicked. At this time, it is checked whether the user has registered as a user and has purchased the diary (S28).

If not purchased, a dialog 42 for recommending the purchase of a diary is displayed as shown in FIG. 13 (S5).
6). Within this dialog 42, clicking a button 44 to access details about purchasing a diary will automatically connect to a website where the diary can be purchased. When the close button 46 is pressed, the diary is returned to the original state (Y in S58).

If the clicked position of the character 16 is other than outerwear in step S26 (N in S26), the trial item is not displayed and the process proceeds to step S28 for checking whether or not the trial item has been registered. In the case (N of S28), the dialog 42 recommending the purchase of the diary is displayed (S56). If not registered in this way, dress-up of only outerwear can be executed as a trial, and other dress-ups are limited.

If it is already registered in step S28 (S
28), the character processing unit 108 opens the dress-up window 48 corresponding to the clicked position, as shown in FIG. The dress-up window 48 displays a list of item data 120 stored in the storage unit 114 (S3).
2). In this example, a list of outerwear is displayed. In the field where only the item frame 56 is displayed, an item is newly added when the item collection is downloaded. By operating the scroll bar 50, the item can be browsed by scrolling the screen back and forth. When the user double-clicks and selects one item 54 (S34), the selected item 54 is applied to the character 16 of the character viewer 14 and the dressing state is changed as shown in the same figure (S36), and step S22. Return to.

Similar to the trial dress-up window 32, the dress-up window 48 is provided with tags 34 and 36 for each item type. The tag 34 is the currently displayed “outer”, and the other tags 36 are “inner”, “bottom”, “hair”, “shoes”, “socks”, “face”, “others”, and “others”. There is a trash bin, and you can click these tags to switch to the display of other types of items. Further, in step 32, the tag of the corresponding item type may be selected according to the clicked portion of the character, and a list of the corresponding items may be displayed. For example, when the user clicks on the head of the character, the "hair" tag is selected and a list of hairstyles is displayed. The dress-up item displayed in the dress-up window 48 can also be moved to the “trash can”. As shown in FIG.
Item 55 for changing clothes that you want to move to the "trash"
When the trash can button 52 is clicked while A and 55B are clicked and selected, these items are moved to the "trash can". When the "trash box" tag 37 is clicked, a list of items placed in the "trash box" is displayed as shown in FIG. When the "Restore" button 53 is clicked while the item is clicked and selected on the list screen, the selected item is returned to the original item type window.

FIG. 17 is a display screen of small item items displayed when the "other" tag 35 is clicked. When the user double-clicks and selects one item 57, the item is applied to the character 16 of the character viewer 14. At this time, the image of the item 59 displayed in the character viewer 14 is
The image of the item 57 displayed in the dress-up window 48 is different. Thus, even for the same item, the image of the item displayed for changing clothes in the changing clothes window 48 and the image of the item actually worn by the character 16 are different. User terminal 10
0, the image of the item displayed in the former dress-up window 48 is stored in the storage unit 114 as item data 1
The image of the item worn by the latter character 16 is stored as a part of the character data 118.

When the user's action is the click of the file button 22 in step S24 (S24)
C), as described above, it is checked whether or not it has been registered (S44), and if not registered (N of S44), the process proceeds to step S56. If not registered, the character 16 cannot be saved. If registered (Y in S44), this character 16 may have been sent by mail from another user or newly downloaded as an item collection, as described below.
It is checked whether another character has already been registered on the day corresponding to the diary and the registration is duplicated (S46).
If another character already exists (Y in S46), the user is asked whether or not the character 16 currently displayed in the character viewer 14 may be overwritten (S48). When it is possible to overwrite (Y in S48), the displayed character 16 is recorded in association with the corresponding day in the diary (S50), and the diary viewer 58 is activated (S51). If the user refuses to overwrite (N in S48), the displayed character 16 is not stored in the diary and the process returns to step S22.

The character 16 is first stored in the storage unit 114 by the recording operation by the user using the file button 22.
Recorded in. If the character 16 is received from another user, the date that the character 16 has already been associated with by another user is stored in the data of the character 16, and the recording in the diary is limited to that date. You cannot move to another date. On the other hand, in the case of the character 16 downloaded from the collection box described later, it can be recorded on any date in the diary.

When the user's action is the click of the diary button 20 in step S24 (S24)
B), as described above, it is checked whether or not it is already registered (S40), and if it is not registered (N of S40), the process proceeds to step S56. If registered (Y in S40), the diary viewer 58 is activated as shown in FIG. 18 (S4).
2). The operation of the diary viewer 58 will be described later.

When the user's action is the click of the close button 24 in step S24 (S24)
E), the window of the character viewer 14 is closed (S56), and the process returns to the display step S10 of the character icon 12 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the diary viewer 58. When the diary viewer 58 is activated, a diary is displayed in the window of the diary viewer 58 as shown in FIG. 18 (S60). The calendar of the current month is displayed on the initial screen, and the character 16 saved by the character viewer 14 is displayed on today's date. In addition, on the dates before today, the character 1 that was saved by starting the character viewer 14 on each day
6 is displayed. Since the character 16 is not saved on the day when the character viewer 14 is not activated, only the character silhouette 68 is displayed.

The diary processing section 102 detects the user's action on the diary viewer 58. When the user's action is to select the designated tags 60, 62, 64 of the month (A of S62), it is checked whether or not the diary of the selected month has been purchased (S64). (Y of S64), the process returns to step S60, and the calendar of the month and the character 16 saved in the month are displayed in the same manner. If the diary of the selected month has not been purchased (N of S64), the dialog 42 recommending the purchase of the diary described above is displayed as shown in FIG. 20 (S6).
6) By clicking the close button 46, the process returns to step S60. Even when an unregistered user opens the diary viewer 58, a dialog 42 for recommending the purchase of a diary is displayed as shown in FIG.

In step S62, if the user's action is a click on the character on any day in the diary (B in S62), the window of the diary viewer 58 is closed and terminated (S70), and the character viewer 14 is activated. The clicked character is displayed (S72).

In step S62, when the user clicks an arbitrary date portion of the diary with the mouse (S6
2D), the message and memo of the clicked date are displayed (S80). FIG. 19 shows an example in which the diary 72 of the day is displayed when the user clicks on July 15.

In step S62, when the user selects a character of any day in the diary and right-clicks the mouse or operates a specific key, a menu 74 for operating the selected character is displayed as shown in FIG. It When "Dress Up" 76 is selected from this menu 74, the diary viewer 58 is closed and the character viewer 14 for displaying and editing the selected character is activated, as in the case where the selected character is clicked. Select "Send to a friend" 78 from the menu 74 (S6
2C), the mailer is activated (S74), and the character data 118 of the selected character is attached to the electronic mail (S76). The user sends this mail to another user (S78).

When the close button 66 of the diary viewer 58 is clicked in step S62 (S6
2E), the window of the diary viewer 58 is closed and terminated (S82), and the icon 1 of the character in FIG.
2 is returned to the display step S10.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a character display procedure when the user receives the character data 118 attached to the electronic mail. When the user clicks the attached file of the received e-mail to open the file (S90), it is checked whether the user is the holder of the application for displaying the character (S92).

If the user is not the holder of the application (S
N of 92), a dialog recommending the download of the application is displayed (S96), and the application is downloaded and installed according to the user's instruction (S98). If the user is the holder of the application (Y of S92), this download step is omitted. After that, the character data 118 included in the attached file is stored in the dedicated folder of the application (S100). This dedicated folder is not normally visible to the user, but the character data 118 received by operating the file menu of the application as described later.
Can be displayed.

A character received from another user by e-mail can also be used as the character of the user, and can be replaced with the character of the same day already registered in the diary, or if the character is not registered on that day, another character can be used. The same day character of the user can be registered. Users can also download one item collection by saving the character for all dates in the current month. By clicking the collection box button 67 of the diary viewer 58, it is possible to access a website where item collections can be downloaded. FIG. 22 shows the collection box displayed at that time. The collection box is a collection box in which various items are collected, and the contents of the items cannot be seen by the user until the user clicks the box to open it. In the upper part of the collection box, there are a basic item 80 which is a standard dress-up item collection, a free character 82 which can be used as a character body, and a brand 84 which is a dress-up item collection such as apparel clothes. The box can be freely opened and downloaded when the diary is purchased.

Other boxes 86 can be opened when the user collects all the characters of the current month. In these boxes 86, a collection of items of the type displayed in the boxes is stored. For example, the accessory box is a collection of items such as glasses, hats, handbags, and the anniversary box is the wedding anniversary,
It is a collection of items for special occasions such as birthdays. In addition, boxes for spring, autumn, etc. may be opened only in each season. Each box contains 15 items. Instead of displaying the title indicating the type of item displayed in each box, only the box number may be displayed. In this case, the user can select the box like a game and know the type of item collection when the box is opened.

When the user opens one of the collection boxes, user authentication is performed, all the items in the box are downloaded to the user terminal 100 of the user who has collected characters for one month, and the character data 118 and It is sorted into item data 120 classified by item type and stored in the storage unit 114. When a user who has not collected characters for one month accesses the collection box, a warning that the characters for one month need to be collected is displayed and the download is restricted.

A free character 82 that can be used as a character body as one of item collections.
The flow of processing from downloading to saving in the storage unit 114 will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 25.

When the user selects and downloads the free character 82 in the collection box of FIG. 22,
The free character 82 is stored in the free character dedicated folder in the user terminal 100. This dedicated folder is usually invisible to the user. After the download is completed, as shown in FIG. 23, when the file menu of the application is selected, the "display free character" menu 88 becomes selectable. When this menu 88 is selected, as shown in FIG. 24, a dialog window 9 for designating a date for saving the free character 88 is displayed.
2 is displayed. In this dialog window 92, when the date is designated as December 3 as shown in the figure and the decision button 94 is clicked, the designated 12 is displayed as shown in FIG.
The character viewer 14 is displayed on the date of the third day of the month, and the downloaded free character 88 is displayed.
When the file button 22 of the character viewer 14 is clicked, the displayed free character 88 is sorted into the character data 118 and the item data 120 and stored in the storage unit 114, and is associated with the date specified in the diary. At this time, if the character is already registered on the specified date, that is, on December 3 in this example, a dialog window 96 asking the user whether to overwrite is displayed, and only when the user permits the overwrite. The free character 88 downloaded by replacing the already registered character is registered. After registration in the diary, the diary viewer 58 is displayed again.

Although the download of the free character 88 is limited to once a day, it can be registered on the date designated by the user. On the other hand, in the case of a character received from another user by e-mail, the character has already been associated with a specific date and can be registered only on that date. When the character received by e-mail exists in the dedicated folder, the “display character received by mail” menu 90 can be selected in the file menu of FIG. When this menu 90 is selected, the character viewer 14 is displayed on the date associated with the received character, and the received character is displayed. from then,
For registration operation using the file button 22, inquiring about overwriting, and restarting the diary viewer 58,
This is the same as the case of the free character 88.

The present invention has been described above based on some embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are mere examples, and that various modifications can be made to the combinations of the respective constituent elements and the respective processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. By the way.

As such a modification, the diary and the character product may be packaged and sold, and if the diary is purchased at the diary purchase site, the character product for the current month may be purchased. Character goods are shirts and stationery on which characters are printed,
By offering monthly limited products, it will give motivation to purchase diary.

The diary viewer 58 may be provided with a year selection tag next to the calendar month selection tag so that the calendar for the next year can be displayed. When the tag for the next fiscal year is selected, the calendar mount for the next fiscal year is downloaded from the server 150 and the diary data 116 in the storage unit 114 is downloaded.
Will be updated. Also, when the year changes, the collection box is also updated, the 12 item collections other than the basic items are replaced with new ones, and the user can download the new item collection.

[0069]

According to the present invention, a user can receive daily character data, customize it freely, and save it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a user terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data format of daily character data stored in the storage unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data format of item collection data stored in the item collection database of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an initial process of a character display procedure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a character viewer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a diary viewer.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a character display procedure when a user receives character data attached to an electronic mail.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a desktop screen on which a character icon is displayed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a character display screen by a character viewer.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a message by a character viewer.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a character item selection window.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a dialog recommending the purchase of a diary.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a character item selection window.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an item to be moved is selected in the item selection window of FIG.

16 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an item selected as a movement target in FIG. 15 has moved.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a selection window for another type of item.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a calendar display screen by a diary viewer.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a message by a diary viewer.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a dialog for recommending the purchase of a diary.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a character operation menu.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a collection box in which a collection of items can be downloaded.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a manner of instructing display of a character downloaded from a server.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a dialog for designating a date for registering a character downloaded from a server.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a character downloaded from a server is displayed by a character viewer.

[Explanation of symbols]

14 character viewer, 58 diary viewer, 100 user terminal, 102 diary processing unit, 108 character processing unit, 114 storage unit,
116 diary data, 118 character data, 120 item data, 122 mail processing unit, 124 purchase processing unit, 126 character receiving unit, 128 item collection receiving unit, 130
Totaling unit, 150 servers, 154 Billing unit, 15
6 character distribution unit, 158 item collection distribution unit, 160 user database, 161 billing log, 162 profile, 164 access log, 166 character database, 168
Character data, 172 item collection database, 174 access log, 176 item collection data.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Toru Matsubara             4-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             ー Communication Network Stock Association             In-house (72) Inventor Masafumi Okada             4-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             ー Communication Network Stock Association             In-house (72) Inventor Fumika Mori             4-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             ー Communication Network Stock Association             In-house F-term (reference) 2C001 AA14 CA01 CB01 CB04 CB06                       CB08 CC02                 5B050 AA08 BA12 BA13 CA07 CA08                       EA19 FA02 FA09 FA13 FA19                 5E501 AA02 AC15 BA03 BA17 CA02                       CB09 EA05 EA14 FA04

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. Character data is distributed to a user terminal on a daily basis, locally stored in association with a corresponding day of a calendar displayed on a screen, and the stored character data corresponds to the displayed calendar. A character display method characterized by being displayed in the day column. 2. A step of receiving daily character data from a server and displaying the daily character data in a daily calendar in response to a user operation on a character icon displayed on the screen, and the daily character. A method for displaying a character, comprising: locally storing data as a character of the day; and displaying the saved character on a corresponding day of a monthly calendar. 3. A process of receiving and retaining the daily change-over character's dress-up data from a server, and receiving a selection of the change-over data from a user, and changing the daily-change character displayed in the daily turning calendar. The character display method according to claim 2, further comprising a step, wherein the dressed-up character is locally stored as a character of the day. 4. Detecting whether a predetermined number of the daily character data has been received and stored locally every month, and when the predetermined number of character data is stored, new dress-up data is stored. 4. The character display method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of permitting the download and adding the downloaded dress-up data to the dress-up data already held locally. 5. The character according to claim 2, wherein the daily character data has an area for storing a message, and the message area includes information provided from the server. Display method. 6. A receiving unit connected to a server to receive daily character data, a character for displaying the daily character data together with a date, and a character for storing the daily character data as a character of the day according to a user's instruction. A terminal comprising: a processing unit; and a diary processing unit that displays the stored character on a corresponding day of a monthly calendar. 7. The receiving unit receives the dress-up data of the character, and the character processing unit receives a selection of the dress-up data from a user, dresses the displayed character, and displays the character according to an instruction from the user. The terminal according to claim 6, wherein the data of the character that has been dressed up is stored as the character of the day. 8. The character processing unit limits storage of the daily character data in association with a day other than a reception date.
The terminal described in. 9. The receiving unit receives the character data other than the daily change, and the character processing unit saves the character data other than the daily change as the character of the date associated with the character data other than the daily change. The terminal according to claim 6 or 7. 10. The character receiving unit receives the character data other than the daily change, and the character processing unit saves the character data other than the daily change as a character of a date designated by a user. The terminal according to 7. 11. A counting unit that counts the number of the stored character data, wherein when the number of the stored character data satisfies a predetermined condition, the counting unit causes the server to store The terminal according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the terminal notifies that the predetermined condition is satisfied together with identification information. 12. The daily character data has an area for storing a message, the character processing unit records in the message area that information input by a user is recorded, and the diary processing unit stores the message. The terminal according to claim 6 or 7, wherein when the date of the calendar displayed by month is clicked, the information recorded in the message area is displayed. 13. A character download function of connecting to a server to receive daily character data, displaying the daily character data together with a date, and saving the daily character data as a character of the day according to a user's instruction. A program for causing a computer to execute a character processing function and a diary processing function of displaying the stored character on a corresponding day of a calendar for monthly display.