JP2013088938A - Mail system, apparatus used for the same and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mail system which reproduces animation regardless of a frame for an insertion position, and performs insertion to an arbitrary position in a mail text.SOLUTION: A portable terminal 10 on a transmission side composing a mail system comprises a mail generation function which generates a mail including a GIF image file in a mail text in which an animation program is stored in an extension block of the image file which can be handled by an HTML mail system, and a mail transmission function which transmits the generated mail using the HTML mail system. A portable terminal 10' on a reception side comprises: a mail reception function which receives the mail transmitted from the portable terminal 10; a synthesis function which reads the animation program stored in the extension block of the GIF image file included in the mail text of the received mail and synthesizes animation specified by the read animation program into the mail text; and a function to reproduce the animation synthesized by the synthesis function.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail system and a mobile small communication device such as a mobile terminal (mobile phone) and a program used therefor, and more specifically, a mail technology including flash (Flash) and other animation contents. About.

  Emails using mobile terminals start with simple text only or text-based text with added pictograms, HTML-based or Deco-mail (registered trademark), etc. More colorful and multifunctional information transmission methods have been developed and provided.

  Since simple HTML mail such as Deco-mail (registered trademark) is based on HTML, select an image (pictogram) pre-installed or separately downloaded and stored in the mobile terminal on the sending side, and create a normal mail When the screen shifts to the text editing screen, the selected pictograph is inserted at an arbitrary position on the editing screen. Pictographs are usually created in the GIF format, and some of them are still images, while others are moving images that have a predetermined movement. As a result, an HTML mail sentence in which normal text and pictograms are mixed is created. The receiving mobile terminal that has received this simple HTML mail takes in the text itself described in HTML and displays it on its display screen.

  On the other hand, the flash-based mail accesses a Web site (server) that provides a service, and the user selects a prepared template and registers a destination mail address. In many cases, a message to be sent together with the animation of the selected flash can be added. Specifically, it is performed by inputting characters into a text input area prepared on the Web site.

  When the message is confirmed, the composition engine installed in the server creates an animation prepared as a template and a flash that combines the message, and associates it with user information (user name, user email address, etc.) Store in the storage. Then, based on the transmission instruction from the user, the server sends a URL, which is an Internet address (homepage address) for accessing the flash created and stored in the storage unit, to the destination mail address designated by the user. Create and send an email in the body text.

  The user who has received the mail in which the URL is described opens the received mail, selects the URL described in the body of the mail, accesses the Web site, and reproduces the flash stored in the storage unit of the server. And can see.

  In the above general flash-based emails, the flash animation looks like an attachment and is recorded separately from the body of the email. You will try to play the animation alone.

  Further, the mobile small communication device disclosed in Patent Document 1 can create a flash mail in which a flash animation is incorporated in the mail text. Thus, if the received mobile terminal has a function of reproducing the flash, the flash animation embedded in the received mail can be reproduced without accessing the server.

  The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 prepares a template having a background image as a flash base and an action script (ActionScript) associated with the background image, and the background image has an insertion area composed of an empty movie clip. Keep it. The flash compositing engine installed in the mobile terminal on the transmission side generates an additional movie clip in an empty movie clip and synthesizes the parts (image, text) specified in the additional movie clip. The instance name of the movie clip for addition is assumed to be the instance name of the empty movie clip + _mc. Therefore, the part is made into an object by the movie clip for addition, and the instance name of the object is always the same, so that an effect such as deformation can be added to the part by the action script. The e-mail transmission function implemented in the mobile terminal on the sender side created and sent a send e-mail with the flash created by the flash synthesis engine inserted in the text.

JP 2009-271880 A

  Pictograms used for Deco-mail (registered trademark) can be inserted at any position in the body of the mail, and if the pictogram to be inserted is created by GIF video, the pictogram used at the inserted position Since a predetermined animation in which pictographs change is reproduced, there is an appeal. However, since it only changes at the insertion position of the pictogram, there are few variations of the change. And if the pictograph moves for a certain period of time, it will become a still picture, and if the e-mail text continues to be displayed, it will be the same as the pictograph of the still picture. Furthermore, the movement of the pictogram is also a fixed movement recorded as a moving image GIF file. Therefore, there is a limit to expressing the user's feelings on the transmission side more appropriately, and to tell the other party about the fun and surprise.

  Moreover, since the pictogram is one character of the text, it may be small and difficult to understand the content of the change. This is especially true when the character size setting on the display screen of the receiving mobile terminal is small.

  On the other hand, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, since one piece of sweep data is generated and transmitted on the transmission side, not only the picture moves in a fixed manner like a pictogram but also various programs can be created by including a program. You can play animations of expressions. For example, when a text containing a specific character or a picture (part) is input in a predetermined insertion area, the background image to be combined is changed or the content of the animation to be played is different from the basic one. Can do.

  However, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, a base (template) is prepared, and a user creates swivel data by placing (inputting) data at a predetermined position in the base. Therefore, there is a problem that data cannot be inserted at a free position like a pictograph. Furthermore, since the size is fixed by the prepared base, depending on the size of the display screen of the mobile terminal on the receiving side, for example, the entire screen cannot be reproduced in a state where it can be viewed at a time, and it is difficult to see There is.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the mail system according to the present invention includes: (1) The transmission side device includes the image file in which the animation program is stored in the extended block of the image file that can be handled by the normal mail system in the mail body. An email creation function for creating an email; and an email transmission function for sending the created email using the normal email system. The receiving device receives the mail received from the transmitting device and the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail text of the received mail. It has a function of reading and synthesizing the animation defined by the read animation program into the mail body, and a function of playing back the animation synthesized by the synthesis function. Of course, one or both of the sending side device and the receiving side device are composed of small mobile communication devices such as mobile phones and mobile terminals that perform communication using a wireless line, as well as a personal computer or other wired / wireless line. Any device having various communication functions used may be used.

  That is, at the time of transmission, it is transmitted by a normal mail such as an HTML mail, and the receiving side composes based on it. If the receiving device is a non-compatible device that does not have the combining function, it can be displayed as a normal mail. Since it is composed on the receiving side, the composition function will play and display animation that fits neatly on the display screen if it is composed according to the specifications of the device (screen size (width), character size, etc.) be able to.

  An animation program (for example, flash) can be an animation that changes without being constrained by the frame (stage) of the insertion position of the image file (animated pictogram of the embodiment), and the insertion position can also be set at a free position in the mail text. As a result, it is possible to express more than conventional pictograms, making everyday mail more expressive with the same simple operations as ordinary pictograms. When the animation program is stored in an extended block of an image file (for example, GIF file) that can be handled by a normal mail system (for example, HTML mail), it appears as a GIF image, and mail can be sent and received using the existing mail system. Yes. Therefore, this system can be realized simply by developing a mobile small communication device.

  (2) The image data included in the image file corresponds to the normal mail system, and when a device not compatible with the animation program receives the mail, the image data is read and the mail text is read. It is good to be able to display it. In this way, by including image data that can be understood and displayed by a normal mail system, it is possible to display a mail that can be understood as a normal mail even when the receiving side has no compositing function.

  (3) The animation may be configured to move beyond a frame in which the image file is inserted.

  (4) The image file may be a GIF image file, for example. The GIF image file includes an extension block, and a program or the like can be stored in the extension block. The program stored in the extension block can be handled as an existing GIF image file because it does not affect a device that cannot read the program stored in the extension block.

  (5) The normal mail system may be, for example, HTML mail. HTML is constructed as an existing mail system, and the existing system can be used as it is or can be transmitted to a personal computer or the like.

  (6) It is preferable that the animation program changes an effect of an animation to be reproduced depending on an element existing in the mail text. By doing so, various productions are possible, and the expressive power in e-mail becomes richer. Such a variety of effects can be easily realized by using an action script when an animation program is created in flash.

  (7) The mobile small communication device on the transmission side reads the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail text of the mail created by the mail creation function, and the read animation It is preferable to provide a composition function for synthesizing an animation defined by a program with the mail text and a function for reproducing the animation synthesized by the composition function. In this way, the preview can be displayed before transmission on the transmission side, and the content of the animation to be transmitted can be confirmed.

  (8) A device according to the present invention is a device having a mail communication function corresponding to a normal mail system, and mails the image file in which an animation program is stored in an extended block of the image file that can be handled by the normal mail system. A mail creation function for creating a mail included in the text, and the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail text of the received mail, and an animation defined by the read animation program And a function for reproducing the animation synthesized by the synthesis function.

  (9) The composition function may be composed according to the width of the display screen. For example, if you send an image that was synthesized at the sending device and play it back on the receiving device, the horizontal size and character size will be fixed in the environment of the sending device. It is assumed that the size of the character does not fit into the screen of the side device, or even if the size is enlarged or reduced in order to make it fit. However, by providing the display device with a compositing function, it is possible to compose with a width size and a character size suitable for the environment of the device to be reproduced, so that appropriate display can be performed.

  (10) The image file may be a GIF image file. (11) The normal mail system may be HTML mail.

  (12) The animation program may be configured so that a production of the animation to be reproduced changes depending on an element existing in the mail text. (13) Specifically, for example, the element may be a specific text or a specific image. That is, it can be configured such that the production changes in response to a specific text, or the production changes in response to the presence of a specific image. The effect changes depending on the specific image. For example, images of bees and butterflies fly around in an appropriate locus alone, but if there is an image of a flower, it moves toward the flower or around the flower. There are things that go around. In this case, if the animation of the flower image also changes with the approach of a bee or the like, it can be said that a plurality of changing image files defined in (14) below animate together. In addition, when the child moves within the display screen, for example, if there is an image such as the sun, the animation moves while skipping, the movement speed increases, and rain etc. If there is an image, there is a case where the effect is changed so as to move with the umbrella attached. Furthermore, other elements are not necessarily different types of elements, and there are also elements of the same type. For example, when the number of the same elements satisfies the condition, it is possible to produce different effects.

  (14) Further, the change in the production may be an animation in which a plurality of image files inserted in the mail text are linked together. In an embodiment, the bow and arrow may shoot through the heart and cause a small heart to pop out of the heart.

  (15) In the animation program, the effect may change according to the position on the display screen where the image file is inserted. In the embodiment, when the smiley animated pictogram moves sideways, the moving direction and the face direction change on the left or right side of the screen. In addition to this, when animating a rainbow, there are some that change the direction in which the rainbow extends on the left or right side of the screen. In addition, various forms can be taken such that the effect changes depending on the position in the vertical direction, such as on the upper side instead of the horizontal direction of the screen.

  (16) The animation program may be changed in production when the display screen is touched. The touch on the display screen, like the “!” Mark in the embodiment, recognizes that the image has been touched and changes the touched image, and also touches a place where the image does not exist. In some cases, an image that changes in response to a touch existing in the mail text or the display screen performs a specific animation accompanying the touch. E-mails with rich expressiveness can be configured due to interactive changes with users.

(17) The animation program may be such that the image changes behind or in front of text or other images. Since the image may move out from the place where the image is inserted, in such a case, it may overlap with text in the mail body or another image. In this case, by changing the depth to be displayed, one can be arranged on the near side and shown to the user. Which one is set to the front may be determined for each image, for example, or a default may be determined as described in the embodiment, and only corresponding ones other than the default may be set individually. Further, it may be determined at random each time reproduction is performed or every time composition is performed.
(18) The mobile small communication device may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a mobile communication terminal.

  (19) The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the mobile small communication device described in any of (8) to (18) above.

  According to the present invention, an animation is reproduced without being bound by the frame of the insertion position, and the insertion position can be set at a free position in the mail text. Therefore, a variety of novel mail text can be constructed. Furthermore, it is possible to reproduce in an appropriate state according to display conditions and parameters such as the screen size of the display screen of the mobile terminal to be displayed. Furthermore, it can be distributed using an existing mail system, and the synthesized animation cannot be viewed even on a terminal that does not support the present invention, but can be viewed as a general mail.

It is a figure which shows an example of the mail system to which this invention is applied. (A) is a figure which shows an example of an input screen, (b) is a figure which shows an example of a reproduction | regeneration screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of creation of an animation pictogram and a GIF file which comprises an anime pictogram. It is a figure explaining the example of a display on the receiving side at the time of combining on the transmitting side and the receiving side. It is explanatory drawing which jumps out of a stage (frame) and animates. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a portable terminal (cellular phone). It is a flowchart which shows a series of processing functions until it transmits / receives transmission / reception of animation pictogram mail, and reproduces | regenerates animation pictogram mail with the receiving portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the production procedure of an animation pictogram mail. It is a flowchart which shows the algorithm of a synthetic | combination process. It is a figure which shows an example of the display by the receiving side from the preview display of the produced animation pictogram mail. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes. It is a figure explaining the animation pictograph in which production changes.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overview of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the HTML mail 2 is created by the mobile terminal 10 on the transmission side. This HTML mail 2 is a mail that can be transmitted / received and displayed on an existing mobile terminal or the like in which a conventional pictograph or picture such as Decome (registered trademark) is inserted at an appropriate position in the mail text. (Hereinafter referred to as “general mail” in this specification) and pictograms including animation material stored in the memory of the mobile terminal (hereinafter referred to as “animation pictograms” in this specification) There is mail (hereinafter referred to as “animation pictogram mail” in the present specification) included in an appropriate position.

  The outline of the anime pictogram mail according to the present embodiment will be described. When an anime pictogram is included in the mail text, the text is synthesized into one flash data and displayed. In other words, the animation pictogram is incorporated with a program that complies with the flash rules, and is configured to perform appropriate changes and operations as a desired animation in accordance with the incorporated program. The animation starts to move beyond the frame (stage frame) into which the animated pictogram is inserted, combined with the fact that the text is combined into one flash data.

  The flash is content published on a website on the Internet or a tool (application program) for creating the content. In this specification, the content is referred to as flash. This flash can not only insert image data such as illustrations / photographs and text input, but can also process input data from the user with a program called an action script. As a result, the flash can constitute dynamic content such as vector graphics animation, interactive content such as navigation buttons, input forms, and games that can be operated by the user. In relation to the present invention, an animation material that performs a predetermined operation is created by flash, and an animation that performs a predetermined movement alone is made. In addition, a variety of animations can be played back by incorporating a program that collaborates with other animation materials, or creates special animations when text or other animation materials meet certain conditions. .

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), animated pictograms a1, a2,... Are inserted at arbitrary positions in the mail text input / edit screen G1. The anime pictogram a1 is a petal image inserted in the first line of the mail text, the anime pictogram a2 is a human face, and the anime pictogram a3 is an image of a heart mark. Similar to general pictograms, each is displayed as the size of one character of text, can be inserted at any position in the mail body, and can be mixed with the text.

  The animated pictograms a1 to a3 and the like are associated with a program for performing a predetermined animation, and the program (flash data) is called to synthesize the text mail body and reproduce it. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the reproduced animation is based on the petal anime pictogram a1, and on the display screen G1, the petal (sakura) anime element a1 ′ flutters down in the display screen G1, It stops at the lower end of the display screen G1, jumps out from the position where the human animation element a2 'is inserted, moves along the text line while walking, or the animation element a3' of the heart symbol expands Or an animation where a small heart pops out as an arrow sticks. Both move beyond the frame of the emoji. In addition, the animation elements can move independently in the display screen according to the predetermined rules (from top to bottom, the inserted line is moved horizontally, the screen is moved along the predetermined trajectory, etc.) or jointly with other anime elements. Or work. Detailed functions will be described later.

  As described above, the animated pictogram mail is composed of a sweep file made up of flash data. However, the sweep file (flash data) cannot be directly inserted into the mail text transmitted and received by the existing mail system. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the following has been devised so that transmission and reception can be performed using an existing mail system.

  That is, pictograms used in the current mail system are created as GIF files. Since this GIF file has image data, image data constituting a conventional pictogram is incorporated as such image data. The GIF file has an extension area (extension block) and can embed arbitrary data. The data stored in the extension block does not affect the display of the GIF image data. Therefore, the sweep file or the like is stored in the extended block of the GIF file.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the person who creates the animated pictogram creates the original animation data with the SWEF 3a and uses the authoring tool 3c to create the animated pictogram GIF file 3d (GIF file format). Embed the sweep data in the extension block. Further, the normal HTML GIF image 3b and the property information are also stored in the GIF image storage area and the extension block of the animated pictogram GIF file 3d by the authoring tool 3c. As a result, animation pictograms can be handled as GIF files in appearance, so they can be sent and received with existing mail systems, and since GIF images are registered, even mobile terminals that do not support anime pictogram mail contain normal pictograms in general. Can be displayed as email.

  In addition, since it is registered in the extended block of the GIF file as described above, the animation data is displayed by extracting the sweep data from the GIF file by the flash synthesis engine at the time of synthesis and synthesizing it with the mail body. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 10 on the transmission side also uses the same flash composition engine to extract the swivel data from the GIF file before transmission and synthesize it into the mail body. You can preview the anime pictogram mail you created.

  Thereby, the animated pictogram mail can be created and saved in the HTML mail format including the GIF file. Therefore, anime pictogram mail can be transmitted and received using an existing mail transmission system. That is, the mobile terminal 10 on the transmission side transmits in the HTML mail format. If the mobile terminal 10 'on the receiving side is compatible with anime pictogram mail, after receiving the mail in the HTML mail format, the received mobile terminal 10' analyzes the received mail to determine whether it is an anime pictogram mail. If it is determined that the mail is an anime pictogram mail, the flash synthesizing means (flash synthesizing engine) installed in the mobile terminal 10 'on the receiving side reads the flash data stored in the extension block, synthesizes it into the mail text, and performs a swivel. Create a file and display it. Thereby, the animation material included in the anime pictogram performs a predetermined animation operation defined by the program.

  Since the synthesizing process is performed by the mobile terminal 10 ′ on the receiving side, display according to the environment of the receiver can be performed. That is, the flash compositing engine creates a sweep file based on the screen width size and character size of the display screen of the mobile terminal 10 ′ on the receiving side. For example, when an anime pictogram mail as shown in FIG. 4A is created, if it is synthesized and previewed by the mobile terminal 10 on the transmission side, an appropriate width for the mobile terminal on the transmission side as shown in FIG. A swipe file composed of size and character size is synthesized and displayed. When this synthesized image is transmitted as it is, received by the receiving mobile terminal 10 ', and displayed on a horizontal screen, it does not fit on the screen as shown in FIG. Moreover, even if it expands so that it may fit, a character will also be expanded and usability will be impaired. On the other hand, when combining on the receiving side, as shown in FIG. 4C, since it can be combined with the size of the width of the screen and the size of characters in the environment on the receiving side, appropriate display can be performed.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram for explaining a pictograph inserted into the stage (frame) S and an animated pictograph that jumps out of the stage (frame) and moves within the display screen G1. FIG. 5A shows a state in which a butterfly pictogram is input to the stage S of 20 dots vertically and 20 dots horizontally in the center of the display screen G1. The flash data (program) embedded in the emoji animation recognizes the position of the top and bottom and left and right edges of the display screen based on, for example, the butterfly pictogram moving around the stage S along the trajectory at 8. If the action script is described so that it moves along a path that fits within the screen, when this animated pictogram is played, the position of the vertical / horizontal ends from the screen size of the display screen G1 and the insertion position of the stage is determined. Recognize and move along a path that fits within the screen. As is apparent from the figure, the butterfly pictogram jumps out of the stage (frame) S and is animated. When displaying on a mobile terminal having a different screen size, if the screen size to be displayed is changed, a trajectory that moves to the end of each side is taken according to the screen size. Therefore, a butterfly pictogram does not jump out of the display screen G1 and disappear from the display screen G1 on a mobile terminal of any screen size.

  FIG. 5B shows an example of application / expansion to a so-called picture. In conventional general mail, there is an image called a picture of an arbitrary size that is not related to the character size, unlike a pictograph. This picture can also be inserted at an arbitrary position in the body of the mail in the same manner as a pictograph of a different size, and a desired moving image is reproduced at the inserted position. Therefore, together with the images constituting the picture, a swif file for performing a predetermined animation is stored in the GIF extension block, and when reproducing, the desired animation is jumped out of the stage S in which the picture is inserted. It is also possible to apply. In this way, what associates predetermined sweep data with a picture can be proved as an animation picture, but the animation pictogram (in a broad sense) of the present invention includes such an animation picture.

  Also, if the received mobile terminal is a model that does not support animated pictogram mail, the data stored in the GIF extension block cannot be read and synthesized, but is displayed as general HTML mail.

  In this way, if the mobile terminal 10 on the transmitting side transmits a mail in a format that understands backward compatibility (html) and can be synthesized in the mobile terminal 10 ′ on the receiving side, it is created as a sweep and pictograms are linked first. Moves without being caught by the position where the anime pictogram is inserted.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 10 (10 ′). As shown in the figure, an input unit 11, a display unit 12 including a liquid crystal display, a communication interface 13, a memory 14, and a control unit 15 are provided. The input unit 11 is an operation unit (man-machine interface) exposed on the surface of the mobile terminal when using a dial key (also used for character input), a cursor key, various function keys, etc., or a touch adopted by a smartphone or the like. Screen. The communication interface 13 has a function of communicating with a mobile phone base station and connecting to a public network or connecting to the Internet. In relation to the present embodiment, the memory 14 stores and holds data related to animated pictograms acquired by preinstallation or download, and is configured by an internal nonvolatile memory, an external nonvolatile memory such as a micro SD, or the like. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the control unit 15 includes a flash synthesis engine 15a, a flash player 15b, a mail function 15c, a communication control unit 15d, and a user interface unit in relation to the present embodiment. 15e.

  The flash composition engine 15a receives an HTML mail body (vMessage or eml) from the mail application, reads the flash data associated with the animated pictogram included in the mail body, synthesizes it into the mail body, and creates a swif file. (Flash: Vector graphic controlled by action script).

  The flash player 15b is a player that plays a flash. Further, the communication control unit 15d cooperates with the communication interface 13 and communicates with a communication station. The flash player 15b and the communication control unit 15d are basically the same as those conventionally incorporated in a portable terminal. The mail function 15c has the same functions for creating and sending / receiving basic mail as before.

  Next, the function of the control unit 15 will be described using a specific processing procedure as an example. FIG. 7 shows a series of processes from creation of an anime pictogram mail to transmission / reception until playback of the anime pictogram mail on the receiving mobile terminal. First, the control unit 15 (mail function 15c) of the transmitting-side mobile terminal 10 creates a mail based on the information input from the input unit 11 (S1). In this embodiment, since the creation of an anime pictogram mail, an email is created using text and an image file containing an animation program (animated material) (for example, a “GIF image file containing sweep data” (an anime pictogram)) as appropriate. To do. The e-mail body to be created may include an image that does not include an animation material (such as a normal GIF image or JPEG image data), or may include text decorations in HTML.

  For example, when the control unit 15 receives activation of the “mail” function according to an instruction from the input unit 11, the control unit 15 displays the menu screen shown in FIG. When receiving the selection of “4. New mail” from the input unit 11, the control unit 15 displays a mail creation screen shown in FIG. 8B on the display unit 12. The mail creation screen has a layout in which a destination input area R1, a subject input area R2, and a text input area R3 are prepared in order from the top. Similarly to the normal mail input operation, the input unit 11 is operated to activate the text input area R3 (in a state where input / editing is possible).

  As shown in FIG. 8C, the control unit 15 displays a text input key composed of a touch screen arranged on the display unit 11 as shown in FIG. ) And the text is displayed in the body text input area R3 based on the input information from the text input key (for example, “Ohayo-yo” is input in FIG. 8C). ), And the anime pictogram displayed in the anime pictogram selection area R4 is inserted and displayed at a predetermined position (for example, in FIG. 8D, the anime pictogram of the heart symbol is inserted next to the text “Ohayo!”) Have been). As shown in FIG. 8 (d), the list of animated pictograms displayed in the animated pictogram selection area R4 and the operation of selecting it and inserting it into the mail body are the same settings as the conventional pictogram insertion. Yes. As a result, the user can create an animated pictogram mail with the same operation as that for creating a general mail, and there is no sense of incongruity in operability. In the example of FIG. 8D, only one heart mark is displayed as an animated pictogram for convenience of explanation in the animated pictogram selection area R4, but the animation stored in the mobile terminal is displayed in the area R4. The entire list of pictograms (the number that can be displayed at one time) is displayed. This animation pictogram selection area R4 is the same as, for example, when a conventional general mail is created, a list of moving images in which pictograms change within a frame inserted with a still picture is switched by pressing a predetermined selection button (key). Display by the mechanism of. For example, every time the predetermined selection button (key) is pressed once in the mail text input screen, “a list of pictograms by a general GIF still image” → “a list of pictograms by a general GIF movie” → “anime pictograms” ”→“ List of pictographs of general GIF still images ”→...

  Text input (including correction / deletion) and input of animated pictograms are repeated as appropriate, and when the input of the mail body is completed (the body is confirmed), the user presses a preview button as shown in FIG. When the control unit 15 detects that the preview button is pressed (touching the corresponding area on the screen), the control unit 15 passes the information of the mail text (described in HTML) to the flash synthesis engine 15a. The flash composition engine 15a analyzes the received mail body and determines whether it is an anime pictogram mail. In the case of an anime pictogram mail, the flash composition engine 15a performs a compositing process based on the anime pictogram program to create a flash (S2), An animation pictogram mail (animation mail) composed of the created flash is displayed as a preview (S3).

  Specifically, the composition process of process step S2 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, first, the control unit 15 acquires the mail body data created by the mail function 15c and analyzes the mail body data (S11). Specifically, HTML is extracted and image data is extracted.

  The control unit 15 performs HTML analysis on the extracted HTML data. In terms of the relationship with the present invention, specifically, information analysis on text is performed. This analysis is the same as the analysis performed prior to displaying the mail text in, for example, a conventional general mail.

  In addition, the control unit 15 analyzes the image data one by one with respect to the image data existing in the mail text. That is, the control unit 15 determines whether or not an animation program (flash data) is included in the extended block of the image (here, GIF image) file (S14). If not included, normal image data is used (S15). If included, an animation program is extracted from the extended block and used (S16). Regarding the use of normal image data, a GIF image is displayed at the place of the input stage (frame) as in the case of conventional general mail.

  When the HTML analysis and the analysis of all the image data are completed, the flash composition engine 15a performs animation mail data conversion processing (S17). That is, the flash compositing engine 15a acquires parameters such as the dimensions (screen size) of the display unit 12 and the font size of characters to be displayed, and each element (text, image, etc.) so as to obtain an appropriate display mode according to the parameters. Is created and flash data (animation mail data) is created by synthesizing text and the like with animation pictograms that perform a predetermined animation operation defined by the animation program.

  The sweep data generated by the synthesis is previewed on the display unit 12 by the flash player 15b. As an example of this preview display, as shown in FIG. 10A, for example, a heart mark inserted as an animated pictogram is animated beyond the stage (frame) of the inserted one character (heart like a heartbeat). Is becoming larger and smaller, and a small heart pops out (spreads) around it.

  The user confirms the preview display, and if the content is acceptable, the user performs transmission processing. In other words, the mail function 15b executes normal HTML mail transmission processing, and transmits the subject, the mail text, etc. to the destination address input in the destination input area R1 according to a predetermined protocol (S4). The mail text to be transmitted at this time is not the flash data displayed in the preview, but the HTML pictorial data in which the animated pictograph is stored in the extended block of the GIF image and visually treated as a GIF file.

  On the other hand, the receiving side mobile terminal 10 'receives the HLML mail by the mail function 15b (S5). Then, the control unit 15 of the mobile terminal 10 ′ on the receiving side determines whether or not the received HTML mail is an animation pictogram mail, that is, an image including an animation program in the mail body (for example, a GIF in which flash data is stored in an expansion block) Image) is included (S6). If not included, the HTML is analyzed by normal mail processing, and the mail text including text and general pictographs is displayed (S9).

  On the other hand, in the case of animation pictogram mail (S6 is Yes), the composition process is executed (S7), and the created sweep data is displayed on the display unit 12 by the flash player 15b (S8). The synthesizing process in the above processing step S7 is realized by the same processing algorithm as the synthesizing process in the processing step S2.

  Thereby, in the mobile terminal 10 ′ on the receiving side, for example, as shown in FIG. 10B, the heart mark inserted as an animation pictogram exceeds the stage (frame) of the inserted one character (animated heart). The heart grows and becomes small like a heartbeat, and a small heart pops out (spreads) around it. The swivel data to be displayed on the receiving mobile terminal 10 'is stored in accordance with the parameters (screen size, character size, etc.) of the mobile terminal 10' by the flash synthesis engine 15a of the receiving mobile terminal 10 '. Since it was created, an animation mail is displayed according to the screen size and character size of the receiving side.

  When the receiving mobile terminal is a conventional mobile terminal that does not support anime pictogram mail, the GIF image is displayed as a normal pictogram (still within the inserted frame) as shown in FIG. . This makes it possible for the sending side to create and send anime pictogram mail without worrying about whether the receiving side is a mobile terminal that supports anime pictogram mail or not, and a special mail system that supports anime pictograms・ Email can be sent using an existing mail system without creating an environment.

  Next, a specific program (algorithm) incorporated in the anime pictogram will be described. The animation pictogram of this embodiment can be produced in various ways by using an action script. To be specific, it recognizes the horizontal and vertical widths of the screen and changes the production of pictograms (for example, moves to the edge of the screen, where the movement changes (stops / changes the direction of movement (inverts)) or displays an animation to be displayed. There are things that change the depth of the text and display it on the front or back of text or other pictograms, or operate in conjunction with other pictograms. The production may change interactively depending on the keyword in the mail text, the production may change depending on the insertion position of the pictogram, or the touch may start to move interactively. You may want to put it on or make it a pictograph that reads out the text.

[Emoji that changes production in cooperation with other emoji]
FIG. 11 shows a specific example of a pictograph whose presentation changes in cooperation with another pictograph. FIG. 11A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8D (transition from the text creation screen (text input)). As shown in FIG. 11A, in the anime pictogram selection region R4, an anime pictogram with a heart symbol and an anime pictogram with a bow and arrow are listed. In this state, if an animated pictogram of a bow and arrow is inserted after the character “Ohayo” and displayed as a preview, only the animated pictogram of a bow and arrow exists in the mail body as shown in FIG. 11B. So it becomes a single animation playback. Here, the zooming operation is performed, and the robot tilts obliquely while popping out of the stage (frame).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11C, in addition to the bow and arrow anime pictogram, there is also a heart mark anime pictogram, so the flash compositing engine 15a synthesizes the two anime pictograms into a coordinated animation. . Specifically, the animation is a coordinated animation in which an arrow is released from a bow and arrow, the arrow shoots out a heart, and then a heart pops out (a small heart pops out from the heart) (see FIG. 11D). ).

  In addition to this, for example, butterfly pictograms fly around flower pictograms or when there are multiple flower pictograms, each flower pictogram is moved in order. It would be good if

  FIG. 12 shows a specific algorithm for performing such linked animation. As shown in FIG. 12, when receiving the mail body data including the bow and arrow and the animated pictograph of the heart, the control unit 15 performs the combining process of processing steps S2 and S7. Then, since the flash composition engine 15a names each element, for example, “_body_aej1” is set as the instance name for the bow and arrow animation pictogram element, and the instance for the heart animation pictogram element. Set "_body_aej2" as the name.

  The linked pictogram accesses this named MovieClip by the action script and searches the property information of other pictograms, thereby specifying the presence and coordinates of other pictograms and changing the production. The property name is described in the action script. For example, the property name (identifier) of the bow and arrow animation pictogram is “bow”, and the property name (identifier) of the heart animation pictogram element is “heart”. .

  In other words, if there is a heart pictogram (property name is “heart”), the program that performs the animation associated with the bow and arrow animation pictogram performs a specific animation such as shooting out the above-described heart, and When there is no pictogram, it is set to play a single animation. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 12, the named element is searched to determine whether or not there is an element having the property name “heart”. When there is no property name “heart” as a result of searching for all elements, a normal single animation is played (FIG. 11B), and a property name “heart” is detected. If so, the coordinates of the pictograph whose property name is “heart” are specified in order to perform a specific animation, and an animation in which an arrow is moved toward that is reproduced.

[Emoji that changes in response to text]
FIG. 13 shows a specific example of a pictograph whose presentation changes in response to the text. FIG. 13A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8D (transition from the text creation screen (text input)). In the process using the body creation screen (text input) before the transition to FIG. As shown in FIG. 13A, the animated pictograms of office workers are listed in the animated pictogram selection area R4. In this state, when the office worker's animated pictogram is inserted next to the character "Thank you" and previewed, only the office worker's animated pictogram exists in the mail body as shown in FIG. The animation will be played. Here, the face is changed from a front face to a landscape image and enlarged to pop out of the stage (frame). Furthermore, the line in which the text is input is moved. That is, it moves in the horizontal direction while walking. Depending on the program to be implemented, for example, various animations such as moving a part of text back and forth at a constant speed and moving the inserted line back and forth from end to end of the display screen with or without text Is played.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13C, it is assumed that the input screen changes to a body creation screen (text input) and the text “It was fun drinking yesterday” was input. Then, if there is a text that reacts (for example, “Drinking party”), the program embedded in this anime pictogram of the office worker circulates around a specific animation (text that responds while drunk (drinking party)) 13), the flash composition engine 15a receives the preview instruction in the state of FIG. 13 (c), and the flash composition engine 15a is a text that reacts in the mail body. "Meeting" is detected, and synthesis is performed so that a specific text reaction animation is reproduced, and accordingly, a preview display for reproducing the specific animation is performed (see FIG. 13D).

  FIG. 14 shows a specific algorithm for performing such linked animation. As shown in FIG. 14, when the control unit 15 receives mail body data including “sampling party” in the pictograph and body text of the office worker, the control unit 15 performs the synthesis process of processing steps S2 and S7. Then, the flash compositing engine 15a names each element at the time of compositing, generates a TextField with an instance name “_body_txt #”, and sets text data therein. Therefore, for example, “_body_txt1” is set as the instance name for the text “Thank you” and text data “Thank you” is set in the TextField. Similarly, “_body_txt2” is set as an instance name for the text “It was fun drinking yesterday”, and text data “It was fun drinking yesterday” is set in the TextField.

  An animated pictogram that reacts to text (for example, an animated pictogram of a salaryman) accesses this named TextFiled by an action script, specifies the presence or absence of the text to react, and coordinates of the text if it exists, and the production changes.

[Emoji whose effect changes depending on screen coordinates]
15 and 16 show specific examples of pictographs whose effects vary depending on the screen coordinates. FIG. 15A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. On this body creation screen (text input), the control unit 15 (mail function 15b) receives an instruction from the input unit and inputs the text “How are you? Next, the screen is switched to a text creation screen (image input) shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15B, smiley anime pictograms are listed in the anime pictogram selection area R4. In this state, a smiley anime pictogram is inserted after the text “How are you? In the setting of the screen size character size of the display screen, the inserted pictogram is arranged on the right side of the screen. When a preview display is instructed in this state, an animation (for example, a smiley emoticon starts to move to the left side when facing) is reproduced when the position of the inserted anime pictogram is arranged on the right side of the screen (FIG. 15C). reference).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, the text “Suddenly, is it open tomorrow? Let's drink” is input (FIG. 16A), and then a smiley animated pictogram is inserted (FIG. 16B). Then, in the setting of the screen size character size of the display screen, the inserted pictogram is arranged on the left side of the screen. When a preview display is instructed in this state, an animation when the inserted pictogram is arranged on the left side of the screen (for example, a smiley pictogram starts to move to the right side while turning right) is played back. In FIG. 16C, the animation when it is arranged on the left side of the screen is played back, but even the mail body consisting of the same text and animated pictograms depends on the parameters (screen size, character size) of the mobile terminal to be played back. When the smiley anime pictogram is placed on the right side of the screen, the animation when the position of the inserted anime pictograph is placed on the right side of the screen (for example, the smiley pictogram turns to the left and moves to the left side) is played. Become. In addition, when the screen position of the smiley animated pictogram is changed by adding / deleting text and changing the number of characters from the states shown in FIGS. 15B and 16B, the animation to be reproduced also changes.

  FIG. 17 shows a specific algorithm for performing an animation in which the effect changes depending on the screen coordinates. As shown in FIG. 17, when receiving the mail body data including the smiley pictogram, the control unit 15 performs the combining process of processing steps S2 and S7. Then, the flash synthesis engine 15a names each element at the time of synthesis. In relation to the screen coordinates, the animated pictograms inserted in the text are placed on the screen depending on the input text length, image size, character size setting, and displayed screen size. It changes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, “_body” is set as the instance name in the background of the mail body in which text or animated pictograms are inserted.

  The effect of the pictogram changes depending on the screen coordinates by acquiring its own coordinates during playback by using an action script. In other words, the program associated with the anime pictogram specifies the MovieClip that is the background of the text named “_body”, and the coordinates of the pictogram seen from “_body” in the text area, or the text area viewed from the pictogram. The coordinates are acquired, and the effect is changed according to the arrangement location. In the case of the smiley pictogram shown in the figure, as shown in FIG. 17, the named MovieClip “_body” is searched to obtain the coordinates of the right end and the left end of “_body” as seen from the pictogram, and the distance between the right end and the left end is obtained. Determine which is shorter and play the animation when it is placed on the shorter side.

[Emoji whose direction changes depending on the touch event]
FIG. 19 shows a specific example of a pictograph whose presentation changes depending on the touch event. FIG. 19A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8D (transition from the text creation screen (text input)). In the process using the body creation screen (text input) before the transition to FIG. 19A, the text “Thank you” is input. As shown in FIG. 19A, the anime pictogram selection area R4 has a! Mark's animated pictograms are listed.

  In this state, next to the word “Thank you”! Insert the mark's animated pictogram and display the preview, then in the email text as shown in Fig. 19 (b)! Mark's animated emoji is usually an animation. In this normal animation, for example, “!” Is stretched up and down in the state of standing upright, or scaled up and down in the width direction. When a pictograph is touched during display (see FIG. 19C), an animation when touched is executed (see FIG. 19D). The animation when touched is a large movement, a conspicuous movement compared to the normal animation, for example, “!” Tilts, becomes larger, blinks, or increases the number of “!” A flashy movement is recommended. In addition, depending on the type and form of the pictogram, the movement can be started when touched.

  FIG. 20 shows a specific algorithm for performing an animation in which the effect changes depending on the touch event. As shown in FIG. When the mail body data including the mark pictogram is received, the composition processing of processing steps S2 and S7 is performed. This way! A program based on the sweep data stored in the extension block of the GIF image file of the mark is read out and synthesized with text or the like to create the sweep data. And it is played by the flash player, but! When the area where the mark is displayed is not touched, if the display is not touched, the normal animation is played, and the touch script is used to acquire the touch event. Change. Further, when an animation that changes with the touch is accompanied by movement, the animation may be moved in the touched (traced) direction.

[Emoji that changes the direction behind or in front of text and images]
As described above, the animated pictogram of the present embodiment animates beyond the inserted frame, and thus overlaps with other text and images. Therefore, when the flash compositing engine performs the compositing process, a swif file is created so that either the depth at which the animation pictogram is displayed and the text / image (normal pictogram) depth are different from each other. In this embodiment, at the time of composition, the flash composition engine distributes the depth so that the default depth is the text / image on the back and the pictograph including the animation program on the front. As a result, the animation pictogram is not hidden by text or the like, so that the animation can be reproduced beautifully.

On the other hand, when the animation is reproduced with the layout in which the animated pictograms are arranged on the back side of the text or the like with respect to the default, it is as shown in FIGS. FIG. 21A is a diagram corresponding to FIG. In this body creation screen (text input), the control unit 15 (email function 15b) receives an instruction from the input unit,

Do you not see cherry blossoms next time? "
Is entered at a predetermined position in the body of the email. Next, the screen is switched to a text creation screen (image input) shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 21B, the anime pictograms of Sakura Petals are listed in the anime pictogram selection area R4. In this state, an animated pictograph of Sakura Petals is inserted after the character “Long time”. The program associated with the Sakura Petal anime pictogram is an animation in which the petals are scattered, move to the bottom of the display screen, and the scattered petals stay there. Therefore, when a preview display is instructed in this state, an animation that the scattered Sakura petals are scattered by moving on the background side of the text is reproduced. As a result, the background of the cherry blossom petals can be suppressed, and the text can be prevented from being invisible, and can be reliably transmitted to the person looking above the text.

  FIG. 22 shows a specific algorithm for displaying an animation of an animated pictograph behind the text in the pictograph whose effect changes behind or in front of the text or image. As shown in FIG. 22, when receiving the mail body data including the Sakura pictogram, the control unit 15 performs the combining process of processing steps S2 and S7. A MovieClip is dynamically created at a depth lower than the reserved depth at which the text is arranged at the time of reproduction by the action script associated with the Sakura pictogram. Thus, when the animation of the cherry blossom petals is reproduced, the pictograms are reproduced by the action script at a depth lower than that of the text using the MovieClip. Therefore, an animation in which Sakura Petals dance behind the text is displayed.

[Others]
Each animation mentioned above can also combine several things. For example, as a composite type that displays in both text and behind / in front while coordinating with other anime pictograms, for example, when a butterfly pictogram flies around a flower, it flies in front of a flower emoji or behind it If the emoticon of a salary man reacts to the text of “Drinking party” and performs a specific animation, for example, it goes to the right when going around the “Drinking party” text part back and forth. In this case, the front side of the text may be moved, and the background side of the text may be moved when proceeding to the left.

  A pictograph such as a moving character moves along a locus of, for example, an 8-character in a normal operation, but when touched, it can be moved to the touched position.

  Furthermore, the specific animation is not limited to the above-described one, and for example, when a predetermined number (for example, three or more hearts) of the same animated pictogram exists, a specific animation (color changes) may be performed.

In addition, when an animated pictograph that produces sound such as a speaker or a human being is selected, it is preferable to perform a process of reading out the mail body (text) while performing an animation for outputting the sound.
Further, in the above-described embodiment and the like, the animation is configured by the flash, but the format is not limited to the flash, and any format may be used as long as it can be animated.

10, 10 'mobile terminal 11 input unit 12 display unit 13 communication interface 14 memory 15 control unit 15a flash synthesis engine 15b flash player 15c mail function 15d communication control unit 15e user interface unit

The present invention relates to messaging systems and equipment and programs are use to it, to email technology and more specifically containing flash (Flash (registered trademark)) and other animated content.

(7) The transmission-side device reads the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail text of the mail created by the mail creation function, and is defined by the read animation program It is good to have the composition function which synthesizes animation to the above-mentioned mail text, and the function to reproduce the animation synthesize | combined by the composition function. In this way, the preview can be displayed before transmission on the transmission side, and the content of the animation to be transmitted can be confirmed.

(17) The animation program may be such that the image changes behind or in front of text or other images. Since the image may move out from the place where the image is inserted, in such a case, it may overlap with text in the mail body or another image. In this case, by changing the depth to be displayed, one can be arranged on the near side and shown to the user. Which one is set to the front may be determined for each image, for example, or a default may be determined as described in the embodiment, and only corresponding ones other than the default may be set individually. Further, it may be determined at random each time reproduction is performed or every time composition is performed.
(18) The device is a mobile small communication device, and may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a mobile communication terminal.

(19) The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the device described in any of (8) to (18) above.

Claims (19)

The sending device is
An email creation function that creates an email containing the image file in the email body with the animation program stored in an extended block of image files that can be handled by a normal email system;
An email sending function for sending the created email using the normal email system;
The receiving device is equipped with
A mail receiving function for receiving the mail sent from the transmitting device;
A composition function for reading out the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail body of the received mail and combining the animation defined by the read animation program with the mail body;
A function of reproducing the animation synthesized by the synthesis function;
With
A mail system characterized by that. The image data included in the image file corresponds to the normal mail system,
The mail system according to claim 1, wherein, when a device that does not support the animation program receives the mail, the image data can be read and displayed in a mail text.   The mail system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the animation is configured to move beyond a frame in which the image file is inserted.   The mail system according to claim 1, wherein the image file is a GIF image file.   The mail system according to claim 1, wherein the normal mail system is an HTML mail.   The mail system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the animation program changes an effect of an animation to be reproduced depending on an element existing in the mail text. The transmitting device reads the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail text of the mail created by the mail creating function, and the animation specified by the read animation program is A compositing function to compose the email body,
The mail system according to claim 1, further comprising a function of reproducing the animation synthesized by the synthesis function. A device equipped with a mail communication function corresponding to a normal mail system,
An email creation function that creates an email containing the image file in the email body with the animation program stored in an extended block of image files that can be handled by a normal email system;
A composition function for reading out the animation program stored in the extended block of the image file included in the mail body of the received mail and combining the animation defined by the read animation program with the mail body;
A function of reproducing the animation synthesized by the synthesis function;
With
Equipment characterized by that.   9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the combining function combines the display screen with a width of a display screen.   10. The device according to claim 8, wherein the image file is a GIF image file.   The device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the normal mail system is an HTML mail.   The device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the animation program changes an effect of an animation to be reproduced depending on an element existing in the mail text.   The device according to claim 12, wherein the element is a specific text or a specific image.   The device according to claim 12, wherein the change in performance is an animation in which a plurality of image files inserted in a mail text are linked to each other.   The device according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the animation program changes in production according to a position on a display screen where the image file is inserted.   The device according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein the animation program changes in production when the display screen is touched.   The apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 16, wherein in the animation program, the production changes behind or in front of text or other images.   The device according to claim 8, wherein the mobile small communication device is a mobile terminal.   The program for making a computer implement | achieve the function in the apparatus in any one of Claims 8-18.