JP7168311B2 - Information processing program, method, device, and system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention broadly relates to an information processing program, method, apparatus, and system for performing collection processing from users and payment processing between users via a network, and more specifically, electronic value including electronic settlement. The present invention relates to a program, method, device, and system for managing and controlling collection processing, payment processing, etc. by controlling

In recent years, settlement via electronic value such as credit cards and electronic money has become widespread. For example, credit card processing for splitting the bill when a plurality of people eat together is called "split the check" and is widely used in the United States and other countries. Payments via electronic value have developed in a wide variety of ways.

For example, a system has been proposed that reduces the risk of losses incurred by issuers of prepaid payment means that use a credit card mechanism (Patent Document 1).

That is, in Patent Document 1, each user's usage limit and A determination unit for setting a guarantee amount, and a pooled amount that is used for payment for a sales claim from the member store for an amount exceeding the balance of the prepaid payment means and that is the total amount of the guarantee money for the plurality of users is stored. An information processing system is disclosed that includes a pool storage unit, and a change unit that adds the amount of security money to the pool amount stored in the pool storage unit each time the amount of money security is set by the determination unit.

In addition, even if the user did not have enough credit to settle the usage fee with the credit card that the user wanted to use at the time of reservation, we also proposed a system that accepts reservations so that payment can be made with that credit card when credit is restored. (Patent Document 2).

That is, in Patent Document 2, when the validity of the specified credit card cannot be confirmed in response to a request for a reservation in which the usage fee is paid by credit card after the date of use of the service, the reservation is canceled. reservation means for accepting and storing information of the specified credit card in storage means; confirmation means for confirming the validity of the credit card, and if the confirmation means confirms that the specified credit card is valid, the settlement method is to be settled with the specified credit card. outputting means for outputting information, and outputting information indicating that a payment method other than the designated credit card payment method is used when the confirmation means fails to confirm that the information is valid; An information processing apparatus characterized by comprising:

An information processing server that enhances user convenience by combining a stored value type and a server management type payment system has also been proposed (Patent Document 3).

That is, in Patent Document 3, a money terminal having a function of storing a first electronic value and increasing/decreasing the balance of the first electronic value using predetermined amount change information is connected, and a specified settlement amount is specified. an information processing server for executing a payment process for money, comprising: identification data acquisition means for acquiring identification data from the money terminal; generating amount change information for reducing the balance of the first electronic value by at least the amount of the shortage when it is determined that a shortage will occur when the specified settlement amount is settled by the electronic value of and means for reducing the amount of shortfall for transmitting to the money terminal.

In addition, in the case of payment by splitting the bill, when the representative receives information for payment settlement from each member and sends it to the store, in order to clarify where the responsibility for payment lies A system or the like has also been proposed that reduces the possibility that the content of the information will be known to the representative (Patent Document 4).

That is, in Patent Document 4, the split amount determined by the representative by dividing the total amount sent from the store terminal 10 by the representative terminal 30 is notified from each member terminal 50 to the credit company server 70 as the payment amount. Then, the credit company server 70 holds information for settlement of payment, and transmits payment authorization information 63 including encrypted information obtained by encrypting this information to each member terminal 50, and each member terminal 50 , the payment permission information 43 having the same content as the payment permission information 63 is transmitted to the representative terminal 30, and the representative terminal 30 transmits the payment permission information 23 in which the payment permission information 43 is linked to the store terminal 10. A system is disclosed.

A credit card system has also been proposed that can realize multi-step split payment (Patent Document 5).

That is, in Patent Document 5, notification means for notifying a member different from the member of request information for requesting split payment of a part of the credit card payment amount by the credit card member; When the member who received the notification of the request information by the notification means makes a credit card payment for part of the credit card payment amount, splitting the bill including the corresponding relationship between the splitting party and the splitting party and each credit card payment amount split bill information generating means for generating information, wherein the notification means sends request information for requesting split payment of a part of the credit card payment amount of the member who split the bill in the previous split payment, It is configured to notify another member different from the member, and the split bill information generating means causes the other member who received the notification of the request information by the notification means to be the member who split the bill A credit card system configured to generate split bill information including the corresponding relationship between a split bill source and a split bill payee and each credit card payment amount when a credit card payment is made for a portion of the credit card payment amount. disclosed.

In addition, there has been proposed an accounting processing device capable of shared settlement processing, in which when a single item ordered is shared among multiple people, the amount of money for the single item is divided and allocated to the multiple people who shared the item (Patent Document 6). .

That is, in Patent Document 6, in an accounting processing device that performs accounting processing regarding the payment amount of an ordered product, when a group of people orders a single product consisting of one product, the ordered product An accounting processing device is disclosed that performs a shared settlement process in which the amount of money for a single product is divided and allocated to a plurality of people who have ordered it.
In this accounting processing device, when a bill is split by a plurality of people and each person pays separately for each item ordered, a list of ordered items for individual settlement processing, in which items with multiple order quantities are divided one by one, is displayed. In addition, if you need a shared payment process to divide the price of a single item, select the relevant product and register the number of people for shared payment, and display the relevant product divided by the number of people on the screen. After that, by designating the person corresponding to each of them, the sum of the individual settlement amount and the Shared settlement amount for each person is calculated and displayed on the screen for accounting processing.

Patent No. 5678235 Patent No. 5269221 Patent No. 5595434 specification JP 2014-112286 A JP 2013-186732 A JP 2008-65574 A

However, in the above-described conventional technology, the focus is on individual electronic payment, and there is room for improvement in electronic payment within a group consisting of a plurality of members. It is true that systems for processing payments related to splitting the bill or sharing have been proposed (Patent Documents 4 to 6), but there is room for further improvement in post-payment, post-collection processing, management control, and the like.

Furthermore, it is desired to provide new technology (reminder technology, interface technology, etc.) and variation technology that can facilitate these exchanges.

An information processing program according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized by .

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide payment processing techniques and/or administrative control techniques for improved splitting the bill and cost sharing.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is an explanatory view explaining an example of composition of a system, a device, etc. showing a variation of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of basic operation in the system, device, or the like according to one embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart illustrating a basic operational concept flow in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flow chart showing a more detailed operation example in the system etc. according to one embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flow chart showing a more detailed operation example in the system etc. according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the functional concept of the operation in the system etc. according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating processing and data flow between devices or terminals in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of screen display on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of screen display on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of screen display on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of screen display on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of screen display on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another screen display example on a device or a terminal in a system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention; 9 is a flow chart showing an operation example in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; 9 is a flow chart showing an operation example in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; 9 is a flow chart showing an operation example in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen display example on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen display example on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen display example on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen display example on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a screen display example on a device or terminal in a system or the like according to another embodiment of the present invention;

<Observance of Confidentiality of Communications>
It should be noted that the implementation of the disclosure contained herein is subject to legal requirements relating to the secrecy of communications.

An embodiment for implementing an information processing system and the like according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, in an information processing system 100, one or more servers (server 110, server 120) and one or more terminals (terminals 151, 152, 153) are connected via a network 199. . The servers 110 and 120 provide the terminals 151 to 153 owned by the users with a service for transmitting and receiving messages between the terminals via the network 199 . Note that the number of terminals connected to the network 199 is not limited. Also, the number of servers is not limited (servers can be added to extend the functions as necessary, and the service may be provided by one server).

As shown in FIG. 1, network 199 serves to connect one or more servers and one or more terminals. That is, the network 199 means a communication network that provides a connection path so that the terminals 151 to 153 can transmit and receive data after connecting to the server 110 or 120 .

For example, one or more portions of network 199 may be a wired network or a wireless network. Network 199 includes ad hoc networks, intranets, extranets, virtual private networks (VPNs), local area networks (LANs), wireless LANs (WLANs). ), wide area network (WAN), wireless WAN (WWAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), part of the Internet, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) mobile phone networks, ISDNs (integrated service digital networks), wireless LANs, LTE (long term evolution), CDMA (code division multiple access), Bluetooth (registered trademark), satellite communications, etc., or these can include combinations of two or more of However, in the present disclosure, network 199 is not limited to these. Network 199 may also include one or more networks.

The terminal (terminal 151, terminal 152, terminal 153) may be any information processing terminal capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Terminals 151-153 are typically smart phones, but also mobile phones (eg, feature phones), computers (eg, desktops, laptops, tablets, etc.), media computer platforms (eg, cable, satellite set-top boxes). , digital video recorders), handheld computing devices (eg, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, etc.), wearable terminals (eg, glasses-type devices, watch-type devices, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. However, in the present disclosure, the terminals 151-153 are not limited to these. Also, the terminals 151 to 153 may be expressed as information processing terminals.

Since the configurations of the terminals 151 to 153 are basically the same, the terminal 151 will be described as a representative in the following description, and the terminals 152 and 153 will be described as other terminals as necessary. . As for the servers 110 and 120, the server 110 will be described as a representative.

The server 110 has a function of providing a predetermined service to the terminal 151 and the like. The server 110 may be any information processing device capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. Server 110 is typically a server device, and also a computer (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), media computer platform (e.g., cable, satellite set-top box, digital video recorder), handheld computing device (e.g., e.g., PDA, email client, etc.), or any other type of computer or communication platform. However, in the present disclosure, server 110 is not limited to these. Also, the server 110 may be expressed as an information processing device.

<Hardware (HW) configuration>
The HW configuration of each device included in the communication system will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) Terminal hardware configuration

The terminal 151 includes a control device 1510 (CPU: central processing unit (central processing unit)), a storage device 1515, a communication I/F 1516 (interface), an input/output device 1517, a display device 1518, a microphone 1519a, a speaker 1519b, and a camera 1519c. Prepare. Each component of the HW of the terminal 151 is interconnected via, for example, a bus B2.

A communication I/F 1516 transmits and receives various data via the network 199 . The communication may be performed by wire or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be performed. Communication I/F 1516 has a function of executing communication with server 110 via network 199 . Communication I/F 1516 transmits various data to server 110 according to instructions from control device 1510 . Communication I/F 1516 also receives various data transmitted from server 110 and transmits the data to control device 1510 .

The input/output device 1517 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 151 and a device for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 151 . The input/output device 1517 may be an integrated input device and an output device, or may be separated into an input device and an output device (in the latter case, for example, an input device 1517a such as a touch panel input sensor may be used). and an output device 1517b such as a touch panel output device or a vibration driving mechanism).

The input device is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can receive input from the user and transmit information related to the input to the control device 1510 . The input device is typically implemented by a touch panel or the like, detects contact with a pointing tool such as a user's finger or a stylus, and the contact position, and transmits the coordinates of the contact position to the control device 1510 . On the other hand, the input device may be realized by an input device other than the touch panel. The input device includes, for example, hardware keys typified by a keyboard, etc., a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (operation input via moving images), and a microphone (operation input by voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input device is not limited to these.

The output device is implemented by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices capable of outputting processing results processed by the control device 1510 . The output device is typically realized by a touch panel or the like. On the other hand, the output device may be implemented by an output device other than the touch panel. For example, speakers (audio output), lenses (eg, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), printers, and the like can be included. However, in the present disclosure, the output device is not limited to these.

Display device 1518 may be implemented by any or a combination of all types of devices capable of displaying according to display data written to a frame buffer (not shown). The display device 1518 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, a liquid crystal display or an OELD (organic electroluminescence display)). The display device 1518 may be a head mounted display (HDM). Also, the display device 1518 may be realized by a device capable of displaying images, text information, etc. in the air (or even in a vacuum) by projection mapping, hologram, or the like. Note that these display devices 1518 may be capable of displaying display data in 3D. However, in this disclosure, the display device 1518 is not limited to these.

When the input/output device 1517 is a touch panel, as an example, the input/output device 1517 and the display device 1518 may be configured to have approximately the same size and shape, and may be arranged facing each other.

Controller 1510 comprises circuitry physically structured to perform functions implemented by code or instructions contained within a program, for example implemented by a data processing device embedded in hardware. .

The controller 1510 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), and may also be a microprocessor, processor core, multiprocessor, ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), FPGA. (field programmable gate array). However, in the present disclosure, the control device 1510 is not limited to these.

The storage device 1515 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the terminal 151 to operate. The storage device 1515 is realized by various storage media such as HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid state drive), flash memory, RAM (random access memory), and ROM (read only memory). However, in the present disclosure, the storage device 1515 is not limited to these.

The terminal 151 stores the program P in the storage device 1515 , and executes the program P so that the control device 1510 executes processing as each unit included in the control device 1510 . In other words, the program P stored in the storage device 1515 causes the terminal 151 to implement each function executed by the control device 1510 .

Microphone 1519a is used to input voice data. Speaker 1519b is used to output audio data. Camera 1519c is used to acquire moving image data.

(2) Server hardware configuration
The server 110 includes a control device 1110 (CPU), a storage device 1105, an input/output device 1106, a display 1107, and a communication I/F 1108 (interface). Each component of the HW of the server 110 is interconnected via, for example, a bus B1.

Controller 1110 comprises circuitry physically structured to perform functions implemented by code or instructions contained within a program, for example implemented by a data processor embedded in hardware. .

Controller 1110 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may alternatively be a microprocessor, processor core, multiprocessor, ASIC, or FPGA. However, in the present disclosure, the control device 1110 is not limited to these.

The storage device 1105 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for server operation. The storage device 1105 is realized by various storage media such as HDD, SSD, and flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the storage device 1105 is not limited to these.

The input/output device 1106 is realized by a device for inputting various operations to the server 110 . The input/output device 1106 is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices capable of receiving input from a user and transmitting information related to the input to the control device 1110 . The input/output device 1106 is implemented by hardware keys typically represented by a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input/output device 1106 may include, for example, a touch panel, a camera (operation input via moving images), and a microphone (operation input by voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input/output device 1106 is not limited to these.

The display 1107 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, a liquid crystal display or an OELD (organic electroluminescence display)). Note that the display 1107 may be a head mounted display (HDM) or the like. Note that these displays 1107 may be capable of displaying display data in 3D. However, in the present disclosure, the display 1107 is not limited to these.

A communication I/F 1108 transmits and receives various data via the network 199 . The communication may be performed by wire or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be performed. Communication I/F 1108 has a function of executing communication with terminal 151 via network 199 . Communication I/F 1108 transmits various data to terminal 151 according to instructions from control device 1110 . Also, the communication I/F 1108 receives various data transmitted from the terminal 151 and transmits the data to the control device 1110 .
The server 110 stores the program P in the storage device 1105 , and executes the program P so that the control device 1110 executes processing as each unit included in the control device 1110 . In other words, the program P stored in the storage device 1105 causes the server 110 to implement each function executed by the control device 1110 .

In each embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the CPU of the terminal 151 or the like and/or the server 110 or the like executes the program P.

Note that the control device 1510 of the terminal 151 and/or the control device 1110 of the server 110 is not only a CPU, but also a logic circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or the like. (hardware) or a dedicated circuit may realize each process. Moreover, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and a plurality of processes shown in each embodiment may be realized by one integrated circuit. LSIs are also called VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc., depending on the degree of integration.

Also, the program P (software program/computer program) of each embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the program in a "non-temporary tangible medium".

The storage medium may, where appropriate, be one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or Application Specific ICs (ASICs), hard drives, Disk drive (HDD), hybrid hard drive (HHD), optical disk, optical disk drive (ODD), magneto-optical disk, magneto-optical drive, floppy diskette, floppy disk drive (FDD), magnetic tape, solid state drive (SSD), RAM drive, secure digital card or drive, any other suitable storage medium, or any suitable combination of two or more thereof. Storage media may, where appropriate, be volatile, nonvolatile, or a combination of volatile and nonvolatile. Note that the storage medium is not limited to these examples, and any device or medium that can store the program P may be used.

The server 110 and/or the terminal 151 can realize the functions of the functional units shown in each embodiment by, for example, reading the program P stored in the storage medium and executing the read program P.

Also, the program P according to one embodiment of the present invention may be provided to the server 110 or the terminal 151 via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. The server 110 and/or the terminal 151 implements the functions of the functional units shown in each embodiment by executing the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like, for example.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be embodied in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which program P is embodied by electronic transmission.
At least part of the processing in server 110 and/or terminal 151 may be implemented by cloud computing configured by one or more computers.
At least part of the processing in the terminal 151 may be configured to be performed by the server 110 . In this case, for example, the server 110 may perform at least a part of the processing of the functional units of the control device 1510 of the terminal 151 .
At least part of the processing in the server 110 may be configured to be performed by the terminal 151 . In this case, for example, the terminal 151 may perform at least part of the processing of each functional unit of the control device 1110 of the server 110 .
In the present disclosure, the determination configuration is not essential, and it is natural that predetermined processing may be performed when the determination condition is satisfied, or predetermined processing may be performed when the determination condition is not satisfied.

The program of the present disclosure can be implemented using, for example, script languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), markup languages such as HTML5, and the like. . However, the present disclosure is not limited to these.

<Variation of system configuration>
FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a system, apparatus, or the like showing a variation of the embodiment of the present invention. The characteristic processing operations in the configuration shown in the figure (and FIG. 3) are realized not only by the cooperative operation of the present invention with servers and terminals via a network, but also on a single terminal if necessary. But it is feasible.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing system 200 includes, as its minimum configuration, an information processing server 210, various information processing terminals used by users (in the figure, PCs 220 and 230 and a mobile phone 240 are exemplified). , portable information terminals or tablet terminals 250 to 252. Hereinafter, they are also collectively referred to as “terminals.”). etc. (wired lines 260, 270, 280, 290) are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other. In addition, the line may be wired or wireless. In the case of wireless, the mobile phone 240 and the mobile information terminal or tablet terminal 250 wirelessly connect to the Internet 290 via a base station, wireless router, or the like (not shown). Furthermore, it is connected to the information processing server 210 via a line 280 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Many mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and tablets have processing capabilities (communication processing speed, image processing capability, etc.) equivalent to those of personal computers (PCs), and should be called small computers.

In addition, the programs or software necessary for implementing the present invention are usually installed or stored in the HDD, SSD, or the like in the storage unit of a PC or a mobile information terminal, and when the program or software is executed, the memory in the storage unit is used as necessary. All or part of it is read out as a software module, and arithmetically executed by the CPU.

It should be noted that the execution of arithmetic operations need not always be performed by a central processing unit such as a CPU, and an auxiliary arithmetic unit such as a digital signal processor (DSP) (not shown) can also be used.

Also, the hardware configuration of the information processing server 210 can basically adopt a PC. In addition, although the present invention is not limited to this, the information processing server 210 has a plurality of PCs (for example, several tens to tens of thousands of PCs) in parallel in order to improve its hardware specifications as necessary. A configuration suitable for large-scale data processing can also be adopted by operating the system systematically.

<Cooperation with other systems not shown>
The information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by a credit company server, a financial institution server (not shown), a store server (not shown), or a store server (which is affiliated with the store). (including member store terminals that accept payment) as appropriate to complete processing such as payment. In that sense, it is not necessary to complete all the series of processing such as settlement within the information processing system itself according to one embodiment of the present invention. In other words, the processing in the information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention is sufficient to output data such as ledger data required to complete a series of processing such as payment at least (of course, more than that). processing is not excluded).

<Basic variation of operation mode>
FIG. 3 shows an example of basic operation in the system, apparatus, etc. according to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. What I would especially like to show here is that the characteristic operation of the present invention can be realized by cooperation with a server or terminal via a network, or independently of server cooperation on a single terminal or between terminals. It is a point.

3, "user terminals" correspond to terminals 151 to 153 in FIG. 1 and terminals 220, 230, 240, 250 to 252 in FIG. 2, and "information processing servers" correspond to servers 110, 120, It corresponds to the information processing server 210 in FIG. Also, in FIG. 3, t1 to t10 indicate a time-series flow, and operations and processes described later are performed over time.

It should be noted that the operations or processing times (such as t1) exemplified in the embodiments are exemplified for easy understanding of the concept of the present invention. is not limited to

First, at date and time t1, the user downloads application software from the information processing server via the user terminal to operate the user terminal as an information processing terminal according to the present invention (step S301). This application software is client software or application software for processing part or all of the program according to the present invention. Then, the downloaded application software is installed in the user terminal (step S302). At this time, at time t2, the user terminal uploads the user's own e-mail address and profile information as shown in the following table to the information processing server (step S303) as user registration as necessary, and registers and manages them. can also be performed (step S304).

The above data items are stored as user data in the storage device on the information processing server (step S305). After time t3, the user can start the application by operating the information processing terminal (the server can start providing services to the terminal).

Next, the user who has downloaded and installed the application on the user terminal activates the application software at time t4 (step S306). From time t4 to time t5, the user is illustratively enjoying the service provided by the information processing terminal.

At time t5, the user once suspends or terminates the application software according to one embodiment of the present invention. At this time, if necessary, the status information of the application is transferred to the information processing server (step S307). S309). In FIG. 3, these processes are completed by time t6.

After the application software according to one embodiment of the present invention is installed in the information processing terminal, it is of course possible to make it completely closed and executable on the terminal. In this case, the above-mentioned step S304 to step S305 and step S308 to step S309 can be omitted, and if necessary information is stored and managed in the memory on the terminal.

Next, in FIG. 3, from time t7 to time t10, an embodiment in which at least part of the application software according to one embodiment of the present invention is implemented in the information processing server is illustrated. In this case, the user performs two typical user terminal operations, login operation and command transmission, and receives necessary data transmission from the information processing server or receives service provision.

For example, in FIG. 3, when the user performs login processing to the server via his/her information processing terminal at time t7 (step S310), the information processing server appropriately performs necessary authentication processing (step S311). At t8, the user transmits data for receiving service provision (step S312). For example, it is a top menu screen configured to be able to receive a command from a terminal, an application startup screen, or the like.
At time t9, the user transmits some command via the information processing terminal (step S313). This command may be a menu selection displayed on the menu screen, or may be a start command for starting an application if it is an application start screen. The server receives this command and starts service processing (step S314). Then, at time t10, the server provides a service according to the terminal's request (step S315).

Although not shown in FIG. 3, even after time t10, commands can be transmitted from the terminal at any time (for example, a message transmission command, a menu selection command, etc.), and the server receives commands from the terminal each time. It is possible to receive and provide services (for example, transfer the received message to another terminal, analyze the message and return the result, etc.).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the user can also send a message from the user terminal to a specific party or a specific number of parties (not shown in FIG. 3). This message is relayed by the information processing server, transferred to a specific partner or a specific number of partners, and received by the partner. You can also check sent messages on your device.
In particular, these message processes are realized by a functional configuration, which will be described later, implemented in a server or a terminal.

<Functional configuration>
(1) Functional Configuration of Terminal In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. It has a talk participation unit 1511 and a message processing unit 1512 .
The talk participation unit 1511 has a function of performing processing for participation in a desired talk room. You can participate in the talk room on an individual basis, and you can also participate on a group basis.

It should be noted that in one embodiment of the present invention, a BOT server (eg, servers 110, 120, or equivalent servers) can be provided, and this BOT server also includes each terminal illustrated with reference to terminal 151. By equipping it with the function, it can participate in a chat room like an individual user (At this time, a BOT as one user is given one account of an instant messenger service like a human user). .
You can also create a new talk room. By sending a message (speaking) while participating in the talk room, other participant terminals 2 participating in the same talk room and/or BOT servers (participating in the talk room) A message is sent to the BOT as one user
BOT is a general term for computers that perform tasks instead of humans, named after robots, and in a narrow sense, it is a program that performs automatic chat.
In one embodiment of the present invention, BOT can be managed in association with one user, multiple users, or a group to which one or more users belong.

The message processing unit 1512 has a function of generating a message in a talk room, transmitting/receiving a message, and performing processing such as display control of the transmitted/received message on its own terminal. A typical and basic example of message processing and display control is to display incoming messages on the left side and outgoing messages on the right side with respect to the time axis running from top to bottom.

The display processing unit 1513 displays the message data processed by the message processing 1512 on the display device 1518 . The display processing unit 1513 has a function of converting display data (eg, character code) into pixel information (eg, fonts, pictograms, etc.) and writing it to a frame buffer (not shown) of the display device 1518 .
Also, the BOT processing unit 1514 functions as part or all of the BOT processing unit 1116 on the server 110, which will be described later.

(2) Server functional configuration
In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the server 110 includes a talk room management unit 1111 and message It has a processing unit 1112 , a billing information management unit 1113 , a billing processing unit 1114 , a statistical processing unit 1115 and a BOT processing unit 1116 .

The talk room management unit 1111 has a function of managing participants in the talk room.
When the message processing unit 1112 receives a message transmitted in a specific talk room from the terminal 151, the message processing unit 1112 receives other participant terminals (for example, terminals 152 and 153) and/or BOT servers (for example, It has a function of transmitting (transferring) the same message to the server 120).

The billing information management unit 1113 performs calculation processing and management for, for example, user (including BOT) account billing in response to provision of billing target messages and the like.

The billing processing unit 1114 performs billing processing for each user (including BOT) account, for example, based on the billing information processed and managed by the billing information management unit 1113 .

The statistical processing unit 1115 performs statistical processing from various viewpoints based on the data processed by the billing information processing unit 1113 and/or the billing processing unit 1114, and stores and manages the data.

The BOT processing unit 1116 performs processing for work, judgment, advice, etc. on behalf of the user (human). More specifically, but not limited to, the retrieval unit 1116a for retrieving appropriate data, language for processing language (including spoken language) included in sent and received messages. A processing unit 1116b, an AI processing unit 1116c that judges the meaning and value of the processed language and learns based on the success or failure of the judgment result, an AI processing unit 1116c that analyzes a given image, and an object that has been moved. It includes processing modules such as an image processing unit 1116d that performs recognition processing.

As described above, the BOT server (for example, the servers 110, 120, or equivalent servers) can also be provided with the functions illustrated with reference to the terminal 151, thereby exhibiting the same functions as individual users. (At this time, a BOT as a user is given an instant messenger service account, just like a human user). The assistant BOT operated by the BOT server and the human user can establish a predetermined relationship with each other by making friends (linking accounts together), etc., in the same way as human users do. (Such predetermined relationships are appropriately described and managed in a database or relationship table (not shown)).

<First Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, a user participating in a talk room operated by a server or the like (as an example, a "talk server" described later) can send and receive messages via a terminal and create an event page in the talk room. Or, if necessary, interact with yourself or the group's assistant (BOT), let the assistant (BOT) interact, select the accounting method between the group members recruited on the event page, and select the member It explains the basic operation flow for payment processing between users, the basic operation of the talk server, and the basic operation of the BOT server participating in the talk room as one user (one account) ( (described below with reference to FIGS. 4A-6).
It should be noted that part or all of the content described in the first embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments, except when the features are mutually exclusive.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4A-6, the server that basically provides the messaging service is the talk server (corresponding to server 110 in FIG. 1, etc.). Also, in one embodiment of the present invention, a BOT server (corresponding to the server 110 in FIG. 1, etc.) that participates in the talk room as one user (one account) like a user terminal is introduced.

FIG. 4A is a basic operation flow summarizing each processing that occurs when members of a talk room or the like participate in an event such as a dining party through the information system according to one embodiment of the present invention and pay for the event. . As a premise of FIG. 4A, at the start of the operation flow, one of the members (eg, the organizer of the event in the group or another member who wishes to participate in the event) appropriately enters or leaves the talk room. Necessary messages and the like are exchanged in the talk room.

In step S401 of FIG. 4A, when the basic exemplary flow is started, step S402 proceeds, and as an example, the organizer user creates an event page via his/her terminal. The event page can basically be provided independently on the server, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an event page is provided in association with the talk room (or within the talk room). can also For ease of understanding of the present invention, the event page is assumed to be set in association with the talk room or set within the talk room.

Here, FIG. 7 shows an example of an event registration screen for the organizer user to create an event page via his/her own terminal. FIG. 7 shows a screen 700 of a user terminal (the housing part of the terminal is omitted, and only the display part is shown; the same applies hereinafter). As bibliographic items for the event, a date and time entry field 702, an event venue entry field 703, an event budget entry field 704, and a prior participant list creation field 705 are displayed. Also, although not shown in FIG. 7, it is also possible to input the event name separately.

The organizer user can perform event registration via the screen 700 illustrated in FIG. 7, create an event page (not illustrated) on a server or the like, and call for participation in the event by making an announcement or the like via a talk room.

In step S403, other group members receive notice of event holding by the processing in the previous step, and express their participation (or non-participation) in the event. Such participation/non-participation declaration can also be made via the user terminal and the talk room.

Here, FIG. 8 shows an example of a contact screen for group members to express participation/non-participation in the event via their own terminals. FIG. 8 shows a screen 800 of a user terminal, in which terminal status information 801 is displayed at the top of the screen 800, as well as a title of “participation/non-participation declaration”, an event name display column 802, an event venue and A date and time display field 803 and an event budget display field 804 are displayed.

Group members express their participation/non-participation in the event via a screen 800 illustrated in FIG. For example, the user can express his or her intention by entering a response column 805 such as agreeing/disagreeing about the budget and a participation/non-participation response column 806 .

More specifically, the check button 805a is pressed when agreeing with the budget, and the check button 805b is pressed when not agreeing. In addition, it is also possible to input a desired amount of money for the budget as necessary. In this case, the user presses the button 805c and inputs the desired amount on a screen (not shown). The check button 806a is pressed when participating in the event, and the check button 806b is pressed when not participating. The content of the reply is recorded and managed by being uploaded to a server or the like.

[Guarantor setting]
In one embodiment of the present invention, a guarantor for payment can be set, for example, at the time of participation/non-participation in an event. This is a system that flexibly reflects customs such as seniors having to pay for juniors who cannot pay, and parents having to pay for their children in advance. ) and acceptance processing through an acceptance screen (guarantor side terminal) (not shown), these relationships can be linked to a database such as a server or a management table.
The guarantor can be set as a guarantor regardless of whether the user is registered in the same chat room as viewed from the setting source user or a user registered in a different chat room.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a notification screen on the terminal of the guarantor (user) who has received the guarantee request. FIG. 9 shows a screen 900 of a user terminal to which a warranty has been requested. At the top of the screen 900, a terminal status 901 is displayed. An event venue and date display field 903 and an event budget display field 904 are displayed.
Also displayed is a message 905 notifying that another user in the group has requested a guarantee of event fee payment.

The user who has received this can reply via the reply column 906 as to whether or not he agrees to the payment as the guarantor of the requester. Specifically, the check button 906a is pressed if the guarantor of the client agrees with the payment, and the check button 906b is pressed if the guarantor does not agree. The content of the reply is recorded and managed by being uploaded to a server or the like.

(Variation of payment method by guarantor)
In addition, as mentioned above, in the payment method as a guarantor, if the requester is unable to pay, in addition to the method of paying the costs after the fact, the cost of the requester is also summarized in advance. There are various variations, such as a method in which the guarantee side pays the fee, and such types can be stored and managed by a server or the like using a flag or the like.

Returning to FIG. 4A again, when step S403 is completed, an event (a dinner party, an event, a rehearsal or practice in a shared space, etc., in which each participant bears the cost) is held at a place not shown at a date and time not shown. is held. Of course, during this time, users continue to communicate with each other via the talk room. For example, it is a question-and-answer session on how to get to the venue, or an individual meeting between neighbors.

In step S404, the event ends, and in order to start the accounting work, as an example, the secretary takes a picture of a receipt stating the expenses incurred at the venue or a receipt with his own terminal (equipped with a CMOS camera, etc., not shown). do. Although the present invention is not limited to this, at this point in time, the costs have been paid by a representative (as an example, a secretary) by card payment in a lump sum. If the receipt is for a dinner party at a restaurant, etc., the breakdown of the food and drinks and the total amount are listed. amount is stated. Generally, it is printed, but it is not intended to exclude handwritten ones.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a receipt photographed by a user terminal (manager terminal, etc.) is subjected to character recognition, digitized, and stored and managed on the user terminal and/or server.

Then, if there are multiple receipts, or if a non-participant or the like has donated (received a contribution) in advance, it is necessary to calculate the total amount, so in step S405 Calculation processing of the total amount (total amount to be paid by the participants) is performed.

If the processing in step S405 is unnecessary, or if the total amount is already known in step S404, step S405 is omitted.

Next, proceeding to step S406, payment participants are determined among the event participants (that is, those who are basically obliged to pay). Even if they participate in the event, those who have their seniors or parents pay for the expenses are excluded by the above-mentioned preprocessing. Alternatively, people who have either declared their non-participation in the event, or who have not declared their participation/no-participation, but have joined without notice can be added to the list of paying participants at this point.
In this way, the payment participant list is determined via the organizer terminal or the like. The determined list is stored and managed on the user terminal and/or server.

In step S407, an accounting method is selected as to how the payment participants will share the payment. The simplest payment method is so-called split bill, but the present invention allows flexible selection of various payment methods with an easy-to-understand interface (details will be described later).

Next, the process proceeds to step S408, and the payment amount of each paying participant is calculated. The calculated results are stored and managed on the server, and can be notified to the terminal of each paying participant.

In step S409, selection of payment timing, payment method, etc. is accepted on the terminal of each payment participant. The accepted contents are stored and managed on the server.

In step S410, payment processing is performed individually (via the user terminal) based on the individual payment relationships managed on the server.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a notification screen on the terminal of the guarantor (user) who has accepted the guarantee request. FIG. 10 shows a screen 1000 of a user terminal that has accepted a guarantee request.At the top of the screen 1000, a terminal status 1001 is displayed. , an event venue and date display field 1003, and an event expense payment display field 1004 are displayed.
Also displayed is a message 1005 notifying that the other user in the group who has accepted the guarantee request has not yet made payment even after a predetermined period of time has passed.

The user who receives this can instruct whether or not to execute the payment as the guarantor of the requester via the instruction column 1006 . Specifically, the check button 1006a is pressed when the requester's guarantor is to execute the payment, and the check button 1006b is pressed when the payment is not executed. These instruction commands are recorded and managed by uploading them to a server, etc., and settlement processing is performed in cooperation with a settlement server (not shown) as appropriate.

[Notice of late payment to "friend" other than guarantor]
In one embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the guarantor function described above, payment is not guaranteed, but a "friend" can be set to notify that the person has not completed payment (delayed). can do This means that if a member leaves the payment unfinished (delayed), the person himself/herself will notify the other party (e.g., parent, close friend, lover, etc.) of the delay. This is intended to encourage the person concerned to pay or repay.

Such "friend" settings can be set by members in advance, or a person who has become a guarantor in the past can be taken over as the "friend" setting, or based on the communication performance in the talk room. can be set by automatically registering especially close people as "friends" as mutual delay notification destinations.
In the "friend" setting, users registered in the same talk room as viewed from the setting source user or users registered in different talk rooms can be set as friends.

FIG. 11A shows an example of a notification screen on the user terminal of "friend" as the destination of the delay notification. FIG. 11A shows a screen 1100 of the user terminal to which the delay notification is made. At the top of the screen 1100, a terminal status 1101 is displayed. , an event venue and date and time display field 1103, and an unpaid event fee display field 1104 are displayed.
Also displayed is a message 1105 notifying that the unpaid friend user has not yet made payment even after a predetermined period of time has passed.

The friend user who has received this can reply via the reply column 1106 as to whether or not to notify the unpaid friend that he or she has received the unpaid notice. Specifically, the user presses the check button 1106a when notifying the unpaid friend of the receipt of the non-payment notice, and presses the check button 1106b when not contacting the friend. These instruction commands are recorded and managed by being uploaded to the server. For example, when the check button 1106a is pressed, the server may notify the user, or the user may be automatically sent to a talk room (not shown). It is controlled so that the persons concerned can contact each other by, for example, transferring them to each other.

[Payment-related management on the server, etc.]
The relationships such as guarantees described so far are associated with the payment participant list, and are managed on the server, for example, as shown in the following table when step S409 in FIG. 4A is completed.

Although the present invention is not limited to these, in the above table, payment participants are managed by "name (nickname)" and "membership number (ID)" (information about the payment participant is this ID It can be obtained by referring to another table etc. linked to .

The "payment amount" column stores, for example, the amount calculated in step S408 of FIG. 4A. The "Guarantor" column stores the ID of the guarantor set as described above (a person who guarantees the payment of the paying participant). If the guarantor does not exist, null or the like is inserted. The "friend" column stores the ID of the friend described above. The column of "obligation to repay to guarantor" stores whether or not there is an obligation to repay the amount paid by the guarantor (repayment necessity flag). This repayment necessity flag can be set at the time of setting a guarantor or the like via a screen entry field (not shown) or the like. The "payment deadline" column stores the payment deadline by the payment participant. This payment deadline can also be appropriately set via a screen entry field (not shown). Each payment deadline is managed by the server, and various prompting processes, which will be described later, are performed for participants who have not made payment even after the payment deadline.

FIG. 4B shows the processing of entering a chat room or the like, which is the basis of communication means, sending and receiving messages, and processing when a BOT exists when a message is received, through the information system according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a basic operation flow which illustrates more concretely.

In step S421 of FIG. 4B, when one user (a human user who is not a BOT) enters the chat room by activating an application via the user terminal, etc., the process proceeds to step S422, and whether the user terminal is read from the talk server or not. Alternatively, the status information such as the talk list and/or the information such as already read messages for operating the application are read from the storage device of the user terminal itself or the like, and are read into the memory in the user terminal.

Note that the talk list is a list of a plurality of talk rooms managed by a talk server. As an example, for a talk room in which a user is a member, the user enters the talk room by means of a selection instruction, etc., and other member users You can have a group talk with A group talk is conducted by members exchanging messages (transmitting and receiving to each other) through a messaging service provided by a talk server.

In FIG. 4B, the loop from step S423 to step S431 is a basic operation loop for communication, and unless the application is terminated (that is, exited from the chat room) in step S431, messages cannot be sent or received with other members. can continue. In addition, within the basic movement loop, an assistant BOT (a so-called advisor program with AI functions, and this BOT itself can also participate in the talk room as a user with one account) is linked to the user or group. If so, the assistant BOT can give advice to the user, or transfer at least part of the message received from another user to a talk server or the like.
The relationship between the user and the assistant BOT in this case is similar to the relationship between human users.

In step S423, if the user sends a message or the like by an operation (not shown) (Yes), the process advances to step S424 to perform processing for sending a message or the like to the talk server (if No in step S423, the process advances to step S425). ). Although not shown in FIG. 4B, the following (1) to (3) are examples of basic operations processed according to the content of the message or the like transmitted in step S424.

(1) When a user's own message is sent from the user terminal to the talk server The talk server transmits (transfers) the received message to other members in the talk room. Also, if necessary, one or more BOT candidates related to the received message (that is, capable of responding appropriately to the received message) are extracted, and the user who sent the message and/or other members in the chat room can reply to

In one embodiment of the present invention, these BOT candidates include a BOT_ID associated with the BOT, a character image representing each BOT, and/or a message representing the statement of the BOT.

(2) When BOT_ID (described above) is transmitted from the user terminal to the talk server The talk server can make a request to the corresponding BOT (BOT server) based on the designated BOT_ID. In one embodiment of the present invention, the talk server provides the BOT server with content candidates that the BOT server is currently preparing (that is, that can be provided along with the flow of conversation in the talk room at that time). request is made.
Note that in one embodiment, the BOT_ID may also be sent with the user's message.

(3) When content is sent or specified from the user terminal to the talk server In the talk server, the content sent or specified by the user (text/voice information, image information, other links to specific sites, etc.) ) to other members in the group.

In step S425, if a message or the like for the user is received (Yes), the process advances to step S426 to determine whether the user (or the talk group in which the user participates) has an assistant BOT (that is, whether it is linked). ), and if Yes, proceed to step S427a to select part or all of the message (already received in step S425). Then, the process proceeds to step S427b, where the message is transferred to the talk server via the assistant BOT, and the process proceeds to step S428 (if No in step S426, the process proceeds directly to step S428).

In steps S427a and S427b, how much of the received messages are transferred to the talk server via the assistant BOT is determined by the user's permission setting. It can be operated so that it cannot be done (that is, it is always permitted).

Furthermore, the timing of the transfer is, for example, (1) to transfer at least part of the message to the talk server each time the message is received, (2) to transfer at least part of the message to the talk server each time the received message is displayed on the terminal Variations such as transferring a portion to a talk server can be applied.

In addition, when transferring at least a part of the received message to the talk server at the above transfer timing, the part of the message and a message not displayed on the terminal are transferred to the talk server together. You can also control it to

In step S428, the received message or the like is displayed on the user terminal.

In step S429, if there is an object display for the user (Yes), the process proceeds to step S430 to appropriately process how to display the received object on the terminal. Then, the process proceeds to step S431 (if No in step S429, the process proceeds directly to step S431).

In step S431, when an instruction to leave the talk room is given by a user operation (not shown), this flow ends (step S432). If No in step S431, the process returns to step S423.

FIG. 4C is a basic operational flow shown primarily from the talk server's perspective.
When the talk server starts processing in step S451 of FIG. 4C, the process advances to step S452, and various status information and the like for managing the talk room are read into the memory within the server.

In FIG. 5, a loop from step S453 to step S461 is a basic operation loop of the talk server that manages communication between users. , there are messages that contain BOT_ID and messages that do not contain BOT_ID, and there may be messages containing only BOT_ID) or content (contains the content itself or a designation message for designating content).

In step S453, it is determined whether or not a message or the like has been received. If No, the process advances to step S459. If Yes, the process advances to step S454 to check whether the received message or the like includes BOT_ID. be judged. If No in step S454, it means that a message or the like has been received from another user. processing takes place. In one embodiment, this BOT extraction or identification process is accomplished by querying and responding from the talk server to the BOT server(s).

Then, in step S458, the BOT candidates extracted or specified in the previous step are transmitted to other users in the talk group, and the process proceeds to step S459.
Note that steps S457 and S458 are not essential steps and can be omitted as appropriate.

On the other hand, if Yes in step S454, the received message is typically a specification for a BOT candidate (which has already been presented), so the process proceeds to step S455, and content Or submit a request for content suggestions. Next, when content candidates are transmitted from a specific BOT (server), the content candidates received in step S456 are transmitted to the user terminal of the message transmission source, and via this user terminal (or this user The above-mentioned content candidates are also transmitted to the terminals of other users (without going through the terminal), and real-time sharing of the content is realized. Then, the process proceeds to step S459.

At step S459, it is determined whether or not the content itself or a message specifying the content has been received. proceed to step S461). At this time, if the received message is a specified message for content (for example, content information that can be obtained by specifying a URL), the content is acquired by the talk server as necessary and distributed to other members of the group. Send to user. Then, the process proceeds to step S461.

In step S461, it is determined whether or not to end the operation of the talk server, and if the operation of the talk server is ended by an operation not shown (Yes in step S461), the process proceeds to step S462, and this flow ends. However, if No in step S461, the process returns to step S453.

[Summary of functional modules for executing account flow such as payment]
FIG. 5 shows a functional concept of operations in a system or the like according to one embodiment of the present invention. In particular, each function described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4C requires extended processing units in control device 1110 (server side) and control device 1510 (terminal side) in FIG. Each function will be explained here.

As explained above, the system according to one embodiment of the present invention can be broadly divided into a collection UI function 510 on the organizer's terminal and a collection UI on the terminals of participants, guarantors, and other friends. provided functions 520, which are appropriately linked or synchronized with the server 110 or the like (accompanying this, the organizer terminal and participant terminals are linked), and the substance of each function is the storage device 1105 and Various programs and various data stored in 1515 are implemented as various functions that are appropriately loaded and executed by the control device 1110 and the control device 1510 (the same applies to lower functions described below).

In FIG. 5, the function 510 for providing a collection UI, etc., on the organizer terminal can be roughly classified into a function of reading receipts, etc., a function of confirming the amount (aggregation), a function of selecting a split bill method, etc., and a function of various calculations, as already described. , and various notification functions. More specifically, it is divided into a collection list creation UI provision function 511 and a collection UI provision function 512, each of which has sub-functions as shown in the following table.

In addition, the function 520 for providing a collection UI, etc., on the terminals of participants, etc., can also be broadly classified into, as already mentioned, a function for reading receipts, etc., a function for confirming (aggregating) amounts, a function for selecting methods such as splitting the bill, various calculation functions, It includes various notification functions, but more specifically, it is divided into a participant function 521 and a guarantor function 522, each having sub-functions as shown in the following table.

<Second embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the system as a whole can exchange payments, messages, etc. This will be explained as an operation scene of As is clear from the explanation of the talk room, the server is also involved in the exchange of messages between user terminals, but the presence of the server is omitted here for ease of understanding (actually, the server is involved as appropriate). ).
Part or all of the content described in the second embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments, except when the features are mutually exclusive.
In addition, the operations or processing times (t1, etc.) illustrated in the embodiments are illustrated for easy understanding of the concept of the present invention, and the individual time-series relationships illustrated in the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to (the same applies hereinafter in the embodiments in which the times are explicitly exemplified). Also, what is described as an exchange between people is an exchange between terminals possessed by each person, or an exchange between terminals via a server.
Description will be made below with reference to FIG.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6, an event page is created on the organizer terminal by time t1, and a list of invited participants (advance participant list) is created in advance. A to C) is sent an event participation UI (step S601). Next, at time t2, event participation declarations are returned from the respective terminals (step S602). For convenience of explanation, at time t2 in FIG. 6, there is only one arrow representing the declaration of participation in the event, but it is assumed that there are replies from a plurality of participants (hereafter, each The same applies to the processing, except when there is a special notice as described in step S305).

An event is held at a venue (not shown) from time t3 to t4. In one embodiment of the invention, participants bring their own terminals to participate in the event.

Next, the organizer requests the participants to pay for the expenses incurred for the event by time t5 (step S603). Although the invention is not so limited, here the organizer can make a lump sum payment once (and then invoice each participant), or the organizer can make a lump sum payment from each terminal. The process can also proceed to collect fees (and then make a lump sum payment).

At time t6, the participants A to C notify the organizer terminal of the payment method and payment time (payment deadline) from their respective terminals (step S604). Such information can also be recorded and managed by the server (hereinafter, the same applies to information exchanged between terminals).
From here on, the responses of the participants A to C (and the responses to the participants A to C) are made different for the purpose of understanding the invention, and the explanation will be continued based on these assumptions.

[Response of Participant A]
At time t7, participant A makes a payment to the organizer (step S605). In one embodiment of the present invention, remittance (transmission or transfer) of electronic value is performed from the terminal of participant A to the organizer terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any information processing that is essential for making a payment or the like may be performed.

[Response to Participant B, etc.]
The operation flow from time t8 to time t12 shows an example of how participant B and his/her guarantor are treated. At time t8, a predetermined period has already passed from time t6. Specifically, the deadline for payment to the manager of participant B has passed (in some cases, significantly). At time t8, first, the organizer issues a payment reminder notice to participant B (step S606). The originator of this reminder notice does not necessarily have to be the organizer terminal, and may be sent by the server based on the deadline management of the server (the same shall apply to the notice and the like below).

Time t9 may be a predetermined time after time t8 or may be immediately after time t8. At time t9, the organizer terminal (or server) notifies the terminal of the guarantor of participant B that the payment has not been made by participant B (step S607). An example of the notification screen may be a simple non-payment notification (not shown), but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an inquiry notification such as the one illustrated with reference to FIG. (In this operational flow, it is assumed to be a notice of an inquiry to the guarantor as to whether or not advance payment is possible).
In addition, the above-mentioned non-payment notification may be sent prior to notification of inquiry to the guarantor as to whether or not advance payment is possible.

Note that the notification entity as an application in steps S606 and S607 may be the BOT described above (reminder processing by so-called reminder BOT).
In this case, the BOT can overcome the disapproval setting of the dunning party and/or the notification recipient user in steps S606 and S607 and perform the dunning and/or notification. This is to prevent the BOT's contact from being rejected due to the permission setting).

At the time t10, the guarantor of the participant B agrees to the replacement payment for the expenses of the participant B, and the guarantor performs the replacement payment processing to the organizer (step S608). Although not limited to this, payment by electronic value is performed as a specific example.

At time t11, the guarantor of participant B notifies participant B of the replacement payment (step S609), and at time t12, participant B pays the guarantor of participant B (so-called repayment). is performed (step S610). As an embodiment of the present invention, repayment is performed in step S610 because the guarantee relationship between participant B and participant B's guarantor is registered or set as having a repayment obligation at the time of advance payment. is. If there is a guarantee relationship without repayment obligation between the two parties, step S610 is unnecessary and omitted.

[Response to Participant C]
The operation flow from time t13 to time t14 shows an example of how participant C and his friend are treated. At time t13, a predetermined period has already passed since time t6. Specifically, the deadline for payment to the manager of participant C has passed. At time t13, first, the organizer notifies the friend of participant C of unpaid bills (step S611). The originator of this unpaid notice does not necessarily have to be the organizer terminal, and the server itself may do so based on the time limit management of the server (the same applies hereinafter). An example of the notification screen of the non-payment notification to the friend of the participant is as described with reference to FIG. 11A.

At time t14, a friend of participant C asks participant C to pay (step S612). Participant C is expected to pay the organizer as soon as possible because he is urged by a close friend rather than being urged by the organizer.

Note that the notification entity as an application in steps S611 and S612 may be the BOT described above (reminder processing by so-called reminder BOT).
In this case, the BOT can overcome the disapproval settings of the dunning party and/or the notification recipient user in steps S611 and S612 and perform the dunning and/or notification. This is to prevent the BOT's contact from being rejected due to the permission setting).

In particular, FIG. 11B shows an example of a notification screen when a variation of third party notification by BOT is performed. FIG. 11B shows a screen 1150 of a user terminal communicating in a talk room. In addition to displaying a terminal status 1501 at the top of the screen 1150, various messages are displayed in chronological order within the talk room screen. (flow from top to bottom).

In this talk room screen, messages 1161 and 1162 are sent from user terminals other than the user terminal displaying the screen, and messages 1163 and 1164 are sent from the user terminal displaying the screen. It has been sent.
Messages 1170 and 1180 are messages in which the BOT judges the above-described message exchange flow and urges or notifies the unpaid person ●●.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the conditions under which messages 1170 and 1180 occur are as follows.
(1) A certain period of time has elapsed after the due date for payment by the unpaid party.
(2) The person who has not paid or the friend or guarantor of the person who has not paid is participating in the talk room.

Note that FIG. 11B shows an example of a reminder notice when there is an obligation to repay the advance, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a BOT is sent a thank-you reminder notice when there is no obligation to repay the advance. You can also let In this case, the message 1170 is "By the way, Mr. ●● has not yet thanked Mr. △△ for the advance payment.", and the message 1180 is "Mr. ●●! I have to say it." Reminders like this will also contribute to improving manners in social messaging.
Of course, if there is no obligation to repay the advance, it is possible to operate so that the BOT is not particularly notified of the demand.

<Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment describes a variation of the invention for transferring money from a third party to a group. According to this variation, for example, from a third party inside or outside the group who does not participate in the event but wants to provide funds (donation) to the group (or a subgroup consisting of members who participate in the event) Remittance can be realized. In addition, the remittance method of the present embodiment can also be applied to electronic red envelopes (online New Year's presents in which electronic money is given via an information processing terminal), which has become popular in recent years.
Part or all of the content described in the third embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments, except when the features are mutually exclusive.

FIG. 12 shows a basic operation flow. When remittance reservation setting processing is started via a terminal screen (not shown) in step S1201 of FIG. 12, the process advances to step S1202 to set a remittance destination group. In one embodiment of the present invention, remittance is automatically performed, and remittance conditions for that purpose are set via a setting screen (not shown) in subsequent step S1203.

Moreover, as a feature of the present invention, remittance destinations can be set not only for a plurality of individuals but also for each group. If you set it for multiple individuals, the remittance destination will be fixed after the setting, but if you set it for each group, the remittance will be carried out even if the members of the group change after the setting. Remittance to constituent members at that point in time becomes possible (remittance referred to here has the same meaning as the transmission of electronic value or the transfer between terminals described so far; the same shall apply hereinafter).

By making it possible to set remittance destinations for each group in this way, even when making investments or donations to the above-mentioned event-participating groups, it is possible to accurately send funds to participating members confirmed at the start or end of the event. And it will be possible to invest or donate with certainty.

In step S1203, remittance conditions are set. Conditions can be set for remittance timing and distribution at the time of remittance. Although the present invention is not limited to these, remittance timings include the following.
(1) When some event that the group is working on is completed.
(2) When the remitter's (or recipient's) efforts (examinations, competitions, etc.) yield good results.

In addition, the distribution at the time of remittance includes the following.
(1) Leave it with the representative of the group.
(2) Equal distribution to group members.
(3) Divided according to each member's achievement in the event the group is working on.

When the above remittance condition setting is completed, the process advances to step S1204 to complete the remittance reservation setting process.

FIG. 13 shows what kind of processing is performed on the server (or remittance server) side after the remittance (reservation) person completes the remittance reservation setting described with reference to FIG.

In step S1301, when an event trigger or event handler is started based on the remittance conditions set in FIG. It is determined whether an event has occurred. If No in step S1302, the process returns to step S1302 (so-called event waiting state), but if Yes, the process proceeds to step S1303.

In step S1303, remittance destination group information is read. At this time, since the members belonging at this time are read out, when a group recruits a specific event participation group, remittance to a specific participation group is allocated to the participants at this time. Become. Alternatively, as another embodiment of the invention, it may always be remitted like a reserve to the entire group.

In step S1304, remittance allocation processing is performed for the members of the group to be remitted, and in step S1305, remittance processing is performed for the group members. At this time, a remittance completion notification may be sent to the remittance source (remitter) as necessary.
Then, the process proceeds to step S1306 to complete the remittance process.

<Fourth Embodiment>
The fourth embodiment is a variation example of the payment request in step S603 of FIG. 6, and describes in detail from the start of collection to split bill processing or shared payment processing. Description will be made below with reference to FIG.
Part or all of the content described in the fourth embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments, except when the features are mutually exclusive.

When the process starts in step S1401 of FIG. 14, the process advances to step S1402, and event participants are read out on the organizer terminal. This reading may be performed by reading the registered members of the chat room at the organizer terminal, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and reads the members registered in some group managed on the server. (That is, in the fourth embodiment and subsequent embodiments, it is not always necessary for the members registered in the talk room to participate in the event).
Note that in other embodiments of the present invention, this step can be omitted (in this case, step S1401 is skipped to step S1403).

In step S1403, the organizer terminal calls for payment to the participant terminals present at the place (event site, etc.). In one embodiment of the present invention, collection notifications may be provided using Near Field Communication (NFC).

In step S1404, the organizer terminal waits for a payment application from the participant terminal that has received the collection notification (No in step S1404 results in a loop returning to this step). In one embodiment of the present invention, the participant terminal's payment application is made (transmitted) by Near Field Communication (NFC). Alternatively, it is performed (transmitted) by shaking the own terminal. Here, the shaking motion is detected as shaking of the terminal by an acceleration sensor or the like built into the terminal, and this can be regarded as a positive response to the collection notification.
In addition, the payment application of the participant terminal may be transmitted by other means (sound wave, magnetic transmission means).
If Yes in step S1404, the process proceeds to step S1405.

In step S1405, a payment applicant (a person who accepts payment) is added as a payment member. Then, the process advances to step S1406 to determine whether or not to end the payment application (appeal). This determination may be based on the criteria of waiting for responses from all invited participants before ending, or may be terminated at the organizer's terminal side when a certain number of applications are received. If No in step S1406, the process returns to step S1404. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S1407.

In step S1407, the sharing of the payment amount among the paying members is adjusted. In one embodiment of the present invention, even division processing is performed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various adjustments are possible. Further variations will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 15 and the like.

In step S1408, reconciliation processing is performed between paying members or between paying members and other participating members. For example, if there are payment members D, E, and F, and D pays for E and F, E and F will repay D for the advance at a later date. Alternatively, some percentage of the amount paid by seniors (10000 yen as an example) is paid later by juniors (1000 yen uniformly as an example).

After the above processing, this flow ends (step S1409).

<Fifth Embodiment>
The fifth embodiment focuses on a screen display example on a user terminal and describes features of an embodiment of the present invention. Description will be made below with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19. FIG.
Part or all of the content described in the fifth embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments, except when the features are mutually exclusive.
In particular, the fifth embodiment, which specializes in user interfaces, does not necessarily involve transmission and reception of electronic value between user terminals or via a server. It can be adopted for various applications as an application.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 15A, a terminal status 1501 is displayed on the display screen of a terminal 1500 (the housing and the like are not shown), and a list of friends or event participants is displayed. A column 1502 is displayed. In order to display the applicable person in the display column 1502, the appeal and application (by shaking or the like) described in FIG. It is enough to call (read) the friend list or event participant list on the terminal.
M1 to M9 appearing in FIG. 15B are the list. M1-M9 represent individual friends or event participants.

In FIG. 15B, on the display screen of the terminal 1510, in addition to the terminal status 1511, friends or event participants M1 to M9 read out in the friend or event participant list display column 1512 are displayed. The organizer or the like can specify the payer by tapping the payer on this screen so that the message "Please check the payer" is displayed on the screen. In this case, at an event venue (restaurant, etc.) such as a dinner party, it is sufficient for the secretary to actually call out to confirm the person applying for payment, so the above-mentioned communication by NFC or the like is not necessarily required (of course). , NFC communication, etc. may be used for confirmation).

In one embodiment of the present invention, since M1-M3, M5, and M6 have responded to the payment, the participant marks (circles) in the display field 1512 are each tapped or otherwise checked.

In one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 16, terminal status 1601 is displayed on the screen of terminal 1600, and friend or event participant list display field 1602 is displayed. For convenience of explanation, if the explanation is continued from FIG. 15, the participants M1 to M3, M5, and M6 who have paid are displayed in the display column 1602 with check marks. Here, an interface is provided for determining each payment rate (share of payment amount).

In FIG. 16, first, the type of payment rate is determined by a selection menu (not shown). For example:
(1) Equal division (2) Staged burden (such as three-staged burden as shown in FIG. 16) and number of stages (3) Amount of each stage in the case of (2) above (10000 as shown in FIG. 16 yen, 5000 yen, 3000 yen, etc.)

In FIG. 16, the above selections (2) and (3) are exemplarily made to determine the load in three stages. The burden amount of each stage is 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 3,000 yen from the largest amount. Once such a selection is made, in one embodiment, charge icons (also referred to as payment areas) 1605-1607 are displayed as shown in FIG.

Next, in order to determine how much each of the participants M1 to M3, M5, and M6 will pay according to the payment, each person's icon is moved to the burden amount icon by drag-and-drop or flick operation. In one embodiment, in the figure, M1 has incurred a contribution of 10,000 yen, so the M1 icon is moved to the payment area 1605, and M2 has incurred a contribution of 5,000 yen, so the M2 icon is moved to the payment area 1606. , M3 has been charged 3000 yen, so the M3 icon is moved to the payment amount area 1607 (M5 and M6 are also moved when the amount to be paid is determined).

In addition, when determining the amount to be borne in stages, fractions of the total amount can be included in the frame for the smallest amount to be borne. Also, if the company has previously received an investment or donation from a third party or the like, it is also possible to start the burden ratio determination process after subtracting the investment or donation from the total amount at this time.

FIG. 17 shows another method of determining payment amounts among those who have responded to payment. In the figure, a terminal status 1701 is displayed on the screen of a terminal 1700, and a friend or event participant list display field 1702 is displayed. For convenience of explanation, this figure is expressed in association with FIG. 16 (so that the payer is the same), but it can also be understood as a continuation of FIG.

In FIG. 17A, the icons of the payers M1 to M3, M5, and M6 are displayed in the display column 1702. Here, before or after determining the amount to be paid, adjustment processing of the payer is performed by the following operation. It can be performed.
(1) If other bearers also bear the cost, the bearer icon of the person receiving the burden is superimposed on the icon of the bearer.
(2) The above operation (1) can be executed multiple times (stacked).
The above operations (1) and (2) are also referred to as integration operations or integrated processing.

In FIG. 17A, as an example, since M1 is also responsible for M2, M5, and M6, first, the M2 icon is superimposed on the M1 icon by drag-and-drop or flick operation. , and then the M5 and M6 icons are each overlaid (respectively integrated) on the M1 icon.

Then, as shown in FIG. 17B, M1 and M3 remain as actual payers (payment counters) on the display field 1712, and M2, M5, and M6 are displayed in the M1 icon. The number "4" is displayed, which means that the payment for three people is included, and represents four people in total with M1 person.

Records or sub-tables (not shown) are expanded in the data structure of the management table managed by the server, etc., and M1 pays for M2, M5, and M6 (or M2, M5, and M6 A record or the like stating that M1 will bear the costs is added.
Note that 1710 and 1711 correspond to 1700 and 1701, respectively.

FIG. 18 shows an operation method for simply removing free persons (those who are exempted from payment) from the friend or event participant list. It should be noted that the interface function shown in FIG. 18 can also be used as an operation for excluding or exempting those who once paid.

In the figure, a terminal status 1801 is displayed on the screen of a terminal 1800, and a friend or event participant list display field 1802 is displayed. A display column 1802 displays icons of members M1 to M9. In one embodiment of the present invention, in order to exclude free persons (those who are exempted from payment) from here, drag and drop or flick the person out of a predetermined frame (frame 1803 in FIG. 18). do it.

In one embodiment of the invention, M4, M7-M9 were made free, so their respective icons are flicked out of frame 1803 . As a result, the management table records and manages the amount of money to be borne for the event of M4 and M7 to M9 as zero.

FIG. 19A shows an example of an interface configured so that the payment progress rate of a person who has responded to payment can be intuitively and visually recognized. In FIG. 19A, a terminal status 1901 is displayed on the screen of the terminal 1900, and a friend or event participant list display field 1902 is displayed. In the display column 1902, persons M1 to M3, M5, and M6 who have accepted the payment, and a payment completion confirmation frame 1903 are displayed.
This payment completion confirmation frame is a confirmation area in which the payment status of the person who accepts payment can be confirmed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, for those who have actually completed payment, the corresponding icon is sequentially flicked into the frame 1902 .

Then, it is possible to visually display the achievement rate of money collection with respect to the total amount as shown in (B) to (D) of the figure. (B) shows a state where 30% of the total amount has been collected, (C) shows a state where 50% of the total amount has been collected, and (D) shows a state where 100% of the total amount has been collected.
In one embodiment of the present invention, (B) to (D) in the same figure represent the area (or the total payment amount at that time) according to the proportion of the burden of the person who accepts the payment. In this sense, the display area of "100% Complete" shown in FIG. 4D has an area corresponding to the total proportion of the burden of the person who accepts the payment, and matches the total area of the confirmation area.

Thus, by adopting the interface shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, it is possible to proceed smoothly even in a busy restaurant, which is preferable. In this case, the payment method may be the above-described transfer of electronic value between terminals, or may be exchanged in cash. In either case, there is an effect that it becomes easier to share and collect the cost ratio.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various variations and modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and it is possible to combine a plurality of means, steps, etc. into one or divide them. . Also, the configurations shown in the respective embodiments may be appropriately combined.

100, 200 information processing system 110, 120 information processing device (server)
151, 152, 153 Information processing terminal 199 Network 210 Information processing server 220, 230 PC (information processing terminal)
240 mobile phone (information processing terminal)
250, 251, 252 Tablets (information processing terminals)
260, 270, 280, 290 networks

Claims (13)

A program executed by an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
Based on the fact that the first object selected by the user has moved to the first area corresponding to the first amount of money by the operation of the user, the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object is the first One amount of money is displayed on the display unit, and the second amount of money is displayed as the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object based on the user's operation to move to a second area corresponding to the second amount of money. is displayed on the display unit, and is executed by the information processing terminal. A program executed by an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
A program for integrating at least a part of the plurality of first objects selected by the user into one object for determining a payment amount by an operation of the user. The program of claim 2,
The program, wherein the number of the first objects to be integrated is displayed on the one integrated object. A program executed by an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
A program for increasing the area of a second area within the first area displayed on the display unit based on the other user's payment corresponding to the first object selected by the user. The program of claim 4,
For each of all the first objects selected by the user, the area of the second area matches the area of the first area when the other user's payment corresponding to the first object is executed. program to do. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A program , wherein the information processing terminal communicates with the first information processing terminal by proximity communication. The program of claim 6,
The program, wherein the proximity communication is by a shake motion. An information processing method for an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
Based on the fact that the first object selected by the user has moved to the first area corresponding to the first amount of money by the operation of the user, the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object is the first One amount of money is displayed on the display unit, and the second amount of money is displayed as the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object based on the user's operation to move to a second area corresponding to the second amount of money. and displaying on the display unit. An information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user and includes a display unit,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on the display unit;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
Based on the fact that the first object selected by the user has moved to the first area corresponding to the first amount of money by the operation of the user, the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object is the first One amount of money is displayed on the display unit, and the second amount of money is displayed as the payment amount of the other user corresponding to the first object based on the user's operation to move to a second area corresponding to the second amount of money. is displayed on the display unit. An information processing method for an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
An information processing method, wherein at least some of the plurality of first objects selected by the user are integrated into one object for determining a payment amount by an operation of the user. An information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user and includes a display unit,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on the display unit;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
An information processing terminal that integrates at least a part of the plurality of first objects selected by the user into one object for determining a payment amount by an operation of the user. An information processing method for an information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on a display unit of the information processing terminal;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
An information processing method for increasing an area of a second area within a first area displayed on the display unit based on payment by the other user corresponding to the first object selected by the user. . An information processing terminal that communicates with a first information processing terminal of another user and includes a display unit,
displaying a first object corresponding to each of the other users on the display unit;
displaying the first object selected by the user of the information processing terminal from among the first objects on the display unit in a manner different from the first objects not selected;
An information processing terminal that increases the area of a second area within the first area displayed on the display unit based on payment by the other user corresponding to the first object selected by the user. .

Images