JP2004302763A - Instant messaging system, instant messaging server, and mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instant messaging system by which one can easily know where a member is. <P>SOLUTION: The IM (instant messaging ) system 10 comprising an IM server 12 and a plurality of mobile terminals a-d connected to the IM server 12 via the Internet 13. The IM server 12 provides a messaging service which exchanges messages among the terminals a-d in real time and a presence service which distributes the present status (presence information) of the terminals a-d. The mobile terminals a-d each is provided with a function which receives location information from GPS information and transmits the location information to the IM server 12. States in which the mobile terminals a-d are connected or not connected to the IM server 12 and the location information of the mobile terminals a-d are distributed as the presence information to the mobile terminals a-d, and displayed on the presence information display screen 22 of the mobile terminals a-d. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an instant messaging system, an instant messaging server used in the system, and a portable terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An instant messaging system is known as a communication tool using the Internet (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). The instant messaging system is connected to a plurality of client terminals in which an instant message client program (hereinafter simply referred to as a client program) is installed, and the client terminals via a communication network, and relays a message transmitted from each client terminal. A server terminal in which an instant message server program (hereinafter simply referred to as a server program) is installed.
[0003]
An e-mail system is widely known as a communication tool that uses the Internet. In the e-mail system, sent mail is stored in the mailbox of the other party on the Internet, and the recipient downloads it from the mailbox. For the first time. On the other hand, in an instant messaging system, a transmitted message is relayed and transferred in real time to a partner terminal. For this reason, the user can enjoy a conversation (message exchange) in real time with a specific partner who has been approved in advance.
[0004]
A user of an instant messaging service (hereinafter referred to as IM service) registers user profile information in the IM server in advance. This profile information includes a mail address, a login password, a handle name, an address, a field of interest, and the like. When a registered user uses the IM service, the client program is started and the server terminal is logged in. The login password is used to authenticate that the user is a registered user when logging in. Used. The handle name is the name of the user used on the net. The address is the name of the prefecture or the name of the city, etc., as reported by the user.
[0005]
Messages are exchanged between members approved by each user. A list of approved members is registered in the client terminal of each user, and the member list is displayed on the operation screen of the client program. The user exchanges messages by selecting a partner from the member list. Also, the IM service includes a presence service that distributes the current status (presence information) such as whether or not a member is logged in to each client terminal, and the presence information of such members is displayed on the operation screen. Is done.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-344200
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As a client terminal, a mobile terminal such as a cellular phone can be used in addition to a personal computer. Some mobile terminals have a location information acquisition function using GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and by using such location information among mobile users, the location of IM service members can be obtained. There was a request to know easily.
[0008]
An object of this invention is to provide the instant messaging system which can know the whereabouts of a member easily.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an instant messaging system of the present invention connects a plurality of client terminals to each of these client terminals via a communication network, and data between the client terminals is connected to each of these client terminals. In an instant messaging system comprising an instant messaging server that provides an instant messaging service comprising a messaging service that relays communication in real time and a presence service that distributes presence information of each client terminal, each client terminal includes the terminal Position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the user, and transmission means for transmitting the obtained position information to the instant messaging server. Over managing server is characterized by distributing to the client terminal the positional information as presence information.
[0010]
The location information distributed to the client terminal is preferably a city name.
[0011]
The instant messaging server of the present invention is connected to a plurality of client terminals via a communication network, and to each of these client terminals, a messaging service for relaying data communication between the client terminals in real time, In an instant messaging server that provides an instant messaging service comprising a presence service that distributes presence information, the location information of each terminal transmitted from each client terminal is received, and this location information is used as presence information to other client terminals. It is characterized by delivering.
[0012]
The mobile terminal of the present invention is connected to a server providing an instant messaging service via a communication network, and is a mobile terminal capable of exchanging messages with other terminals in real time. Information acquisition means, position information transmission means for transmitting the obtained position information to an instant messaging server, and display means for receiving position information of other terminals distributed from the server and displaying the information It is characterized by that.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An IM system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an IM server 12 and a plurality of terminals a to d connected to the IM server 12. Each user A to D using the IM service can connect to the IM server 12 using the terminals a to d and exchange messages between the terminals a to d in real time. Each of the terminals a to d is a mobile phone 11 that is connected to the IM server 12 via the Internet 13 and used as a client terminal that receives the IM service from the IM server 12.
[0014]
The IM service includes a messaging service for exchanging messages and a presence service for distributing presence information. An IM client program is installed on each mobile phone 11, and an IM service server program is installed on the IM server 12. When each user A to D uses the IM service, user registration in the IM server 12 is required in advance, and each user A to D has a profile such as a user ID and a login password via the IM client program. Information is registered in the IM server 12.
[0015]
In order for each of the users A to D to exchange messages with each other, it is necessary to register the other party with whom messages are exchanged in the member list of the IM client program. If they are acquaintances, they know each other's user IDs, and member registration is performed by inputting each other's user IDs. For example, in order for the user C and the user A to exchange messages, the user C registers the user ID of the user A in the member list of the IM client program of the terminal c, while the user A The user ID of user C is registered in the member list of the IM client program. In the IM service, for example, a mail address is used as the user ID.
[0016]
The member list is transmitted to the IM server 12 when the IM client program is started and the IM server 12 is logged in, for example. The IM server 12 refers to this member list and grasps the member registration status of each user. Each of the users A to D is registered as a member, and messages can be exchanged between the users A to D.
[0017]
The operation screen of the IM client program is displayed on the display panel 11 a of each mobile phone 11. The operation screen includes a message display screen 21 and a presence display screen 22. On the message display screen 21, received messages from the other party and messages sent to the other party are sequentially displayed in time series. In the figure, an example in which user C is exchanging messages with user A is shown.
[0018]
The presence service is a service for distributing the presence information (current status) of each member among the members. The presence display screen 22 is a screen for displaying the presence information of each member. The presence information includes the current position of each terminal a to d, in addition to the connection status of whether or not each terminal a to d is logged in to the IM server 12 (online or offline). The mobile phone 11 is provided with a position information acquisition function for acquiring GPS information (position information) including latitude and longitude by communication with the GPS satellite 26. The acquired location information is transmitted to the IM server 12. The IM server 12 determines the corresponding city name from the transmitted position information, and distributes the city name as presence information to each member. Each user can confirm the current position of each member based on the current position information.
[0019]
Of course, since the information about where you are now is information about privacy, it is preferable that each user can arbitrarily set whether or not to disclose the current position information to other members.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the mobile phone 11 and the IM server 12. The mobile phone 11 includes a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, a flash memory 34, an operation unit 35, a display panel 11 a, a microphone 36, a speaker 37, a call / communication unit 38, and a GPS information receiving unit 39. The ROM 33 stores a basic program in which basic processing of the mobile phone such as a control program, a call program, and a communication program is described. The RAM 32 is a working memory for the CPU 31 to execute a program. The CPU 31 controls the operation of the mobile phone 11 by executing the program according to an operation instruction from the operation unit 35. The call / communication unit 38 converts the voice input from the microphone 36 into a radio wave transmitted from the antenna 38a, converts the radio wave received by the antenna 38a and outputs it as a voice from the speaker 37, data Controls sending and receiving.
[0021]
The GPS information receiving unit 39 communicates with the GPS satellite 26 and receives GPS information. The received GPS information is periodically transmitted to the IM server 12 via the call / communication unit 38. The flash memory 34 stores an IM client program. The flash memory 34 is a non-volatile memory that can electrically rewrite data and does not require power supply for data storage and holding operations. The IM client program includes a client program body and setting information such as a member list.
[0022]
The IM server 12 includes a CPU 41, a RAM 43, a storage 44, and a communication interface 45. In addition to the OS (operating system), the storage 44 stores an IM server program, a GPS information / address conversion DB, and the like. The CPU 41 loads the IM server program from the storage 44 into the RAM 43 and executes the IM server program. The IM server program includes a server program body, a user profile information storage file, a presence information storage file, and the like. The GPS information / address conversion DB is a database for converting GPS information transmitted from a client terminal into a city name such as “Shibuya” or “Azabu”.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the profile information of each user is stored in the user profile information storage file. The profile information includes a handle name, a user ID (email address), a login password, and the like. When the IM server 12 receives the connection request from the client terminal, the IM server 12 refers to the user profile information storage file, collates the user ID with the login password, and grants connection permission if they match. As shown in FIG. 3B, presence information of each user is stored in the presence information storage file. This presence information storage file stores the connection status, IP (Internet Protocol) address, current location, and the like of each user, and is updated as needed according to the current status of the client terminal. When this presence information is updated, it is distributed to the client terminal as needed.
[0024]
Hereinafter, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When there is a connection request from the terminal c or the terminal a, the IM server 12 compares the user ID and logon password transmitted from each terminal with the data in the user profile information storage file, and if both match, Give connection permission. At the time of this logon, each terminal c, a transmits a member list and GPS information to the IM server 12. The IM server 12 refers to the GPS information / address conversion DB and converts the GPS information into a city name. When the connection state of each of the terminals a and c changes, or when the current position information changes, the IM server 12 updates the presence information storage file as needed.
[0025]
The transmitted presence information of the member list is distributed to the logged-in terminals a and c. When the presence information is updated, the updated information is distributed as needed. The IM client program of each terminal c, a displays the distributed presence information (connection state, current position) on the presence information display screen 22.
[0026]
Thereby, each user A and C can confirm the connection state and the current position of the registered member. When a member is online, messages can be exchanged between members who are online. When a disconnection request is transmitted from the terminal, the IM server 12 updates the presence information file and distributes the changed presence information to the members. As shown in FIG. 4, when the terminal a logs out, the connection state of the terminal a is distributed to the terminal c that is a member. The terminal c receives this presence information and displays on the presence information display screen 22 that the terminal a is offline.
[0027]
In the above embodiment, the message exchange between registered members and the distribution of presence information have been described as examples of the IM service. However, in the IM system, the member search service is also put into practical use. The member search service is a service that extracts users that match a specified search condition from users registered in the IM server 12. In this case, information such as gender, age, and a field of interest is registered in advance in the user profile information. Then, a search condition such as sex = male, age = 20s, field of interest = music, etc. is input from the client terminal, and this is transmitted to the IM server. Then, the IM server refers to the user profile information and extracts users that match the search condition. Then, the extracted list of users is distributed to the client terminal. A user who has received the extracted list can register the user as a member and exchange messages if approval is obtained from the listed user.
[0028]
If the location information of the IM messaging system is used, this member search service can be further enhanced. That is, by adding location information as a search condition, it is possible to search for a user near the place where the user is currently located. In this case, for example, as a search condition, a city name such as “Shibuya”, “Aoyama”, “Azabu”, or a distance condition such as “within a radius of 3 km from the current position” is input. Furthermore, the extraction range may be limited to registered members. When such a search condition is transmitted to the IM server, the IM server refers to the presence information storage file, extracts users that match the search requirements, and distributes the extracted user list to the client terminal.
[0029]
In the above embodiment, a mobile phone has been described as an example of a client terminal. However, the present invention may be applied to a mobile terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) terminal having a data communication function in addition to a mobile phone.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the instant messaging server receives the location information transmitted from the client terminal, and distributes the location information to the other client terminals as the presence information of the source client terminal. This makes it easy to know where the instant messaging service members are.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an instant messaging system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a mobile phone and an IM server.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a user profile information storage file and a presence information storage file.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a connection sequence between a mobile phone and an IM server.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Instant Messaging System 11 Mobile Phone 12 IM Server 22 Presence Information Display Screen

Claims (4)

A plurality of client terminals, a messaging service connected to each of these client terminals via a communication network, and relaying data communication between the client terminals in real time to the client terminals, and presence information of each client terminal In an instant messaging system comprising an instant messaging server providing an instant messaging service comprising a presence service for delivering
Each client terminal is provided with position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the terminal, and transmission means for transmitting the obtained position information to an instant messaging server. An instant messaging system that distributes information as presence information to a client terminal. 2. The instant messaging system according to claim 1, wherein the location information distributed to the client terminal is a city name. A messaging service that connects to a plurality of client terminals via a communication network, relays data communication between the client terminals in real time to the client terminals, and a presence service that distributes presence information of each client terminal; In an instant messaging server that provides an instant messaging service consisting of
An instant messaging server that receives position information of each terminal transmitted from each client terminal and distributes the position information as presence information to other client terminals. A mobile device that connects to a server that provides an instant messaging service via a communication network and can exchange messages with other devices in real time.
Position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the terminal, position information transmission means for transmitting the obtained position information to the instant messaging server, and position information of other terminals distributed from the server and receiving the information A portable terminal comprising a display means for displaying.

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