JP2018005406A - User management terminal, program, communication system and terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a user management device, a program, a communication system and a terminal that can be adopted for operations that suit a business use.SOLUTION: Provided is a user management server 1 for managing the user of a portable terminal 3 that performs a communication process that is information transmission by text or a voice performed between a plurality of portable terminals 3, comprising: a user storage unit 22 for storing, for each of groups located at each element constituting a tree structure, a user who belongs to each group in correlation thereto; a subject user extraction unit 12 for extracting, from the user storage unit 22, a user as a subject user who belongs to a high-order group arranged above a group to which belong one user for whom a communication process is performed and other users belonging to the same group as the one user; and a user determination unit 15 for allowing a communication process to be performed between the one user and the extracted subject user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a user management device, a program, a communication system, and a terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a so-called SNS (social networking service) that provides means and a place for facilitating communication between friends and acquaintances.
As an example of using SNS for business, a message exchange system for exchanging messages between teachers and students is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5786168

Patent Document 1 avoids troubles between students by performing management according to the attributes of teachers and students and using them according to the proficiency level of the students.
Similarly, when a user uses the same application that communicates with a friend or an acquaintance in business such as work, there is a risk that the business content is erroneously sent to the friend.
In addition, when used in a company where there is a store, part-time workers and other store staff do not need to communicate with each other across the store, and there was a request for use to communicate only within the store. .

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a user management device, a program, a communication system, and a terminal that can be used for business use.

  A user management apparatus according to the present invention manages a user of the terminal that performs communication processing that is information transmission including at least one of characters, sounds, and images performed between a plurality of terminals, and forms a tree structure. A user storage unit for storing the user belonging to each group in association with each group located in each element, and for one user performing the communication process, the other belonging to the same group as the one user A target user extracting means for extracting from the user storage unit as a target user a user belonging to a higher group arranged above the group to which the user belongs and the one user, the one user, and the target user extracting means A user who is permitted to perform the communication process with the target user extracted by Comprising a determining means.

  Whether or not the user judging means permits the communication process to be performed between the one user and the target user extracted by the target user extracting means according to the content of the communication process. You may make it judge.

  The user determining means is the user and the selected user that is one or more users selected by the terminal of the one user among the target users extracted by the target user extracting means. You may make it permit performing a communication process.

  The target user extracting means includes the target user, and further includes a user belonging to a lower group arranged below the group to which the one user belongs, and extracts the target user from the user storage unit. Also good.

  When each of the two or more selected users belongs to different groups, the user determination means, when the other group does not belong to the group set obtained by tracing one group in the upper and lower order respectively, It may not be allowed to perform the communication process between the one user and the selected user.

  The user management device includes: user-related data receiving means for receiving input of user data in which the group and the user are associated with each other and registration / deletion process designation data; and the user received by the user-related data receiving means User updating means for updating the user storage unit based on the data and the processing designation data, and the user determining means performs the communication process based on the latest data stored in the user storage unit It may be determined whether or not to permit this.

  The user management apparatus may include a virtual generation unit that generates a virtual group including each user permitted by the user determination unit.

  The user management apparatus includes: a processing request receiving unit that receives the communication processing request from the terminal of the one user; and user information related to the target user extracted by the target user extracting unit. And an output means for outputting to the terminal of the one user together with information related to the above.

  A user management method by a user management device that manages a user of the terminal that performs communication processing that is information transmission including at least one of characters, sounds, and images performed between a plurality of terminals according to the present invention, Same as the one user for one user who performs the communication process from the user storage unit that stores the user belonging to each group in association with each group located in each element constituting the tree structure Extracting another user belonging to a group and a user belonging to a higher group arranged above the group to which the one user belongs, the one user, and the target user extracted by the extracting step; Permitting the communication process to be performed between.

  Moreover, this invention can be provided as a program for functioning a computer as said user management apparatus as another form.

  Furthermore, this invention can be provided as a communication system provided with said user management apparatus and the communication apparatus which performs the said communication process as another form.

  The terminal according to the present invention includes: a receiving unit that receives user information related to the target user from the user management apparatus; and a display control unit that displays the user information related to the target user received by the receiving unit on a display unit in a list format. And comprising.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a user management device, a program, a communication system, and a terminal that can be used for business use. Further, the present invention is not limited to business, and can be applied to, for example, information exchange of predetermined members and members.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure and functional block of the communication system which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the memory | storage part of the user management server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the input list which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the organization structure of the tree structure represented by the user memory | storage part and group memory | storage part with which the input list which concerns on 1st Embodiment was registered. It is a flowchart of the communication setting process in the communication system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display with the portable terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the whole structure and functional block of the communication system which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the user judgment part in the user management server which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the communication setting process in the communication system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display with the portable terminal which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this.
(First embodiment)
<Overall configuration of communication system 100>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration and functional blocks of a communication system 100 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the storage unit 20 of the user management server 1 according to the first embodiment.

A communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that performs processing related to SNS, and is particularly suitable for use as a business tool. The communication system 100 is used, for example, within a company or with a customer.
The communication system 100 includes a user management server 1 (user management device), a plurality of portable terminals 3 (terminals), an administrator terminal 5, and a communication server 6 (communication device). The user management server 1, the mobile terminal 3, the administrator terminal 5, and the communication server 6 can communicate with each other via the communication network N. The communication network N is, for example, the Internet or a mobile phone communication network. In addition, the communication network N may be a local area communication network (LAN), a wide area communication network (WAN) including wired communication, or the like.
In the following, the communication system 100 will be described as an example used in a company except for some examples.

<User management server 1>
The user management server 1 performs management related to the user of the mobile terminal 3 at a stage prior to performing communication processing between the plurality of mobile terminals 3. Here, the communication processing refers to, for example, message exchange, posting, browsing, and telephone conversation, and information transmission in which intentions, emotions, thoughts, and the like are communicated between users through text, voice, images, and the like. Then, the user management server 1 performs processing for outputting a user list that is a list of users who perform communication processing.
The user management server 1 is a server, for example. The user management server 1 may be configured with one computer or may be configured with a plurality of computers. When a plurality of computers are used, these computers are connected via a communication network N. Moreover, you may comprise the user management server 1 as a virtual server (virtual machine) provided, for example on a cloud.

The user management server 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, and a communication interface unit 29.
The control unit 10 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire user management server 1. The controller 10 executes various functions in cooperation with the hardware described above by appropriately reading and executing an operating system (OS) and application programs stored in the storage unit 20.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, a mode in which the user management server 1 is realized by causing a computer to execute a program will be described as an example. The program is a computer-readable non-temporary program such as a compact disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, digital video disk, magnetic tape, ROM (Read Only Memory), EEOPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), flash memory, and semiconductor memory. It can be recorded on a non-transitory information recording medium. This information recording medium can be distributed and sold independently of the computer.

In general, a computer reads a program recorded in a non-temporary information recording medium into a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a temporary storage device included in the storage unit 20, and then the control unit 10 The CPU executes a command included in the read program.
The program can be distributed and sold from a program distribution server or the like (not shown) to a computer or the like via a temporary transmission medium such as the communication network N, independently of the computer on which the program is executed. .

  It is also possible to describe the program in a programming language for describing the operation level of the electronic circuit. In this case, various design drawings such as wiring diagrams and timing charts of the electronic circuit are generated from the program described in the programming language for describing the operation level of the electronic circuit, and the above user is based on the design drawing. An electronic circuit constituting the management server 1 can be created. For example, the user management server 1 can be configured on a hardware that can be reprogrammed by a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) technology from a program described in a programming language for describing an operation level of an electronic circuit. An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) technology can be used to configure an electronic circuit dedicated to a specific application.

As described above, the user management server 1 is configured to execute each process described in the present embodiment by the control unit 10 controlling the following components.
The control unit 10 includes a processing request receiving unit 11 (processing request receiving unit), a target user extracting unit 12 (target user extracting unit), a user output unit 13 (output unit), and a user determining unit 15 (user determining unit). A virtual group generation unit 16 (virtual generation unit), a user-related data reception unit 18 (user-related data reception unit), and a user update unit 19 (user update unit).

  The process request receiving unit 11 receives process request data from the mobile terminal 3. The processing request data includes a user ID (IDentification) for identifying the user of the mobile terminal 3 and the processing content. The processing content indicates any one of message processing, posting and browsing, a telephone call, and display of a user list, which are communication processing content.

The target user extraction unit 12 extracts a target user from the user storage unit 22 based on the user ID included in the processing request data. The target user includes other users belonging to the same group as the user specified by the user ID included in the processing request data. Here, when a user belongs to a certain group, the user is also referred to as “directly belonging to” the group. In addition, the target user includes a user belonging to a higher group arranged at a higher level than the group to which the user specified by the user ID included in the processing request data belongs. Here, each user belongs to one group in principle. Groups form a tree structure.
The user output unit 13 transmits the user information regarding the target user extracted by the target user extracting unit 12 to the portable terminal 3 together with the information regarding the group to which the user belongs. Here, user information refers to, for example, a user name and a user ID, and information related to a group refers to a group name and a group ID.

The user determination unit 15 determines whether to permit communication processing between the target user extracted by the target user extraction unit 12 and the user of the mobile terminal 3. The user determination unit 15 may always permit communication processing between the target user and the user of the mobile terminal 3. The user determination unit 15 may determine whether to permit communication processing between the target user and the user of the mobile terminal 3 according to the content of the communication processing.
By doing in this way, users with so-called vertical connections that uniformly target users belonging to the same group and higher group as one user as if there is a partition that divides the horizontal connection in the tree structure Can only communicate. Such a function is called a partition function.
The virtual group generation unit 16 generates a virtual group including each user permitted by the user determination unit 15. Here, the virtual group may be the same as each group constituting the tree structure, or may be a group that can be newly used only for this communication process.

The user related data reception unit 18 receives user related data from the administrator terminal 5. The user related data includes user data and process designation data. User data is data in which a user is associated with a group to which the user belongs. The process designation data is data indicating registration or deletion process.
The user update unit 19 updates the user storage unit 22 based on the user related data received by the user related data reception unit 18 and updates the group storage unit 23 as necessary.

The storage unit 20 is a storage area such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, and the like necessary for the control unit 10 to execute various processes.
The storage unit 20 includes a program storage unit 21, a user storage unit 22, and a group storage unit 23.
The program storage unit 21 is a storage area for storing various programs. The program storage unit 21 stores a user management program 21a. The user management program 21a is a program for executing each function of the control unit 10 described above.

The user storage unit 22 is a storage area that stores data related to users in association with groups. As shown in FIG. 2A, the user storage unit 22 stores a user ID, a user name, and a group ID for identifying a group in association with each other.
The group storage unit 23 is a storage area for storing data regarding groups. As shown in FIG. 2B, the group storage unit 23 stores a group ID, a group name, and an upper group ID in association with each other. The upper group ID indicates a group immediately above the group indicated by the group ID. It can be represented by this group storage unit 23 that each group is an element of a tree structure.
Returning to FIG. 1, the communication interface unit 29 is an interface for performing communication among the mobile terminal 3, the administrator terminal 5, and the communication server 6.

<Mobile terminal 3>
The mobile terminal 3 is a terminal that each user possesses and uses. The mobile terminal 3 communicates with the user management server 1 and the communication server 6 and performs communication according to the communication processing content with the user of the other mobile terminal 3. The mobile terminal 3 is an information terminal represented by a smartphone, for example.
The mobile terminal 3 includes a control unit 30, a storage unit 40, a touch panel display 46, and a communication interface unit 49.

The control unit 30 is a CPU that controls the entire mobile terminal 3. The control unit 30 appropriately reads out and executes the OS and application program (hereinafter, the application program of the mobile terminal 3 is also simply referred to as “application”) stored in the storage unit 40, so that the above-described hardware and Collaborate and perform various functions.
The control unit 30 includes a reception unit 31 (reception unit) and a display control unit 32 (display control unit).
The receiving unit 31 receives user information related to the target user from the user management server 1.
The display control unit 32 displays the received user information on the touch panel display 46 in a list format. At this time, the display control unit 32 may associate the group name with the user name and display the group hierarchy in such a manner that the group hierarchy can be understood.
The storage unit 40 is a storage area such as a semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, and the like necessary for the control unit 30 to execute various processes. The storage unit 40 includes a program storage unit 41. The program storage unit 41 stores a communication application 41a described later.

The touch panel display 46 has a function as a display unit configured by a liquid crystal panel and the like, and a function as an input unit that detects a touch input by a finger or the like from a user.
The communication interface unit 49 is an interface for performing communication between the user management server 1 and the communication server 6 via the communication network N.

<Administrator terminal 5>
The administrator terminal 5 is a terminal used by an administrator of the communication system 100. Here, the administrator refers to, for example, a system administrator in a company that has introduced the communication system 100. The administrator terminal 5 is, for example, a PC (personal computer).
The administrator terminal 5 includes a control unit, a storage unit, a communication interface unit, a display unit, an input unit (all not shown), and the like.

<Communication server 6>
The communication server 6 is a server that performs communication processing. The communication server 6 receives from the user management server 1 data related to the users constituting the virtual group and the communication processing content, and performs communication processing corresponding to the processing content within the virtual group. Specifically, for example, the communication server 6 mediates exchanges between the mobile terminals 3 of the users in the virtual group.
The communication server 6 includes a control unit, a storage unit, a communication interface unit (all not shown), and the like.
The computer refers to an information processing device including a control unit, a storage device, and the like, and the mobile terminal 3, the administrator terminal 5, and the communication server 6 are information processing devices each including a control unit, a storage unit, and the like. Both are included in the concept of computers.

Next, processing performed in advance when the communication system 100 is introduced into a company will be described.
<Preparation processing in the user management server 1: user registration>
First, processing performed by the user management server 1 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input list according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an organization configuration of a tree structure represented by the user storage unit 22 and the group storage unit 23 in which the input list according to the first embodiment is registered.
The administrator uses the administrator terminal 5 to create an input list. The input list is, for example, a user list 51 shown in FIG. 3A and a group list 52 shown in FIG.

The user list 51 is a list corresponding to each item of the user storage unit 22 (FIG. 2A), and includes items of a user ID, a user name, and a group ID. The group list 52 is a list corresponding to each item of the group storage unit 23 (FIG. 2B), and includes items of a group ID, a group name, and an upper group ID.
By this user list 51 and group list 52, each group corresponds to each element constituting the tree structure. Moreover, a user can belong to one group in principle. When one user wants to belong to a plurality of groups, for example, the group IDs of the plurality of groups may be input as the group ID of the user list 51. Moreover, the user who wants to divide from group management should just leave a group ID blank.

Then, the control unit of the administrator terminal 5 converts the created input list into, for example, CSV data (user data) and transmits it to the user management server 1 together with the processing designation data. In this example, the process designation data is data representing registration.
The control unit 10 (user-related data reception unit 18) of the user management server 1 receives CSV data and process designation data from the administrator terminal 5.
And the control part 10 (user update part 19) updates the user memory | storage part 22 and the group memory | storage part 23 based on the received CSV data and process designation | designated data. When the user list 51 and the group list 52 shown in FIG. 3 are converted into CSV data and stored in the user storage unit 22 and the group storage unit 23, an organization structure having a tree structure as shown in FIG. 4 can be represented.

  Here, as described above, a group in which users are directly registered is referred to as direct reporting. Referring to FIG. 4, for example, “Mr. E” belongs directly to “1G” of the sales headquarters / first sales department / Sales 1 section, but directly belongs to “Sales 1 Section” of the upper group. Not done. Here, when “Mr. E” wants to belong directly to “Sales 1 Section”, it is necessary to register “Mr. E” to also belong to “Sales 1 Section”.

It is assumed that a user whose group ID is blank belongs to “company”. For example, “Mr. A” has no group ID and is associated with “Company” (see FIG. 4). This means that “Mr. A” is not in each element of the tree structure but is divided.
In addition, the control unit 10 of the user management server 1 registers the user ID of the administrator who operates the administrator terminal 5 in the storage unit 20 in advance as an administrator ID, and prevents access by the administrator user ID. Only the update may be permitted.

<Preparation processing in the mobile terminal 3: initial work>
Next, the process performed by each user's portable terminal 3 is demonstrated.
Each user operates his / her mobile terminal 3 to activate the communication application 41 a for using the communication system 100. When the communication application 41a is activated for the first time, the control unit 30 displays a user registration screen (not shown) on the touch panel display 46, so that the user performs initial work for registering a user ID. By performing this initial work, a user ID that can be processed by the user management server 1 can be used by the mobile terminal 3.

<Communication processing>
Next, communication processing performed between users will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of communication setting processing in the communication system 100 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the mobile terminal 3 according to the first embodiment.
In step S (hereinafter simply referred to as “S”) 10 in FIG. 5, the control unit 30 of the mobile terminal 3 accepts an operation for starting the communication application 41 a by the user and causes the communication application 41 a to be executed.

In S <b> 11, the control unit 30 displays the post-startup screen 70 on the touch panel display 46. FIG. 6A shows a post-start screen 70. The post-startup screen 70 includes buttons 71 indicating communication processing contents. In this example, the button 71 includes a “talk” button 71a, a “timeline” button 71b, a “call” button 71c, and an “employee list” button 71d.
Here, “talk” refers to processing for exchanging messages between two or more users. “Timeline” refers to a process of posting and browsing among a plurality of users. “Call” refers to a process of making a one-to-one phone call or video call with a certain user. The “employee list” refers to a process for displaying a user list regarding employees that can be viewed by the user.

  When one button 71 is selected by the user of the portable terminal 3, the control unit 30 transmits the processing request data indicated by the selected button 71 to the user management server 1 in S12 of FIG. . The processing request data includes the user ID of the mobile terminal 3 and the processing content corresponding to the button 71. For example, when “Mr. E” selects the “employee list” button 71d, the processing request data is “U0005” (see FIG. 3) that is the user ID of “Mr. E” and “employee list”. And corresponding data.

In S30, the control unit 10 (processing request receiving unit 11) of the user management server 1 receives the processing request data. Then, the control unit 10 (target user extraction unit 12) extracts the target user based on the user ID included in the processing request data.
The control unit 10 acquires a group ID corresponding to the user ID with reference to the user storage unit 22. Then, the control unit 10 refers to the group storage unit 23 to extract a group ID and a group ID that is a higher group of the group ID, and refers to the user storage unit 22 for user IDs belonging to the extracted higher group ID. And extract.

For example, when the user of the mobile terminal 3 is “Mr. E”, the control unit 10 refers to the user storage unit 22 and obtains the group ID “G1111”. Next, the control unit 10 refers to the group storage unit 23 and obtains “G1110” as the upper group ID whose group ID is “G1111”. Further, the control unit 10 refers to the group storage unit 23 and obtains “G1100” as the upper group ID having the group ID “G1110”. Further, the control unit 10 refers to the group storage unit 23 and obtains “G1000” as the upper group ID whose group ID is “G1100”. “G1000” is the highest group. Then, the control unit 10 refers to the user storage unit 22 and “Mr. E”, “F”, “G 1110” associated with the group ID “G 1111”, “Mr. C” associated with “G1100” and “Mr. B” associated with the group ID “G1000” are extracted. Note that “Mr. E” may or may not be extracted.
Therefore, when the user of the portable terminal 3 is “Mr. E”, “Mr. B” to “Mr. D” belonging to the upper group and “Mr. E” and “Mr. F” belonging to the same group can be extracted.

  For example, when the user of the mobile terminal 3 belongs directly to a plurality of groups, the control unit 10 (target user extraction unit 12) refers to the user storage unit 22 and acquires a plurality of group IDs. Then, the control unit 10 refers to the group storage unit 23 and extracts, for each of the plurality of group IDs, a group ID and a group ID that is an upper group of the group ID. Then, when there are overlapping group IDs, the control unit 10 removes the overlapping parts and extracts the user IDs belonging to each extracted group ID with reference to the user storage unit 22.

  In S31, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the processing content included in the processing request data is a display of a user list. When it is a display of a user list (S31: YES), the control part 10 moves a process to S32. On the other hand, when it is not a display of a user list (S31: NO), the control part 10 moves a process to S34.

In S <b> 32, the control unit 10 (user output unit 13) transmits user information regarding the extracted target user to the mobile terminal 3. Here, the user information includes a group name, a user name, and a user ID. Then, the control part 10 complete | finishes this process.
When the user management server 1 transmits user information, in S14, the control unit 30 (receiving unit 31) of the mobile terminal 3 receives user information related to the target user. Then, the control unit 30 (display control unit 32) displays the group name and the user name included in the user information on the touch panel display 46 in a list format. FIG. 6B shows an example of the user list 73. The user list 73 displays user names in association with group names. Thus, since the group name and the user name are associated with each other in the user list 73, it is possible to easily grasp which group each user belongs to.
Note that the display method of the user list 73 shown in FIG. 6B is an example. For example, only the upper group name and user name in the hierarchy may be displayed, and when the user selects the group name, the lower group name and user name may be displayed. For example, when a user name is selected, detailed information about the user (not shown) (for example, an e-mail address, a hire year, etc.) may be output. Then, the control part 30 complete | finishes this process.

  When the mobile terminal 3 does not receive user information from the user management server 1 (S31 is NO), the control unit 30 of the mobile terminal 3 performs communication processing from the communication server 6 described later. Data is received or error data is received from the user management server 1.

  On the other hand, in S <b> 34, the control unit 10 (user determination unit 15) determines whether to permit communication processing between the extracted target user and the user of the mobile terminal 3. As described above, the control unit 10 may always permit communication processing, or may determine whether to permit communication processing according to the processing content. When the communication process is permitted (S34: YES), the control unit 10 moves the process to S35. On the other hand, when the communication process is not permitted (S34: NO), the control unit 10 moves the process to S40.

In S <b> 35, the control unit 10 (virtual group generation unit 16) generates a virtual group including the target user and the user of the mobile terminal 3.
In S <b> 36, the control unit 10 transmits the users included in the virtual group and the processing content of the communication processing to the communication server 6. Then, the control part 10 complete | finishes this process.
Note that the control unit 10 may acquire a log and store the log data in the storage unit 20.
After this processing, in the communication server 6, the control unit of the communication server 6 starts communication processing within the virtual group. At that time, the control unit of the communication server 6 may acquire the log and store the log data in the storage unit.

  On the other hand, in S <b> 40, the control unit 10 transmits error data indicating that communication processing including the target user cannot be performed to the mobile terminal 3. Then, the control part 10 complete | finishes this process.

<Specific example>
In the following, processing relating to “employee list” and processing relating to “talk” will be described as examples.
Here, it is assumed that the control unit 10 of the user management server 1 always permits communication processing regardless of processing contents.
When “Mr. E” selects “Employee list”, the user ID of “Mr. E” and data indicating “Employee list” are received as processing request data from the mobile terminal 3 of “Mr. E”. It is transmitted (S12 in FIG. 5). The user management server 1 receives the processing request data and extracts “Mr. B” to “Mr. F” as target users as described above (S30 in FIG. 5). Since the processing content is “employee list” (S31 in FIG. 5 is YES), the control unit 10 transmits the extracted target user (S32 in FIG. 5). In the portable terminal 3, the control unit 30 receives the target user and displays a user list 73 shown in FIG. 6B (S14 in FIG. 5).

  Next, when the same “Mr. E” selects “Talk”, the mobile terminal 3 of “Mr. E” receives a user ID of “Mr. E” and data indicating “Talk” as a processing request. It is transmitted as data (S12 in FIG. 5). The user management server 1 receives the processing request data and extracts “Mr. B” to “Mr. F” as target users as described above (S30 in FIG. 5). Since the processing content is “talk” (S31 in FIG. 5 is NO), the control unit 10 permits the communication processing as described above (S34 in FIG. 5 is YES). Then, the control unit 10 generates a virtual group including “Mr. B” to “Mr. F” (S35 in FIG. 5), and transmits communication processing data (S36 in FIG. 5). With this communication setting process, a message exchange process can be performed between the mobile terminal 3 of these users and the communication server 6.

This communication system 100 is not limited to use within a company. For example, the communication system 100 can be used for communication between a doctor and each patient. In this case, in the communication system 100, for example, for each clinical department, one medical doctor group to which a plurality of medical doctors belong and a medical department manager group to which a medical director belongs as a higher group, are subordinate to the medical doctor group. A plurality of patient groups belonging to each patient are configured as a group. Each patient group may include the patient's family and the like in addition to the patient.
In this example, patients do not need “talk”. On the other hand, there is a need to “talk” between doctors or between doctors and patients on a one-on-one basis. Therefore, by using the communication system 100, the patient can perform, for example, a “talk” with the doctors (the doctor in charge and the director of the medical office) in charge of the patient. Since this communication is for each patient, the privacy of each patient can be protected. As described above, as a situation where the communication system 100 is effectively applied, it can also be used in communication between a lawyer, a patent attorney, and a client.

<Maintenance processing>
Next, maintenance processing in a company that has introduced the communication system 100 will be described.
The administrator can use the administrator terminal 5 to delete a retired user, register a user who has joined the company, or change a user due to a change. These processes may be performed by deleting and registering after creating the input list described above, or by performing manual input from a management screen (not shown) for each user. The change of the user may be performed by performing deletion and registration processing, or may be performed by changing the group ID manually.

  In order to avoid contention for maintenance processing by a plurality of administrator terminals 5, for example, when performing maintenance processing using a maintenance screen (not shown), the following mechanism may be considered. The user management server 1 stores the latest update date and time of the user storage unit 22 and the group storage unit 23 in the storage unit 20, and when performing maintenance work by the administrator terminal 5, first, the user storage unit 22 and the group storage The data of the unit 23 is transmitted including the latest update date. Then, the latest update date and updated data received from the user management server 1 are received from the administrator terminal 5. By doing so, the data in the user storage unit 22 and the group storage unit 23 of the user management server 1 can be always updated, and the administrator terminal 5 can perform maintenance using the latest changed data. it can.

In this way, by performing registration and deletion of users as appropriate by the administrator terminal 5, maintenance can be performed without performing any special operation on the mobile terminal 3.
Further, by browsing the log data stored in the storage unit 20 or the log data stored in the storage unit of the communication server 6, information tracking can be performed later.

Thus, according to the communication system 100 of 1st Embodiment, there exist the following effects.
(1) For one user who performs communication processing, another user belonging to the same group as the user and a user belonging to a higher group of the user are targeted users, and the user management server 1 includes the one user and the targeted user. Allow communication processing between and. Therefore, as if there is a partition that divides the horizontal connection in the tree structure, it is possible to communicate only with users of the so-called vertical connection that uniformly target users belonging to the same group and higher group as one user. . Thus, for example, when this communication system 100 is applied to the entire company, the user does not output all employees, and the user is within the scope of only employees such as bosses required for business as those necessary for business use. Communication processing can be realized.

(2) The user storage unit 22 and the group storage unit 23 of the user management server 1 can be always maintained in the latest state from the administrator terminal 5. And the user management server 1 can perform a communication process based on the newest data. Therefore, it can withstand business use.
(3) Since the user management server 1 generates a virtual group including each user who performs communication processing, information sharing within the virtual group can be easily performed.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, target users are extracted including users belonging to lower groups, and it is determined whether or not communication processing between one user and a selected user selected by one user is permitted. What will be described. In the following description, parts that perform the same functions as those in the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals or the same reference numerals at the end, and redundant descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

<Communication system 200>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration and functional blocks of a communication system 200 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining processing of the user determination unit 215 in the user management server 201 according to the second embodiment.
A communication system 200 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes a user management server 201, a plurality of portable terminals 203, an administrator terminal 5, and a communication server 6.

<User management server 201>
The user management server 201 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a communication interface unit 29.
The control unit 210 includes a processing request receiving unit 11, a target user extracting unit 212, a user output unit 13, a selected user receiving unit 214 (selected user receiving means), a user determining unit 215, and a virtual group generating unit 16. The user related data receiving unit 18 and the user updating unit 19 are provided.

  The target user extraction unit 212 extracts the target user from the user storage unit 22 based on the user ID included in the processing request data. The target user includes other users belonging to the same group as the user specified by the user ID included in the processing request data. In addition, the target user includes a user belonging to a higher group arranged at a higher level than the group to which the user specified by the user ID included in the processing request data belongs. Further, the target user includes users belonging to a lower group arranged below the group to which the user specified by the user ID included in the processing request data belongs.

  The selected user receiving unit 214 receives user information regarding one or more users selected on the mobile terminal 203 from the mobile terminal 203. Specifically, the selected user receiving unit 214 receives the user ID of the selected user. A user who can be specified by user information related to one or more users selected in the mobile terminal 203 is referred to as a selected user.

The user determination unit 215 determines whether to allow communication processing between the selected user specified by the user information received by the selected user receiving unit 214 and the user of the mobile terminal 203. The user determination unit 215 may always permit communication processing between the selected user and the user of the mobile terminal 203. In addition, the user determining unit 215 does not allow communication processing between the selected user and the user of the mobile terminal 203 when two or more users belonging to different lower groups among the selected users have a cousin relationship. You may do it. Hereinafter, when two or more users belonging to different lower groups among the selected users have a cousin relationship, the selected user is referred to as a selected user including a cousin relationship.
In addition, the user determination unit 215 may determine whether to permit communication processing between the selected user including the cousin relationship and the user of the mobile terminal 203 according to the content of the communication processing. .

  Here, the case where two or more users belonging to different lower groups among the selected users are in a cousin relationship refers to a case where the selected user does not belong to a direct group. This can be determined based on whether or not another group belongs to a group set obtained by tracing one group up and down for different groups to which two or more users among the selected users belong.

This description will be further described with reference to FIG.
A tree structure diagram 80 shown in FIG. 8A represents a part of the organization structure shown in FIG. 4 in another description. Each element constituting the tree structure, group 81 to group 84, represents a department in the organization. For example, one user is “Mr. B” belonging to the group 82, and two or more users belonging to different lower groups among the selected users are, for example, “Mr. D” belonging to the group 83 a and “Mr. “Mr. I”.
FIG. 8B shows a group set 85 obtained by tracing up and down from the group to which “Mr. D” belongs. The group set 85 does not include the group 83b to which “Mr. I” belongs. Therefore, it can be said that “Mr. D” and “Mr. I” have a cousin relationship.
On the other hand, FIG. 8C shows a group set 86 obtained by tracing up and down from the group to which “Mr. I” belongs. The group set 86 does not include the group 83a to which “Mr. D” belongs. Therefore, it can be said that “Mr. D” and “Mr. I” have a cousin relationship.
As described above, the control unit 210 only needs to perform one of the processes illustrated in FIGS. 8B and 8C.

FIG. 8D shows an example in which two or more users belonging to different lower groups among the selected users are, for example, “Mr. C” and “Mr. G”.
The group set 87 is obtained by tracing up and down from the group to which “Mr. G” belongs. Here, the group set 87 includes a group 82a to which “Mr. C” belongs. Therefore, it can be said that “Mr. C” and “Mr. G” are not cousins. That is, “Mr. C” and “Mr. G” are users who belong to direct groups.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the storage unit 220 includes a program storage unit 221, a user storage unit 22, and a group storage unit 23. The program storage unit 221 stores a user management program 221a. The user management program 221a is a program for executing each function of the control unit 210 described above.

<Mobile terminal 203>
The portable terminal 203 includes a control unit 230, a storage unit 240, a touch panel display 46, and a communication interface unit 49.
The control unit 230 includes a reception unit 31, a display control unit 32, a user reception unit 233, and a transmission unit 234.
The user reception unit 233 receives one or more selections from the displayed user information via the touch panel display 46.
The transmission unit 234 transmits the received user information to the user management server 201.
The storage unit 240 includes a program storage unit 241. The program storage unit 241 stores a communication application 241a.

Next, various processes in the communication system 200 will be described.
User registration, which is preparation processing in the user management server 201, and initial work, which is preparation processing in the portable terminal 203, are the same as those in the first embodiment.

<Communication processing>
Next, communication processing performed between users will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of communication setting processing in the communication system 200 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example on the mobile terminal 203 according to the second embodiment.
The processing from S210 to S212 in FIG. 9 is the same as the processing from S10 to S12 in the first embodiment (FIG. 5).
Here, when the user of the mobile terminal 203 is “Mr. C” and selects the “Talk” button 71a (see FIG. 6A), the control unit 230 of the mobile terminal 203 Processing request data including “U0003” (see FIG. 3), which is the user ID of “Mr. C”, and data corresponding to “talk” is transmitted to the user management server 201.

In S230, the control unit 210 (processing request receiving unit 11) of the user management server 201 receives the processing request data. Then, the control unit 210 (target user extraction unit 212) extracts the target user based on the user ID included in the processing request data and the processing content.
The control unit 210 acquires a group ID corresponding to the user ID with reference to the user storage unit 22. Then, the control unit 210 refers to the group storage unit 23, extracts a group ID that is a higher group of the group ID, and extracts a user ID belonging to the extracted higher group ID with reference to the user storage unit 22. .
For example, when the user of the portable terminal 203 is “Mr. C”, the control unit 210 refers to the user storage unit 22 and obtains the group ID “G1100”. Next, the control unit 210 refers to the group storage unit 23 and obtains “G1000” as the upper group ID whose group ID is “G1100”. “G1000” is the highest group. Then, the control unit 210 refers to the user storage unit 22 and determines “Mr. B” associated with the group ID “G1000” and “Mr. C” associated with the group ID “G1100”. Extract.

Further, the control unit 210 refers to the group storage unit 23 to extract a group ID that is a lower group of the group ID, and extracts a user ID belonging to the extracted lower group ID with reference to the user storage unit 22. .
As in the example described above, when the user of the mobile terminal 203 is “Mr. C”, the group ID is “G1100”, so the control unit 210 refers to the group storage unit 23 and sets the group ID “G1100”. “G1110” and “G1120” stored as the upper group ID are obtained. Next, the control unit 210 obtains “G1111”, “G1112”, “G1121”, “G1122”, and “G1123” in which the group IDs “G1110” and “G1120” are stored as the upper group IDs, respectively. Then, the control unit 210 refers to the user storage unit 22, “Mr. D” associated with the group ID “G1110”, “Mr. I” associated with “G1120”, and the group ID “G1111”. “Mr. E” and “Mr. F” associated with “G”, “G” and “H” associated with the group ID “G1112”, and “J” associated with the group ID “G1121”. “Mr.”, “Mr. K”, “Mr. L” associated with the group ID “G1122”, and “Mr. M” and “Mr. N” associated with the group ID “G1123” are extracted.

Therefore, when the user of the portable terminal 203 is “Mr. C”, “Mr. B” to “Mr. N” can be extracted.
In step S <b> 231, the control unit 210 (user output unit 13) transmits user information regarding the extracted target user to the mobile terminal 203. Here, the user information includes a group name, a user name, and a user ID.

  In S214, the control unit 230 (receiving unit 31) of the mobile terminal 203 receives user information related to the target user. Then, the control unit 230 (display control unit 32) causes the touch panel display 46 to display the group name and user name included in the user information in a list format. FIG. 10A shows an example of the target user list 275. Since the target user list 275 associates the group name with the user name, it can be easily grasped which group each user belongs to. The target user list 275 may be the same as the user list 73 described in the first embodiment. If the processing content included in the processing request data relates to the display of the user list, the “OK” button may be used instead of the “Send” button in the target user list 275 shown in FIG. .

When the processing content included in the processing request data is other than the display of the user list, the user selects one or more user names or group names from the displayed target user list 275 as shown in FIG. Can be selected. In this example, “Mr. D” and “Mr. I” are selected. Then, when the user selects the “OK” button, in S215, the control unit 230 (user reception unit 233, transmission unit 234) receives the user name or group name and receives the user name or group name. The user ID of the user corresponding to the user name or group name is transmitted.
Thereafter, the control unit 230 of the portable terminal 203 receives data for performing communication processing from the communication server 6 described later, or receives error data from the user management server 201.

In step S <b> 233, the control unit 210 (selected user reception unit 214) of the user management server 201 receives the user ID of the user selected from the mobile terminal 203.
In S <b> 234, the control unit 210 (user determination unit 215) determines whether to permit communication processing between the selected user corresponding to the received user ID and the user of the mobile terminal 203. The control unit 210 may determine whether to permit communication processing with the selected user including the cousin relationship. Furthermore, the control unit 210 may determine whether to permit communication processing according to the processing content. When the communication process is permitted (S234: YES), the control unit 210 moves the process to S235. On the other hand, when the communication process is not permitted (S234: NO), the control unit 210 moves the process to S240.

In S <b> 235, the control unit 210 (virtual group generation unit 16) generates a virtual group including the received selected user and the user of the mobile terminal 203.
In S <b> 236, the control unit 210 transmits the users included in the virtual group and the processing content of the communication processing to the communication server 6. Thereafter, the control unit 210 ends this process.

  On the other hand, in S240, the control unit 210 transmits error data indicating that communication processing including the selected user cannot be performed to the mobile terminal 203. Thereafter, the control unit 210 ends this process.

<Specific example>
In the following, processing relating to “timeline” and “talk” will be described as an example.
In this example, the “timeline” enables processing between the selected user including the cousin relationship and the user of the mobile terminal 203, and “talk” is a cousin when the above-described conditions are satisfied. It is assumed that the processing is restricted between the selected user including the relationship and the user of the mobile terminal 203.

First, processing related to a timeline will be described as an example.
When “Mr. C” selects “Timeline”, users from “Mr. B” to “Mr. N” are displayed as target users on the mobile terminal 203 of “Mr. C” (S214 in FIG. 9). . Here, “Mr. D” and “Mr. I” are cousins as described with reference to FIG. 8 (“Sales Section 1” and “Sales Section 2” shown in FIG. 4). However, as described above, the “timeline” allows processing between “Mr. C” and the selected user even in such a case. Therefore, when “Mr. C” selects “Mr. D” and “Mr. I” (see FIG. 10B), the control unit 210 of the user management server 201 permits communication processing (S234 in FIG. 9). Is YES). Then, the control unit 210 generates a virtual group including three users “Mr. C”, “Mr. D”, and “Mr. I” (S235 in FIG. 9), and posting and browsing among these three people It can be performed.

  Next, when “Mr. C” selects “Talk”, the users from “Mr. B” to “Mr. N” are targeted for the mobile terminal 203 of “Mr. C” as in the example of “Timeline”. It is displayed as a user (S214 in FIG. 9). Here, when “talk” includes users who have a cousin relationship, such as “Mr. D” and “Mr. I”, a process is performed between “Mr. C” and a selected user who has a cousin relationship. Limit what you do. Therefore, when “Mr. C” selects “Mr. D” and “Mr. I”, the control unit 210 (user determination unit 215) of the user management server 201 does not permit the communication process (S234 in FIG. 9 is NO). . Then, the control unit 210 transmits error data indicating that communication processing cannot be performed to the mobile terminal 203 of “Mr. C” (S240 in FIG. 9).

The control unit 230 of the “Mr. C” portable terminal 203 displays the error data. Thereafter, the control unit 230 may display the target user again. Therefore, “Mr. C” selects only “Mr. D”, for example. By doing so, the control unit 210 of the user management server 201 permits communication processing, generates a virtual group including two users “Mr. C” and “Mr. D”, and Messages can be exchanged between them.
As described above, regarding the “talk”, when the selected user includes a cousin relationship, the communication processing is limited.

  By providing such a restriction, for example, when this communication system 200 is used for communication between a doctor and each patient, not only the patient side but also the doctor side is the main group. Can be generated. In addition, even when the doctor side generates a virtual group, communication processing including a user in a cousin relationship is not permitted, and therefore generation of a virtual group including a plurality of patients can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to construct a system that can definitely perform a one-to-one “talk” between a doctor and a patient, and protect the privacy of each patient.

Thus, according to the communication system 200 of 2nd Embodiment, there exist the following effects.
(1) For one user who performs communication processing, other users belonging to the same group as the user, users belonging to the higher group of the user, and users belonging to the lower group of the user are set as target users, and the user management server 201 can permit communication processing between one user and a target user.
In this case, the user management server 201 can eliminate unnecessary information sharing by not performing communication processing between one user and a selected user including a cousin relationship.
In addition, the user management server 201 can allow or not to perform communication processing between one user and a selected user including a cousin relationship depending on the content of the communication processing, so that the operation suitable for business use can be performed. it can.

  (2) In response to receiving a communication processing request from the mobile terminal 203, the user management server 201 extracts a target user based on a group to which the user of the mobile terminal 203 belongs and transmits the target user to the mobile terminal 203. . Then, the portable terminal 203 displays the received target user. Thus, the target user is limited to those whose communication processing is permitted by the group to which the user of the mobile terminal 203 belongs. Therefore, since the user of the portable terminal 203 can perform communication only by selecting the user from the displayed target users, the user operation is simple.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. In addition, the effects described in the embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments. In addition, although embodiment mentioned above and the deformation | transformation form mentioned later can also be used in combination as appropriate, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Deformation)
(1) In 1st Embodiment, when the user selected the processing content from the portable terminal, it demonstrated as an example what extracts a target user and permits a communication process, However, It is not limited to this, The extracted target user May be transmitted to the mobile terminal, and communication processing between the selected user selected by the user and the user of the mobile terminal may be permitted.

  (2) In the second embodiment, an example has been described in which a mobile terminal performs a process of selecting a target user from a target user. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the user of the already generated virtual group including only the target user may be displayed, and the user of the mobile terminal may be allowed to participate or refer to the selected virtual group by selecting the virtual group.

(3) In the second embodiment, regarding “talk”, an example has been described in which communication processing is not permitted between a selected user including a cousin relationship and a user of a mobile terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to “talk”, communication processing may not be permitted when the same user is included for all communication processing contents. Further, when the same user is included in the processing contents other than “talk”, the communication processing may not be permitted.
Further, instead of not permitting communication processing, for example, control may be performed so as not to display the message of the user of the other party in the cousin relationship on the portable terminal of the selected users including the cousin relationship. .

  (4) In 2nd Embodiment, although the communication process between the selection user containing cousin relation and the user of a portable terminal was demonstrated as an example, it is not limited to this. When the user designates with the portable terminal, it may be controlled not to accept the designation of the cousin related user.

(5) In each embodiment, although the example provided with a user memory | storage part and a group memory | storage part was demonstrated, it is not limited to this. A single user storage unit and group storage unit may be used.
(6) In each embodiment, although what performed a communication process with a user management server and a communication server was demonstrated to the example, it is not limited to this. The user management server may have a communication server function.

(7) In each embodiment, although the portable terminal was demonstrated as an information terminal represented by the smart phone, it is not limited to this. For example, a personal computer may be used.
Moreover, although the portable terminal was demonstrated to the example as a terminal which a user uses by a communication process, it is not limited to this. It may be a stationary terminal.
(8) In each embodiment, the mobile terminal and the administrator terminal are described as different terminals, but the same terminal may be used. The administrator terminal may be an input / output unit (not shown) of the user management server.

(9) In the first embodiment, users who belong directly to the same group as the user of the mobile terminal and its upper group are extracted as target users. In the second embodiment, the same group as the user of the mobile terminal, its upper group, and its An example of extracting a user who directly belongs to a lower group as a target user has been described.
On the other hand, the processing according to the first embodiment is performed by having a company ID associated with the user ID in the user storage unit and setting a partition authority flag in advance for each company that has introduced this communication system. And you may enable it to select the process by 2nd Embodiment, and the process for all the users of the same company ID memorize | stored in the user memory | storage part. In addition, the process which makes all the users of the same company ID memorize | stored in the user memory | storage part target is a process which extracts a user with the same company ID from a user memory | storage part, and produces | generates a user list.
More specifically, when the partition authority flag is set for the company ID, the user management server 1 is configured to execute the process according to the first embodiment or the process according to the second embodiment.
Further, when the partition authority flag is not set for the company ID, the user management server 1 is configured to execute processing for all users of the company ID as in the past.

(10) In the first embodiment, the “employee list” is described as an example in which the target user is displayed in the user list. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the user selects “employee list”, the user management server 1 may output a screen on which “search” and “list display” can be selected. In this case, when “list display” is selected by the user, the user management server 1 performs processing for displaying the target user in the user list.
On the other hand, when “search” is selected by the user, the user management server 1 outputs a search screen.
When the user ID of the search target is received from the search screen, the user management server 1 may change the level of information to be output depending on whether or not the search target user ID is the target user. For example, if it is a target user, detailed information is output in addition to the user name, and if it is not the target user, only the user name is output.

(11) In each embodiment, “talk” has been described without any particular separation, but “one-to-one talk”, “department talk”, and “group talk created arbitrarily” It may be divided.
Here, “one-to-one talk” refers to a case where the user selects one or more users from the target users and exchanges messages with the selected users.
The “department talk” refers to a case where messages are exchanged with other users who belong directly to the user group. In this case, a user who directly belongs to a subordinate group of the group cannot participate in message exchange in this “department talk”, but may be able to browse. More specifically, even if the user A is not directly belonging to the group A, if the user A directly belongs to the group B located under the group A, the user A Although it is not permitted to speak, a “department talk” in group A may be received.
Note that in “arbitrarily created group talk”, it is always possible to enable talk.

1,201 User management server 3,203 Mobile terminal 5 Administrator terminal 6 Communication server 10, 30, 210, 230 Control unit 11 Processing request reception unit 12,212 Target user extraction unit 13 User output unit 15,215 User determination unit 16 Virtual group generation unit 18 User-related data reception unit 19 User update unit 20, 40, 220, 240 Storage unit 21a, 221a User management program 22 User storage unit 23 Group storage unit 31 Reception unit 32 Display control unit 41a, 241a Communication application 46 Touch panel display 70 Screen after startup 73 User list 81-84 Group 85-87 Group set 100,200 Communication system 214 Selected user reception unit 233 User reception unit 234 Transmission unit 275 Pair User list

Claims (12)

A user management device that manages a user of the terminal that performs communication processing that is information transmission including at least one of characters, sounds, and images performed between a plurality of terminals,
A user storage unit that stores the user belonging to each group in association with each group located in each element constituting the tree structure;
For one user performing the communication process, another user belonging to the same group as the one user and a user belonging to a higher group arranged higher than the group to which the one user belongs are used as target users. Target user extraction means for extracting from the storage unit;
User judging means for permitting the communication process to be performed between the one user and the target user extracted by the target user extracting means;
A user management apparatus comprising: The user management apparatus according to claim 1,
Whether or not the user judging means permits the communication process to be performed between the one user and the target user extracted by the target user extracting means according to the content of the communication process. To judge,
A user management device characterized by the above. In the user management device according to claim 1 or 2,
The user determining means is the user and the selected user that is one or more users selected by the terminal of the one user among the target users extracted by the target user extracting means. Permit communication processing;
A user management device characterized by the above. In the user management device according to claim 3,
The target user extracting means further includes, in the target user, a user belonging to a lower group arranged below the group to which the one user belongs, and extracting the target user from the user storage unit;
A user management device characterized by the above. The user management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
When each of the two or more selected users belongs to different groups, the user determination means, when the other group does not belong to the group set obtained by tracing one group in the upper and lower order respectively, Not permitting the communication process to be performed between the one user and the selected user;
A user management device characterized by the above. In the user management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
User-related data receiving means for receiving input of user data in which the group and the user are associated with each other, and processing designation data for registration or deletion;
User update means for updating the user storage unit based on the user data received by the user-related data reception means and the processing designation data;
With
The user determination means determines whether to permit the communication processing based on the latest data stored in the user storage unit;
A user management device characterized by the above. In the user management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Comprising virtual generation means for generating a virtual group including each user permitted by the user determination means;
A user management device characterized by the above. In the user management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Processing request receiving means for receiving the communication processing request from the terminal of the one user;
Output means for outputting the user information about the target user extracted by the target user extraction means to the terminal of the one user together with information about the group to which the user belongs;
Providing
A user management device characterized by the above. A user management method by a user management apparatus that manages a user of the terminal that performs communication processing that is information transmission including at least one of characters, sounds, and images performed between a plurality of terminals,
As a target user, from the user storage unit that stores the user belonging to each group in association with each group located in each element constituting the tree structure, the user Extracting other users belonging to the same group as the user and users belonging to a higher group arranged higher than the group to which the one user belongs;
Permitting the communication process to be performed between the one user and the target user extracted by the extracting step;
Including a user management method.   The program for functioning a computer as a user management apparatus in any one of Claim 1-8. A user management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A communication device for performing the communication process;
Communication system with A terminal that is communicably connected to the user management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Receiving means for receiving user information regarding the target user from the user management device;
Display control means for displaying user information related to the target user received by the receiving means on a display unit in a list format;
Providing
A terminal characterized by.

Images