JP2020087083A - Relay device, relay method, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

To simplify user management for providing a messaging service for transmitting and receiving a message between a user and an enterprise.SOLUTION: In a communication system for transmitting and receiving a message between a user terminal and an enterprise server via a communication device, a relay server 1 includes: a reception unit 111 for receiving the message from the enterprise server; an extraction unit 112 for extracting identification information of a user associated with identification information of an enterprise which manages the enterprise server as a transmission source of the message received by the reception unit in a storage unit; a specification unit 113 for specifying a communication device of a provider with which the user makes a contract among a plurality of providers as a transfer destination on the basis of the identification information of the communication device associated with the identification information of the user extracted by the extraction unit in the storage unit; and a transfer unit 114 for transferring the message received by the reception unit to the communication device as the transfer destination specified by the specification unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a relay device, a relay method, and a communication system that provide a messaging service for transmitting and receiving messages.

In a messaging service for sending and receiving messages, various services are provided by a user by the user performing user registration (for example, setting a friendship or sending personal information) to the company on a user terminal. There is known a system capable of receiving the information (see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2017-62850, A

Multiple operators may offer the same messaging service. In this case, the company needs to know which operator the user currently has a contract with in order to send a message to the user using the messaging service. Therefore, user management in the messaging service has been complicated for companies.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to provide a relay device, a relay method, and a communication system that facilitate user management in a messaging service for transmitting and receiving messages between a user and a company. To do.

In the relay device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a user terminal owned by a user is connected to a company server managed by a company via a communication device of a company contracted by the user among a plurality of companies. In a communication system for transmitting and receiving a message by a relay device, the relay device relaying the message, wherein the first storage stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the company registered by the user in association with each other. Section, a second storage section that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the communication device of the business operator with which the user has a contract, and a reception that receives the message from the corporate server. And an extraction unit for extracting, in the first storage unit, identification information of the user associated with identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the sender of the message received by the receiving unit. , The business operator contracted by the user among the plurality of business operators based on the identification information of the communication device associated with the identification information of the user extracted by the extraction unit in the second storage unit And a transfer unit that transfers the message received by the receiving unit to the communication device that is the transfer destination specified by the specifying unit.

The relay device further includes a third storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and a user attribute indicating the attribute of the user in association with each other, and the extraction unit is configured such that the reception unit in the first storage unit is Of the identification information of the user associated with the identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the sender of the received message, the message indicated by the message received by the receiving unit in the third storage unit The identification information of the user associated with the user attribute may be extracted.

The extraction unit receives the reception of identification information of the user associated with identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the transmission source of the message received by the reception unit in the first storage unit. The identification information of the user indicated by the message received by the department may be extracted.

The relay device may further include an acquisition unit that acquires the number of transmissions and the number of opening of each message in each of the plurality of communication devices.

The acquisition unit is configured to transmit the past message by at least one of the business operator, the user, a user attribute indicating an attribute of the user, a method of transmitting the message, and a time period in which the message is transmitted. The number and the opened number may be totaled.

The transfer unit identifies and specifies at least one transmission method from among a plurality of transmission methods for transmitting the message, based on the number of transmissions and the number of opens of the past messages aggregated by the acquisition unit. The instruction indicating the transmission method may be transmitted to the communication device.

The transfer unit may specify the transmission method for at least one of the business operator, the user, the user attribute, and a time period in which the message is transmitted.

The transfer unit may transmit, to the communication device, an instruction indicating at least one of a message transmission method designated by the company and a time period in which the message is transmitted.

The specifying unit may determine a fee for the company server to send the message to the user terminal, based on at least one of the transmission method and the time period specified by the company.

A communication system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a communication system for a user terminal of a user to send and receive a message to and from a company server managed by a company, wherein the message sent by the company server is transmitted. The relay device includes: a relay device for relaying; and a communication device, which is managed by a business operator contracted by the user among a plurality of businesses, and transfers the message relayed by the relay device to the user terminal. Is a first storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the company registered by the user in association with each other, the identification information of the user, and the business operator contracted by the user. A second storage unit that stores the identification information of the communication device in association with each other, a reception unit that receives the message from the corporate server, and a transmission of the message that the reception unit receives in the first storage unit. An extraction unit that extracts the identification information of the user that is associated with the identification information of the company that manages the original company server, and is associated with the identification information of the user that is extracted by the extraction unit in the second storage unit. Based on the identification information of the communication device, the specifying unit that specifies the communication device of the company contracted by the user among the plurality of companies as a transfer destination, and the receiving unit A transfer unit that transfers the message to the communication device that is the transfer destination specified by the specifying unit, wherein the communication device includes a receiving unit that receives the message from the relay device, and the receiving unit. And a transfer unit that transfers the received message to the user terminal.

In the relay method according to the third aspect of the present invention, a user terminal owned by a user is connected to a company server managed by a company via a communication device of a company contracted by the user among a plurality of companies. In the communication system for transmitting and receiving a message by the relay device, the relay device for relaying the message receives the message from the company server, the identification information of the user, and the company registered by the user. In a first storage unit that stores the identification information in association with the identification information, the identification information of the user associated with the identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the sender of the message received in the receiving step. Of the user extracted by the extracting step in a second storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the communication device of the business operator with which the user has a contract Specifying the communication device of the business operator contracted by the user among the plurality of business operators as a transfer destination based on the identification information of the communication device associated with the identification information; Transferring the message received by the step to the communication device of the transfer destination specified by the specifying step.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate user management in a messaging service that sends and receives messages between a user and a company.

It is a schematic diagram of the communication system which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram of a relay server and a company server according to the embodiment. It is a block diagram of a company server and a user terminal concerning an embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of company information, company information, and personal information. It is a schematic diagram of the first half part of the communication method performed by the communication system according to the embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the latter half part of the communication method performed by the communication system according to the embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of the first half of the communication method performed by the communication system according to the embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of the latter half part of the communication method performed by the communication system according to the embodiment. It is a front view of the user terminal which is displaying the screen which receives the selection whether to register the user attribute.

[Outline of communication system S]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system S according to this embodiment. The communication system S includes a relay server 1, a plurality of company servers 2, a company server 3, and a user terminal 4. The numbers of the enterprise server 2, the enterprise server 3, and the user terminal 4 included in the communication system S are not limited. The communication system S may include devices such as other servers and terminals.

The plurality of operator servers 2 (communication devices) are computers managed by different operators (e.g., communication operators). The plurality of enterprise servers 2 provide the enterprise server 3 and the user terminal 4 with a messaging service (also referred to as a message service or a messenger service) for transmitting and receiving a message by communication. The messaging service is, for example, RCS (Rich Communication Services).

The company server 3 is a computer managed by the company. A company is an organization that receives a messaging service. The company server 3 communicates with the relay server 1. The company server 3 transmits/receives a message to/from the user terminal 4 via the relay server 1 and the company server 2.

The user terminal 4 is a communication terminal that the user has. The user terminal 4 is, for example, a personal computer, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. A user is a person who is provided with a messaging service. The user terminal 4 communicates with any of the plurality of company servers 2. The user terminal 4 transmits/receives a message to/from the company server 3 via any one of the plurality of company servers 2 and the relay server 1.

The relay server 1 (relay device) is a computer that relays messages transmitted and received between the company server 3 and the user terminal 4. The relay server 1 communicates with the company server 3 and a plurality of company servers 2.

First, the user has a contract for a communication service or the like with a company that manages one of the plurality of company servers 2. The user performs user registration for a company that manages the company server 3 in the messaging service provided by the company. User registration may be performed for each company or for each service provided by the company.

When the user registration is performed, the relay server 1 records the identification information of the user who has performed the user registration for the company, the identification information of the company server 3, and the identification information of the company server 2 in association with each other. .. As a result, the relay server 1 uses the identification information of the user, the identification information of the company server 3 and the identification information of the company server 2 to send the message transmitted from the company server 3 to the business of the company with which the user has a contract. Can be relayed to the person server 2. Further, the relay server 1 records the personal information of the user who has registered with the company. Thereby, the relay server 1 can relay the message received from the company server 3 to the user who satisfies the user attribute designated by the company, using the personal information of the user.

In this way, the communication system S can relay the message transmitted by the company server 3 to the company server 2 of the company contracted by the user by the relay server 1 to reach the user terminal 4. Since the relay server 1 aggregates and manages the user registration information of a plurality of business operators, the corporate server 3 does not need to know the business operator with which the user is currently contracted. It will be easier.

[Configuration of Communication System S]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the relay server 1 and the provider server 2 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 2, arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, each block does not have a hardware (device) unit configuration but a functional unit configuration. As such, the blocks shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented within a single device or may be implemented separately within multiple devices. Data transfer between blocks may be performed via any means such as a data bus, a network, and a portable storage medium.

The relay server 1 has a control unit 11 and a storage unit 12. The control unit 11 includes a reception unit 111, an extraction unit 112, a specification unit 113, a transfer unit 114, and an acquisition unit 115. The storage unit 12 includes a company information storage unit 121, a personal information storage unit 122, and a company information storage unit 123.

The storage unit 12 is a storage medium including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk drive, and the like. The storage unit 12 stores a program executed by the control unit 11 in advance. The storage unit 12 may be provided outside the relay server 1, and in that case, data may be exchanged with the control unit 11 via the network.

The company information storage unit 121 stores company information indicating to which company the user has registered as a user. The company information includes, for example, a user ID and a company ID. The personal information storage unit 122 stores the personal information of the user. The personal information includes, for example, the user ID, telephone number, name, sex, age, address and occupation. The business information storage unit 123 stores business information indicating which business the user has a contract for such as communication service. The business entity information includes, for example, a user ID and a communication device ID. The company information storage unit 121, the personal information storage unit 122, and the company information storage unit 123 may each be a storage area on the storage unit 12, or may be a database configured on the storage unit 12.

The control unit 11 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes the program stored in the storage unit 12 to receive the reception unit 111, the extraction unit 112, the identification unit 113, the transfer unit 114, and the acquisition unit. Function as 115. At least a part of the function of the control unit 11 may be executed by an electric circuit. Further, at least a part of the functions of the control unit 11 may be executed by a program executed via the network.

The business entity server 2 has a control unit 21 and a storage unit 22. The control unit 21 has a reception unit 211 and a transfer unit 212. The storage unit 22 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive and the like. The storage unit 22 stores a program executed by the control unit 21 in advance. The storage unit 22 may be provided outside the business entity server 2, and in that case, data may be exchanged with the control unit 21 via the network.

The control unit 21 is a processor such as a CPU, for example, and functions as the reception unit 211 and the transfer unit 212 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 22. At least a part of the function of the control unit 21 may be performed by an electric circuit. Further, at least a part of the functions of the control unit 21 may be executed by a program executed via the network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the company server 3 and the user terminal 4 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 3, arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, each block does not have a hardware (device) unit configuration but a functional unit configuration. Therefore, the blocks shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented in a single device, or may be implemented separately in multiple devices. Data transfer between blocks may be performed via any means such as a data bus, a network, and a portable storage medium.

The company server 3 has a control unit 31 and a storage unit 32. The control unit 31 has a transmission unit 311. The storage unit 32 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive, and the like. The storage unit 32 stores in advance a program executed by the control unit 31. The storage unit 32 may be provided outside the company server 3, and in that case, data may be exchanged with the control unit 31 via the network.

The control unit 31 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU, and functions as the transmission unit 311 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 32. At least a part of the function of the control unit 31 may be performed by an electric circuit. Further, at least a part of the functions of the control unit 31 may be executed by a program executed via the network.

The user terminal 4 has a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, a display unit 43, and an operation unit 44. The control unit 41 has a receiving unit 411 and a transmitting unit 412.

The display unit 43 includes a display device capable of displaying information, such as a liquid crystal display. The operation unit 44 includes an operation device such as a keyboard and a mouse that can input information by a user operation. The display unit 43 and the operation unit 44 may be integrally configured by using a touch screen capable of detecting the position of contact by the user as the display unit 43.

The storage unit 42 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive, and the like. The storage unit 42 stores in advance a program executed by the control unit 41. The storage unit 42 may be provided outside the user terminal 4, and in that case, data may be exchanged with the control unit 41 via the network.

The control unit 41 is a processor such as a CPU, for example, and functions as the receiving unit 411 and the transmitting unit 412 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 42. At least a part of the function of the control unit 41 may be performed by an electric circuit. Further, at least part of the functions of the control unit 41 may be executed by a program executed via the network.

The relay server 1, the company server 2, the company server 3, and the user terminal 4 according to this embodiment are not limited to the specific configurations shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The relay server 1, the enterprise server 2, the enterprise server 3 and the user terminal 4 are not limited to one device, but may be configured by connecting two or more physically separated devices by wire or wirelessly. Good.

[Description of communication method]
First, the information recorded by the relay server 1 will be described. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the company information D1 stored in the company information storage unit 121. The company information D1 includes a user ID, which is the identification information of the user, and a company ID, which is the identification information of the company with which the user has registered as a user, which are associated with each other. The user ID is identification information assigned to each user in order to manage the user, and is represented by an arbitrary character. The user ID may be identification information (for example, a telephone number) that can uniquely identify the user by itself, or may be identification information unique to the combination with the company ID. Further, the company information D1 identifies the service when the company provides a plurality of services (for example, a plurality of types of insurance provision services, a plurality of types of membership services such as premium members and standard members) to the user. You may include the identification information for doing.

The company ID is identification information assigned to a company and is represented by arbitrary characters. The company ID may be allocated to each company, or may be allocated to each service provided by the company. The company ID is common among a plurality of companies that provide a messaging service to companies.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of the company information D2 stored in the company information storage unit 123. The business entity information D2 includes a user ID, which is the identification information of the user, and a communication device ID, which is the identification information of the communication device managed by the business operator with which the user has a contract, which are associated with each other. The definition of the user ID is the same as that of the company information D1.

The communication device ID is identification information for identifying the business entity server 2 and is represented by an arbitrary character. The communication device ID may be identification information assigned to each communication device (server), or may be identification information assigned to each business operator who manages the business server 2.

FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of the personal information D3 stored in the personal information storage unit 122. The personal information D3 includes a user ID, which is user identification information and is associated with each other, and a telephone number, name, sex, age, address, and occupation as user attributes of the user. The definition of the user ID is the same as that of the company information D1. User attributes may include other information about the user.

In FIGS. 4A to 4C, the company information D1, the company information D2, and the personal information D3 are represented by a character string table for visibility, but each data is recorded in an arbitrary format. It may be, for example, any of character string data, numerical data and binary data. The company information D1, the company information D2, and the personal information D3 may be recorded as a database, respectively, or may be recorded as a list listing data.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the first half of the communication method (relay method) performed by the communication system S according to this embodiment. When the company sends a message to the user, in the company server 3, the transmission unit 311 transmits the message to the user to the relay server 1 (a). The message transmitted by the transmission unit 311 is either a message in which a specific user is designated, a message in which all users who have registered as users in the company are designated, or a message in which a user attribute is designated. If the company provides multiple services to users, the message may specify the identity of one or more services to specify the user using the particular service.

The message in which a specific user is designated is data indicating the user ID of one or a plurality of users as the destination and the content (that is, a character string, an image, a moving image, etc.) displayed on the user terminal 4. In this case, the company server 3 stores the user ID of the user who has registered with the company in the storage unit 32. The transmission unit 311 acquires the user ID of the user who is the transmission destination from the storage unit 32, and transmits a message indicating the acquired user ID to the relay server 1. The message in which all users are designated is data indicating information (flags and the like) having all users as destinations and the content displayed on the user terminal 4. The transmission unit 311 transmits to the relay server 1 a message indicating information having all users as transmission destinations.

The message in which the user attribute is designated is data indicating the user attribute of the user who is the destination and the content displayed on the user terminal 4. The user attribute is, for example, at least one of gender, age (for example, age group), address (for example, living area), and occupation (for example, job type) of the user. In this case, the transmitting unit 311 determines the user attribute to be the destination, and transmits a message indicating the determined user attribute to the relay server 1.

Further, the transmission unit 311 may transmit to the relay server 1 an instruction indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period. The transmission method is a technical basis for transmitting a message from the business entity server 2 to the user terminal 4, and for example, one or more of RCS, SMS (Short Message Service), SNS (Social Networking Service), and electronic mail. Is. The time zone is a time that is a condition for transmitting a message from the business entity server 2 to the user terminal 4.

In the relay server 1, the receiving unit 111 receives the message transmitted by the company server 3. Further, the receiving unit 111 receives an instruction transmitted by the company server 3 and indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period.

The extraction unit 112 extracts the user ID of the user who has registered with the company based on the message received by the reception unit 111 (b). Specifically, the extraction unit 112 extracts, in the company information storage unit 121, the user ID associated with the company ID of the company that manages the company server 3 that is the transmission source of the message received by the reception unit 111. The company ID is preset in the company server 3, and the relay server 1 can specify the company server 3 corresponding to the company ID. In addition, when the message received by the receiving unit 111 specifies the identification information of the service, the extracting unit 112 causes the company information storage unit 121 to identify the company server 3 that is the sender of the message received by the receiving unit 111. A user ID that is associated with the company ID of the company to be managed and that is associated with the identification information of the service specified by the message is extracted.

Then, when the message received by the reception unit 111 specifies a specific user, the extraction unit 112 selects the user ID indicated by the message received by the reception unit 111 from among the user IDs extracted from the company information storage unit 121. Is extracted as the user ID of the transmission destination. As a result, the company can send a message to a specific user among the users who have registered for the company.

Further, when the message received by the receiving unit 111 specifies all users, the extracting unit 112 extracts all user IDs extracted from the company information storage unit 121 as user IDs of transmission destinations. As a result, the company can collectively send a message to all users who have registered with the company.

Further, when the message received by the receiving unit 111 specifies the user attribute, the extracting unit 112 receives the receiving unit 111 in the personal information storing unit 122 among the user IDs extracted from the company information storing unit 121. The user ID associated with the user attribute indicated by the message is extracted as the destination user ID. As a result, the company can send a message to an unspecified user who satisfies the specified user attribute among the users who have registered with the company.

Next, the specifying unit 113 specifies the business server 2 of the business to which the message is transferred, based on the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112 (c). Specifically, the identification unit 113 acquires the communication device ID associated with the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112 in the business entity information storage unit 123. Then, the identifying unit 113 identifies the business entity server 2 corresponding to the acquired communication device ID (that is, the business entity server 2 managed by the business entity with which the user has a contract) as the transfer destination. The communication device ID is preset in the business entity server 2, and the relay server 1 can specify the business entity server 2 corresponding to the communication device ID. As a result, regardless of which business operator the user has a contract with, the specifying unit 113 specifies the business operator server 2 of the business operator with which the user has a contract and enables message transfer.

When the user ID of the transmission destination is associated with the plurality of communication device IDs (that is, the user has contracts with a plurality of businesses), the identifying unit 113 identifies all the communication device IDs as transfer destinations. Alternatively, some communication device IDs satisfying a predetermined condition (for example, a communication device ID of a business operator with which the user has a main contract) may be specified as the transfer destination. At this time, even when one message is transferred to a plurality of carrier servers 2 corresponding to a plurality of communication device IDs, the number of transmissions and the number of opening of the message are each counted as one.

At this time, the specifying unit 113 corresponds to the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112, based on the instruction indicating at least one of the message transmission method received by the reception unit 111 and the time period in which the message is transmitted. The company server 3 may determine the fee for sending a message to the user terminal 4. In this case, the storage unit 12 stores in advance a charge table showing a charge corresponding to a message transmission method and a time period in which the message is transmitted. The specifying unit 113 determines a charge using the charge table stored in the storage unit 12 for the designated transmission method and time zone, outputs charge information indicating the determined charge, and stores the charge information in the storage unit 12. .. The charge information is used to charge a company that manages the company server 3.

The identifying unit 113 may also automatically determine the charge based on the number of past messages transmitted and the number of opened messages acquired by the acquisition unit 115 described later. For example, the specifying unit 113 sets a higher charge as the opening rate of past messages is higher, and sets a lower rate as the opening rate of past messages is lower for the designated transmission method and time zone.

As a result, the relay server 1 sets different charges according to the message transmission method designated by the company and the time zone in which the message is transmitted, and the messages transmitted to the user are concentrated in some transmission methods and time zones. Can be suppressed. Further, the identifying unit 113 may set different charges depending on whether the message is transmitted or when the message is transmitted and then opened.

Then, the transfer unit 114 transfers the message received by the reception unit 111, together with the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112, to the business server 2 of the transfer destination specified by the identification unit 113 (d). When the receiving unit 111 receives an instruction indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period from the company server 3, the transfer unit 114 transfers the instruction specified by the specifying unit 113. It is transmitted to the business operator server 2 described above.

Further, when the receiving unit 111 receives an instruction from the company server 3 indicating a time period for transmitting a message, the transfer unit 114 may transfer the message to the transfer destination company server 2 during the time period. .. That is, the relay server 1 may control the time zone in which the message is transmitted. In this case, the business entity server 2 immediately transfers the message received from the relay server 1 to the user terminal 4.

Further, when the message received by the receiving unit 111 specifies a specific user, the transfer unit 114 causes the transfer unit 114 to transmit for a predetermined period (for example, transmission schedule) including the scheduled transmission time (current time or a designated time zone). During the predetermined time period before and after the time), it may be possible to suppress the transfer of other messages to the carrier server 2 of the transfer destination. As a result, it is possible to increase the probability that a message in which a specific user is designated will be opened by the user.

Further, the transfer unit 114 may determine the transmission method for each user based on the past usage status of the transmission method recorded for each user. At this time, the company server 3 (1) transmits according to the transmission method specified by the company, (2) transmits according to the transmission method that is frequently used by the user, and (3) is not browsed according to the method specified first. The second transmission method is different, (4) multiple transmission methods are simultaneously transmitted, and (5) message arrival status or opening status is monitored and retransmitted after a predetermined time. The selection condition is transmitted to the relay server 1 together with the message.

The receiving unit 111 receives the selection condition of the transmission method transmitted by the company server 3 together with the message. The transfer unit 114 determines the transmission method by using the selection condition received from the company based on the past usage status recorded for each user, and transmits the determined transmission method to the transfer destination company server 2. In this way, the company can select various transmission methods depending on the message to be transmitted.

Further, the relay server 1 may accept a bid from a company and determine whether or not to transfer the message from the company to the user, depending on the method of transmitting the message and the time period for transmitting the message. In this case, the number of messages that can be transmitted is limited depending on the message transmission method and the time period in which the message is transmitted. The receiving unit 111 receives an instruction indicating a bid amount together with at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period from the plurality of company servers 3. The bid amount may be a fee for each message or a fee regardless of the number of messages.

The transfer unit 114 selects one or a plurality of company servers 3 according to the bid amounts received from the plurality of company servers 3 (for example, in the descending order of bid amount). Then, the transfer unit 114 transfers the message received by the reception unit 111 from the selected one or more company servers 3 to the business server 2 of the transfer destination specified by the specification unit 113. The transfer unit 114 outputs charge information indicating a charge according to the bid price to the selected one or more company servers 3 and stores the charge information in the storage unit 12.

Alternatively, the relay server 1 accepts a bid from a company in advance for a message transmission method and a time period in which a message is transmitted, and assigns a successful bid ID associated with the transmission method and the time period to the successful bidder company. Good. In this case, the company server 3 transmits a message to the user to the relay server 1 together with the awarded successful bid ID. The transfer unit 114 determines the transmission method and the time zone based on the successful bid ID received from the company server 3, and transmits an instruction indicating the determined transmission method and the determined time zone to the business server 2 of the transfer destination together with the message.

As a result, the relay server 1 accepts bids from the companies and transfers the messages sent from the limited number of companies according to the message transmission method designated by the companies and the time period in which the messages are transmitted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent messages transmitted to the user from being concentrated in some transmission methods and time zones.

In the business server 2 of the transfer destination, the receiving unit 211 receives the message transmitted by the relay server 1 and the user ID of the transmission destination. Further, the reception unit 211 receives an instruction transmitted by the relay server 1 and indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period.

The transfer unit 212 transfers the message received by the reception unit 211 to the user terminal 4 corresponding to the destination user ID received by the reception unit 211 (e). The user ID is preset in the user terminal 4, and the business entity server 2 can specify the user terminal 4 corresponding to the user ID.

At this time, when the receiving unit 211 receives an instruction indicating a message transmission method, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 by one or a plurality of transmission methods indicated by the instruction. When the receiving unit 211 does not receive the instruction indicating the message transmission method, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 by a predetermined transmission method.

When the receiving unit 211 receives an instruction indicating the time period in which the message is transmitted, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 in the time period indicated by the instruction. When the receiving unit 211 does not receive the instruction indicating the time period in which the message is transmitted, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 immediately or in a predetermined time period.

The transfer unit 212 stores the number of transmissions (that is, the number of user terminals 4 to which the message is transmitted) in association with the message (for example, the message ID assigned to the message) when the transmission of the message to the user terminal 4 is completed. 22 to memorize.

In the user terminal 4, the receiving unit 411 receives the message transmitted by the business entity server 2. The receiving unit 411 displays the received message on the display unit 43 according to the user's operation of the operation unit 44 (for example, opening operation) (f).

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the latter half of the communication method (relay method) performed by the communication system S according to this embodiment. When the message is displayed on the user terminal 4 that has received the message transmitted by the business entity server 2, the transmission unit 412 sends a read notification indicating the message ID of the displayed message to the sender of the message. It is transmitted to the business entity server 2 (g).

In each company server 2, the receiving unit 211 receives the unsealing notification transmitted by the user terminal 4. The receiving unit 211 stores the number of opens (that is, the number of opening notifications received for the same message ID) in the storage unit 22 in association with the message ID indicated by the received opening notification.

The transfer unit 212 associates the number of transmissions and the number of opens for each message ID with the message ID and transmits the message ID to the relay server 1 at a predetermined timing (h). The timing at which the transfer unit 212 transmits the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets is, for example, one hour, one day, one month, or the like when a predetermined time has elapsed.

In the relay server 1, the acquisition unit 115 receives and acquires the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets for each message ID transmitted by each company server 2 (each of the plurality of company servers 2). The acquisition unit 115 then totals the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets acquired in the past (i). For example, the acquisition unit 115 determines the number of transmissions and the opening of the message for each of at least one of the business operator who transmitted the message, the destination user, the user attribute of the destination user, the method of transmitting the message, and the time period in which the message was transmitted. Count the numbers. Further, the acquisition unit 115 may total the number of transmissions and the number of openings for each place where the message is opened and each time period when the message is opened. The acquisition unit 115 stores the counting result in the storage unit 12. In addition, the acquisition unit 115 may calculate the opening rate based on the number of transmissions and the number of opening.

As a result, the relay server 1 totals the number of message transmissions and the number of opened mails among a plurality of businesses, so that the administrator or user of the relay server 1 (for example, a company using the relay server 1) can notify the user. It is possible to analyze the transmission conditions of a message that is easy to open with high accuracy.

Further, the transfer unit 114 identifies at least one transmission method among a plurality of transmission methods (for example, RCS, SMS, SNS, and email) based on the aggregation result (j). For example, the transfer unit 114 determines the highest opening rate for each business operator who has sent the message, the user of the destination, the user attribute of the user of the destination, the method of transmitting the message, and the time period when the message is transmitted, based on the aggregation result. The highest transmission method. Then, the transfer unit 114 transmits an instruction indicating the specified transmission method to each business entity server 2 (k). The transfer unit 114 may transmit the specified transmission method together with the message to the business entity server 2, or may transmit the specified transmission method to the business entity server 2 independently of the message. The business entity server 2 transmits the message to the user terminal 4 in accordance with the received instruction indicating the transmission method.

The transmission method may be the same for all the enterprise servers 2 or may be different for each enterprise server 2. As a result, the relay server 1 can instruct the business entity server 2 about the transmission method that is easily opened by the user, based on the number of transmitted messages and the number of opened messages in the past.

Further, the transfer unit 114 determines the user ID of the transmission destination and the time period in which the message is transmitted, based on the place where the totaled message is opened and the number of transmissions and the number of opens for each time period when the message is opened. You may choose. For example, the transfer unit 114 selects the user ID of the transmission destination corresponding to the place and the time zone in which the opening rate is equal to or higher than the predetermined value. The location of the destination user ID is specified based on the position of the user terminal 4 or the identification information of the base station to which the user terminal 4 is connected. As a result, the relay server 1 can transmit the message at the place and time when the message is easily opened, based on the counting result.

Further, when the user terminal 4 opens the message, the transfer unit 114 may send the next message to the user terminal 4, or may send the message related to the opened message to the user terminal 4. Good. Thereby, the relay server 1 can positively send the message to the user who opened the message.

In addition, the transfer unit 114 monitors the time change of the opening rate of the user, performs control to reduce the number of message transmissions for the user whose opening rate is low, and controls the opening rate of the user who is improving the opening rate. Alternatively, control may be performed to increase the number of transmissions. As a result, the relay server 1 positively transmits the message to users who frequently open the message and rarely transmits the message to users who rarely open the message, so that the message can be efficiently delivered.

[Communication method sequence]
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram of the first half of the communication method (relay method) performed by the communication system S according to this embodiment. When the company sends a message to the user, the sending unit 311 of the company server 3 sends the message to the user to the relay server 1 (S11). At this time, the transmission unit 311 may transmit to the relay server 1 an instruction indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period.

In the relay server 1, the receiving unit 111 receives the message transmitted by the company server 3. Further, the receiving unit 111 receives an instruction transmitted by the company server 3 and indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period. The extraction unit 112 extracts the user ID of the user who has registered with the company based on the message received by the reception unit 111 (S12).

The identification unit 113 identifies the business entity server 2 of the business entity of the transfer destination of the message based on the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112 (S13). The transfer unit 114 transfers the message received by the reception unit 111, together with the user ID of the transmission destination extracted by the extraction unit 112, to the business server 2 of the transfer destination specified by the identification unit 113 (S14). Further, when the receiving unit 111 receives an instruction indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period from the corporate server 3, the transfer unit 114 transfers the instruction specified by the specifying unit 113. It is transmitted to the business operator server 2 described above.

In the business server 2 of the transfer destination, the receiving unit 211 receives the message transmitted by the relay server 1 and the user ID of the transmission destination. Further, the reception unit 211 receives an instruction transmitted by the relay server 1 and indicating at least one of a message transmission method and a message transmission time period.

The transfer unit 212 transfers the message received by the reception unit 211 to the user terminal 4 corresponding to the destination user ID received by the reception unit 211 (S15). At this time, when the receiving unit 211 receives the instruction indicating the message transmission method, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 by one or a plurality of transmission methods indicated by the instruction. Further, when the receiving unit 211 receives an instruction indicating the time period in which the message is transmitted, the transfer unit 212 transfers the message to the user terminal 4 in the time period indicated by the instruction.

When the transmission of the message to the user terminal 4 is completed, the transfer unit 212 stores the number of transmissions in the storage unit 22 in association with the message.

In the user terminal 4, the receiving unit 411 receives the message transmitted by the business entity server 2. The reception unit 411 displays the received message on the display unit 43 according to the operation of the operation unit 44 by the user (for example, the opening operation) (S16).

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the latter half of the communication method (relay method) performed by the communication system S according to this embodiment. When the message is displayed on the user terminal 4 that has received the message transmitted by the business entity server 2, the transmission unit 412 sends a read notification indicating the message ID of the displayed message to the sender of the message. It is transmitted to the business entity server 2 (S17).

In each company server 2, the receiving unit 211 receives the unsealing notification transmitted by the user terminal 4. The receiving unit 211 stores the number of opens in the storage unit 22 in association with the message ID indicated by the received opening notification. The transfer unit 212 associates the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets for each message ID with the message ID and transmits them to the relay server 1 at a predetermined timing (S18).

In the relay server 1, the acquisition unit 115 receives and acquires the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets for each message ID transmitted by each business server 2. Then, the acquisition unit 115 totals the number of transmissions and the number of opened packets acquired in the past (S19).

The transfer unit 114 specifies at least one transmission method among a plurality of transmission methods (for example, RCS, SMS, SNS, and email) based on the aggregation result (S20). The transfer unit 114 transmits an instruction indicating the specified transmission method to each company server 2 (S21). The business entity server 2 transmits the message to the user terminal 4 in accordance with the received instruction indicating the transmission method.

[Modification]
In this modification, the selection of whether to register the user attribute in the relay server 1 is received from the user terminal 4. Whether or not the receiving unit 411 of the user terminal 4 registers the user attribute based on the information received from the relay server 1 via the business entity server 2 when the user registers the user with the company, for example. A screen for accepting the selection is displayed on the display unit 43. The receiving unit 411 may also receive the user attribute of the user recorded by the relay server 1.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the user terminal 4 displaying a screen for accepting a selection as to whether or not to register a user attribute. The screen for accepting the selection of whether or not to register the user attribute includes information 431 asking whether or not to register the user attribute in Relay Server 1, and a button 432 for inputting the selection. The button 432 is a virtual button (icon) that the user can press. Further, the screen for accepting the selection as to whether or not to register the user attribute may include the user attribute of the user received from relay server 1. The user uses the operation unit 44 of the user terminal 4 to press one of the buttons 432 in accordance with whether or not to register the user attribute in the relay server 1.

The transmission unit 412 of the user terminal 4 transmits a selection of whether or not to register the user attribute to the relay server 1 to the relay server 1 via the business entity server 2 based on the operation of the operation unit 44. The receiving unit 111 of the relay server 1 receives from the user terminal 4 a selection as to whether or not to register the user attribute in the relay server 1.

Further, the user may specify which information (that is, at least a part of the telephone number, name, sex, age, address and occupation) to be registered among the user attributes displayed on the screen. The user may also specify the degree of abstraction of the user attribute to be registered (for example, whether the age is a specific age such as 33 years old or an age group such as thirties). The transmission unit 412 of the user terminal 4 transmits the designation of the user attribute to be registered to the relay server 1 via the business entity server 2 based on the operation of the operation unit 44.

When the received selection indicates that the user attribute is to be registered in the relay server 1, the receiving unit 111 receives the user attribute from the business entity server 2 of the business entity with which the user has a contract, and stores it in the personal information storage unit 122. Remember. The reception unit 111 does not store the user attribute in the personal information storage unit 122 when the received selection does not indicate that the user attribute is registered in the relay server 1. When receiving the designation of the user attribute to be registered, the receiving unit 111 stores the user attribute in the personal information storage unit 122 according to the designation.

As described above, in the communication system S according to the present modification, the user can select whether or not to register the user attribute in the relay server 1 and receive the message in which the user attribute is specified from the company. Therefore, the relay server 1 can relay the message using the user's personal information after obtaining the user's consent.

[Effects of this embodiment]
According to the communication system S according to the present embodiment, the relay server 1 extracts the user of the transmission destination based on the message transmitted by the company server 3, and further identifies the business operator contracted by the extracted user. , Transfers the message to the business server 2 of the specified business. In this way, the relay server 1 aggregates and manages the user registration information of a plurality of business operators, so that the corporate server 3 does not need to know the business operator with which the user is currently contracted. User management becomes easy.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. is there. For example, the specific embodiment of the distribution/integration of the device is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed/integrated in arbitrary units to be configured. You can Further, a new embodiment that occurs due to an arbitrary combination of a plurality of embodiments is also included in the embodiment of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment.

The relay server 1, the enterprise server 2, the enterprise server 3, and the processor of the user terminal 4 are the main components of the steps (processes) included in the communication method shown in FIGS. That is, the processors of the relay server 1, the business server 2, the company server 3, and the user terminal 4 read out a program for executing the communication method shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 from the storage unit, execute the program, and relay the program. The communication method shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is executed by controlling each unit of the server 1, the business server 2, the company server 3, and the user terminal 4. Some steps included in the communication methods shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be omitted, the order of steps may be changed, and a plurality of steps may be performed in parallel.

S communication system 1 relay server 11 control unit 111 reception unit 112 extraction unit 113 identification unit 114 transfer unit 115 acquisition unit 12 storage unit 121 company information storage unit 122 personal information storage unit 123 business information storage unit 2 business server 21 control unit 211 Receiver 212 Transfer Unit 3 Corporate Server 4 User Terminal

Claims (11)

In a communication system in which a user terminal owned by a user transmits and receives a message to and from a company server managed by a company via a communication device of a company contracted by the user among a plurality of companies, A relay device for relaying a message,
A first storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the company registered by the user in association with each other;
A second storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the communication device of the business operator with which the user has a contract, in association with each other;
A receiving unit for receiving the message from the company server;
In the first storage unit, an extraction unit that extracts identification information of the user associated with identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the sender of the message received by the reception unit;
Based on the identification information of the communication device that is associated with the identification information of the user extracted by the extraction unit in the second storage unit, of the businesses contracted by the user among the plurality of businesses. A specifying unit that specifies the communication device as a transfer destination,
A transfer unit that transfers the message received by the receiving unit to the communication device that is the transfer destination specified by the specifying unit;
Relay device having. A third storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and a user attribute indicating the attribute of the user in association with each other;
The extraction unit includes the first of the user identification information associated with the identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the transmission source of the message received by the reception unit in the first storage unit. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the user associated with the user attribute indicated by the message received by the receiving unit is extracted in the third storage unit. The extraction unit receives the reception of identification information of the user associated with identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the transmission source of the message received by the reception unit in the first storage unit. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein identification information of the user indicated by the message received by the unit is extracted. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires the number of transmissions and the number of opening of each message in each of the plurality of communication devices. The acquisition unit is configured to transmit the past message by at least one of the business operator, the user, a user attribute indicating an attribute of the user, a method of transmitting the message, and a time period in which the message is transmitted. The relay device according to claim 4, wherein the number and the opened number are totaled. The transfer unit identifies and specifies at least one transmission method from among a plurality of transmission methods for transmitting the message, based on the number of transmissions and the number of opens of the past messages aggregated by the acquisition unit. The relay device according to claim 5, wherein the relay device transmits an instruction indicating the transmitted transmission method to the communication device. The relay device according to claim 6, wherein the transfer unit specifies the transmission method for each of at least one of the business operator, the user, the user attribute, and a time period in which the message is transmitted. The said transfer part transmits the instruction|indication which shows at least one of the transmission method of the said message designated by the said company, and the time zone which transmits the said message to the said communication apparatus, The any one of Claims 1-7. Relay device. The said specific part determines the charge for the said company server to transmit the said message to the said user terminal based on at least one of the said transmission method and the said time zone which the said company specified. Relay device. A user terminal which a user has is a communication system for transmitting and receiving a message to and from a company server managed by a company,
A relay device that relays the message transmitted by the company server;
A communication device, which is managed by a business operator contracted by the user among a plurality of businesses, and which transfers the message relayed by the relay device to the user terminal,
Equipped with
The relay device is
A first storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the company registered by the user in association with each other;
A second storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the communication device of the business operator with which the user has a contract, in association with each other;
A receiving unit for receiving the message from the company server;
In the first storage unit, an extraction unit that extracts identification information of the user associated with identification information of the company that manages the company server that is the sender of the message received by the reception unit;
Based on the identification information of the communication device that is associated with the identification information of the user extracted by the extraction unit in the second storage unit, of the businesses contracted by the user among the plurality of businesses. A specifying unit that specifies the communication device as a transfer destination,
A transfer unit that transfers the message received by the receiving unit to the communication device that is the transfer destination specified by the specifying unit;
Have
The communication device is
A receiving unit that receives the message from the relay device,
A transfer unit that transfers the message received by the reception unit to the user terminal,
A communication system having. In a communication system in which a user terminal owned by a user transmits and receives a message to and from a company server managed by a company via a communication device of a company contracted by the user among a plurality of companies, A relay device that relays messages
Receiving the message from the enterprise server;
A first storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the company registered by the user in association with each other, managing the company server that is the sender of the message received in the receiving step. Extracting the identification information of the user associated with the identification information of the company,
The identification information of the user is associated with the identification information of the user extracted in the second storage unit that stores the identification information of the user and the identification information of the communication device of the business operator with which the user has a contract. Specifying the communication device of the business operator contracted by the user among the plurality of business operators as a transfer destination based on the identification information of the communication device,
Transferring the message received by the receiving step to the communication device of the transfer destination specified by the specifying step;
Relay method to perform.

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