JP7473212B2 - Consultation matching system, consultation matching program, and consultation matching method - Google Patents

Description

The application was published (posted) on the website on October 24, 2018, in accordance with Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act.

The present invention relates to a consultation matching system, a consultation matching program, and a consultation matching method.

In the past, when seeking advice in various fields such as law, finances, and life counseling, it was necessary to visit an appropriate consultant. However, in recent years, the Internet has become widespread, and technology that allows various types of consultations to be received remotely via the Internet has become known.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a system that registers consultants in various fields, accepts selection of expertise by the client, and presents a list of experts in charge of that expertise.

Patent document 2 also describes how the advisor inputs the consultation categories that he or she can accept, and the person seeking advice searches based on the registered consultation categories.

JP 2003-316882 A JP 2016-4273 A

When choosing a consultant, many people consider the consultation fee. However, in systems like the one above, the consultation fee is not displayed in the search results, making it difficult to choose an appropriate consultant.

The present invention aims to provide a new consultation matching system that helps users select an appropriate person to consult with.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a consultation matching system for a person seeking advice searching for a person to consult with, comprising: a registration means for accepting input including a designation of a consultation fee as information about the person to consult with and registering the input in a database; a search means for accepting input of search conditions for the person to consult with and conducting a search; and a display means for displaying and processing the information about the person to consult with and transmitting the processing results in order to display a search result screen including the consultation fee for each person to consult with.
With this configuration, the consultation fees registered by each person to be consulted are displayed on the search result screen, which can assist the person to be consulted in selecting a person to be consulted.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes a consultation method receiving means for receiving a selection of a consultation method from options including telephone consultation and chat consultation, a telephone consultation means for transmitting and receiving audio between the terminal device of the person seeking advice and the terminal device of the person being consulted, and a chat consultation means for transmitting and receiving text information between the terminal device of the person seeking advice and the terminal device of the person being consulted.
With this configuration, the consultation method can be specified from options including telephone consultation and chat consultation, allowing remote consultation to be conducted using a method that is more convenient for the person seeking advice and the person being consulted.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chat consultation means transmits and receives messages before the start of a consultation and messages during the consultation, and the display means displays and processes the character information to display the messages before the start of the consultation and during the consultation on the same screen.
With this configuration, the consultation can be progressed while checking the message that is sent before the consultation starts, improving convenience.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the registration means receives an input specifying the consultation fee for each of the consultation methods and registers the input in the database.
With this configuration, the person seeking advice can specify the consultation fee for each consultation method. Also, if the consultation fee for each consultation method is displayed on the search result screen, it can be useful for the person seeking advice to select a consultation partner that is more in line with their wishes.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the registration means accepts an input selecting a consultation field that the consultation party can handle as information about the consultation party and registers the input in the database, and further includes application means for accepting an application for consultation together with the designation of the consultation field and the consultation party, and the consultation method receiving means determines the consultation method based on the consultation field received by the application means.
With this configuration, it is possible to specify an appropriate consultation method according to the consultation field. For example, when a consultation field is specified in which video explanations such as golf lessons are preferred, a more effective consultation can be achieved by determining video calling as the consultation method.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the registration means receives an input specifying the consultation fee for each of the consultation fields and registers the input in the database.
With this configuration, the person seeking advice can specify the consultation fee for each consultation field. Also, if the consultation fee for each consultation field is displayed on the search result screen, it can be useful for the person seeking advice to select a consultation partner that is more in line with their wishes.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a related field, which is another consultation field related to a specific consultation field, is stored in the database in association with the consultation field, and the search means receives a designation of the consultation field as the search condition, and extracts, as a search result, a consultation partner who can handle the related field corresponding to the designated consultation field.
With this configuration, it is possible to present a consultant for the consultation field that often arises in relation to the problem that the consultant recognizes. For example, consultants seeking advice on child rearing are often also interested in married life. By storing in the database the consultation field related to child rearing in association with the consultation field related to married life, when the consultation field related to child rearing is specified, a consultant who can handle the consultation field related to married life can be presented.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a related field, which is another consultation field related to a specific consultation field, is stored in the database in association with the consultation field, and the system further comprises a means for storing in the database a consultation history identifying at least the client and the consultation field, and a means for identifying a consultation partner who can handle the consultation field with which the client has consulted or the related field associated with the specific consultation field, based on the consultation field in the consultation history of the client, and the display means displays information of the identified consultation partner and transmits the processing result to the client's terminal device.
With this configuration, a person suitable for consultation can be presented to the person seeking advice based on past consultations, making it easier for the person seeking advice to find a more suitable person for consultation.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises means for storing in the database a consultation history identifying at least the consultee, and means for identifying the consultee whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value based on the consultation history, and the display means displays a screen including a display for confirming a method of use, and transmits a processing result to a terminal device of the consultee whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than the predetermined value.
With this configuration, it is possible to show users who are not familiar with the system how to use it, thereby improving user convenience.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises means for receiving an evaluation of the consultation partner via the terminal device of the person seeking advice, and application means for accepting consultation applications from the person seeking advice together with the designation of the consultation partner, while restricting the acceptance of consultation applications specifying the consultation partner from the person seeking advice who has given an evaluation of the consultation partner below a reference value.
With this configuration, the consultation partner can prevent the consultation partner from accepting a second consultation from the consultation partner who gave the consultation partner a low evaluation, thereby preventing trouble between the consultation partner and the consultation partner.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device further includes an immediate consultation registration means for accepting input of immediate consultation information indicating that the consultation party is available to respond to the consultation immediately and registering the information in association with the consultation party, and the display means displays and processes the immediate consultation information and transmits the processing result in order to display on the search result screen an indication that the consultation party is available to respond to the consultation immediately.
With this configuration, the person seeking advice can immediately check who is available for advice, which is helpful in selecting who to consult with.

The present invention is a consultation matching program for a person seeking advice searching for a person to consult with, which causes a computer to function as a registration means for accepting input including a consultation fee as information about the person to consult with and registering the information in a database, a search means for accepting input of search conditions for the person to consult with and performing a search, and a display means for displaying and processing the information about the person to display a search result screen including the consultation fee for each person to consult with and transmitting the processing results.

The present invention is a consultation matching method for a person seeking advice searching for a person to consult with, and causes a computer to execute a registration step of accepting input including a consultation fee as information about the person to consult with and registering the information in a database, a search step of accepting input of search conditions for the person to consult with and performing a search, and a display step of displaying and processing the information about the person to display a search result screen including the consultation fee for each person to consult with and transmitting the processing result.

The present invention provides a new consultation matching system that assists in the selection of an appropriate person to consult with.

1 is a functional block diagram of a consultation matching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a search result screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display switching section displayed in the consultation matching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a consultation partner display screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an application screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating an example of a chat consultation screen and a telephone consultation screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a search result screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a consultation partner display screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a chat consultation screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a consultation list screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an application list screen displayed in the consultation matching system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The consultation matching system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment shown below is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment below, and various configurations can be adopted.

For example, in this embodiment, the configuration, operation, etc. of the consultation matching system will be described, but a similarly configured method, device, computer program, etc. can also achieve the same effects. The program may also be stored on a recording medium. Using this recording medium, the program can be installed on a computer, for example. Here, the recording medium storing the program may be a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

In the present invention, a consultant refers to a person who wishes to use the present invention to seek consultation.
In addition, the consultation partner refers to a person who accepts and responds to a consultation from a consultant. In the following description, those who use the present invention, including the consultant and the consultation partner, will be collectively referred to as "user."

In this embodiment, each user can act as both a consultant and a person consulted. That is, one user can apply to consult with another user as a consultant, and the same user can also provide advice to another user as a person consulted.

In addition, in this embodiment, the consultation partners are divided into general mentors and professional mentors. Professional mentors can introduce specific products and services to other users. In this embodiment, if a general mentor meets certain conditions, he or she is qualified to become a professional mentor. Specifically, a predetermined standard value is set for the number of evaluations and the average evaluation score, and if a general mentor meets the standard, the determination means qualifies the general mentor to become a professional mentor.

In the present invention, the consultation fee refers to the remuneration paid by the person consulting to the person consulting when consulting. In this embodiment, the consultation fee designated by the person consulting is displayed on the search result screen.

In the present invention, a consultation method is a method for conducting consultation selected from options including telephone consultation and chat consultation. In the case of telephone consultation, the consultation matching system according to the present invention transmits and receives voice between the terminal device of the person seeking consultation (consultant terminal described below) and the terminal device of the person being consulted (consultant terminal described below), and conducts consultation by phone. In the case of chat consultation, the consultation matching system according to the present invention transmits and receives text information between the terminal device of the person seeking consultation (consultant terminal described below) and the terminal device of the person being consulted (consultant terminal described below), and conducts consultation by chat. In this embodiment, the options for the consultation method are a type of telephone consultation and further include a video call that transmits and receives voice and video.

In this embodiment, the consultation field refers to the field of the consultation content. In this embodiment, the consultation field is classified into three levels: major categories, medium categories, and minor categories. In this embodiment, the consultation field that the consultation partner can handle is the major category, and the consultation field in the consultation application is the minor category, but any design change is possible. For example, the consultation field does not need to be divided into major and minor categories, and may be specified at only one level, or the consultation field that the consultation partner can handle and the consultation field in the consultation application may be accepted at the same level (for example, minor categories).

In this embodiment, the database stores a consultation field master that indicates the hierarchical relationship of consultation fields including major categories, medium categories, and minor categories. For major categories, broad fields such as love, money, human relationships, work, hobbies, etc. are set. For medium categories, for example, for the major category of love, more specific fields are set such as love, dating, matchmaking, marriage, etc. For minor categories, fields that further classify the medium categories are set, and specifically, for example, for the medium category of love, fields such as unrequited love, confession, reconciliation, heartbreak, and breakup are set.

In addition, in this embodiment, the database stores a related field master that stores the relationship between a specific consultation field and another consultation field. In the related field master, another consultation field related to a specific consultation field is stored as a related field. For example, a client who has a problem about "meeting" in love often has a request for a problem consultation about "marriage hunting". Also, a client who has a problem about "child-rearing" may have a request for a problem consultation about "married life", and there are many cases where a certain consultation field is related to another consultation field. In this way, another consultation field that is recognized as being related to a first consultation field is stored as a related field in association with the first consultation field. In the above example, the consultation field of "married life" is stored as a related field in association with the consultation field of "child-rearing". On the other hand, it is optional whether or not to store the consultation field of "child-rearing" as a related field of "married life", and the relationship does not have to be registered in both directions. Also, it is not necessary to store related fields for all consultation fields, and it is sufficient to store a related field when there is another field that is recognized as being related.

In this embodiment, the first consultation field and related fields may be any of the three levels of major classification, medium classification, and small classification. For example, for the consultation field of "romance" in the major classification, the database may store the medium classification "meetings" and the small classification "matchmaking" as related fields. Here, when the first consultation field or related field is specified as a major classification or medium classification, the lower classifications (medium classifications and small classifications) included in the major classification or medium classification are also treated as the specific consultation field and related field.

In addition, in this embodiment, input of immediate consultation information indicating that the person to be consulted is available to respond to the consultation immediately is accepted, and is registered in association with the person to be consulted. This makes it possible to distinguish in the data which people to be consulted who are available to respond immediately. In this embodiment, display is performed based on the immediate consultation information.

Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the consultation matching system of this embodiment. In this way, the consultation matching system of this embodiment is configured so that the server device 1, the client terminal 2, and the consultation partner terminal 3 can communicate via the network NW. Here, although there are actually multiple client terminals 2 and consultation partner terminals 3 and they are not distinguished from one another, they are defined separately here for the sake of explanation. In this invention, the client's terminal device refers to the client terminal 2, and the consultation partner's terminal device refers to the consultation partner terminal 3.

The server device 1 may be a general computer device such as a server device that includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), an auxiliary memory device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory, and various input/output devices including a means for connecting to a network NW.

The server device 1 includes a registration means 11, a search means 12, a display means 13, a consultation method reception means 14, an application means 15, and an immediate consultation registration means 16, and is connected to the database DB via a wired or wireless connection.

The registration means 11 accepts input including the designation of the consultation fee via the consultation partner terminal 3 as information about the consultation partner, and registers it in the database DB. In this embodiment, the registration means 11 accepts input of basic information such as the user ID, user name, age, and gender as well as the designation of the consultation fee, and stores it in the database DB as user information. In this embodiment, the designation of the consultation fee for each consultation method and consultation field is also accepted and registered in the database DB.

In this embodiment, the registration means 11 further accepts an input to select the consultation field that the consultee can handle, and registers it in the database DB by linking it to the information of the consultee. Here, the number of available consultation fields registered and linked to the information of one consultee may be 0 to multiple. For example, in this embodiment, up to three available consultation fields are registered for each consultee, but the configuration may also be such that any number of available consultation fields can be registered by linking them to the information of each consultee.

The search means 12 accepts input of search conditions for a consultant via the consultant terminal 2 and performs a search. The search conditions accepted may be any conditions such as the field of consultation that the consultant can handle, consultation fees, consultation methods, evaluation, age, gender, etc. The search means 12 then refers to the database DB to extract consultants who fit the input conditions and transmits them to the display means 13.

The display means 13 processes and displays the information of the consultant extracted by the search means 12 and transmits the processing result to the consultant terminal 2, and the search result screen including the consultation fee is displayed on the consultant terminal 2. Here, the consultation fee of each consultant is displayed for each consultation method and consultation field. In this embodiment, the display means 13 processes and displays the consultation fields that the consultant can handle as information about the consultant, in addition to the consultation fee, and the consultation field is also displayed on the search result screen.

The consultation method receiving means 14 receives the selection of the consultation method from among options including telephone consultation and chat consultation. In this embodiment, the consultation method receiving means 14 inquires about consultation methods corresponding to the consultation field registered in advance, and checks whether there is a consultation method corresponding to the consultation field specified by the client. The reference here may be to a database DB, or may be a storage device provided in the client terminal 2.

If there is a consultation method that corresponds to the consultation field designated by the consultant, the consultation method is determined without the need for input by the consultant, and if there is no consultation method that corresponds to the consultation field designated by the consultant, the consultation method selection is accepted through input by the consultant via the consultant terminal 2. For example, if there is a consultation method that corresponds to the consultation field designated by the consultant, a selection section in which the consultation field has already been input is displayed on the application screen described below.

The application means 15 accepts an application for consultation along with the designation of the consultation field and the person to be consulted. In this embodiment, the application means 15 accepts the selection of the consultation field, the person to be consulted, the consultation method, and the consultation date and time via the client terminal 2, thereby accepting the application for consultation, and registers the input information in the database DB. Here, if there is a consultation method that corresponds to the consultation field designated by the client, the application means 15 accepts the consultation method determined by the consultation method acceptance means 14.

The immediate consultation registration means 16 accepts input of immediate consultation information indicating that the consultation partner is available to respond to the consultation immediately via the consultation partner terminal 3, and registers the immediate consultation information in the database DB by linking it to the consultation partner.

The telephone consultation means 17 executes processing for transmitting and receiving voice between the client terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3. Specifically, a voice call is realized between the client terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3 by performing processing for receiving voice from one terminal device and transmitting it to the other terminal device. For example, information for using the voice call function may be sent to a server external to the consultation matching system of this embodiment.

The chat consultation means 18 executes processing for transmitting and receiving text information between the client terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3. Specifically, chat is realized by transmitting text information received from one terminal device to the display means 13 and processing for displaying it on the chat partner's terminal device. For example, information for using the chat function may be transmitted to an external server of the consultation matching system of this embodiment.

The counselor terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3 can be general computer devices equipped with a calculation device, a main memory device, an auxiliary memory device, a means for connecting to the network NW, various input/output devices, etc. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a smartphone or a tablet terminal is used, but any other computer device such as a PC (Personal Computer) can also be used as the counselor terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3.

The counselor terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3 are respectively equipped with input means 21, 31 and output means 22, 32. In this embodiment, a touch panel display, a microphone, a speaker, a camera, etc. are equipped as the input means 21, 31 and the output means 22, 32.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a search result screen displayed on the client terminal 2 in this embodiment. The search result screen W1 displays a search tab W11 and a display switch W12 along with the search results, and an immediate consultation display W13 is displayed in the information of the consultation partner extracted as a search result. The immediate consultation display W13 is displayed for consultation partners for which immediate consultation information is registered. In addition, for each consultation partner, the areas of consultation that can be handled, the number of past evaluations, the average of past evaluations, and the consultation fee for each consultation method are displayed. Furthermore, if a consultation partner currently handling a consultation from another user is included in the search results, a consultation in progress display W14 is displayed for that consultation partner.

When a consultation partner for which immediate consultation information is registered is currently responding to a consultation from another user, the immediate consultation display W13 is not displayed for that consultation partner, and instead the consultation in progress display W14 is displayed. For example, when a consultation partner is currently responding to a consultation from another user, it is expected that the consultation partner cannot immediately respond to the consultation even if immediate consultation information is registered linked to the consultation partner. In this embodiment, for a consultation partner currently responding to a consultation from another user, even if immediate consultation information is registered linked to the consultation partner, by displaying the consultation in progress display W14 instead of the immediate consultation display W13 on the search result screen W1, it is possible to avoid confusion about a consultation partner who cannot immediately respond to a consultation. Also, when a consultation partner is consulting with another consultation partner as a consultant using the same account, the consultation in progress display W14 is displayed in the same way.

Figure 2 shows the case where "Find a consultant" is selected in the search tab W11. In this embodiment, all consultants are displayed in this case. When the display switch W12 is selected, the display switch section W16 shown in Figure 3 is displayed superimposed on the search result screen W1. Here, input is accepted to narrow down the search results to consultants currently accepting consultations (consultants for whom immediate consultation information is registered), consultants currently in consultation, favorite consultants registered by the consultant, and professional mentors. By selecting each item in the display switch section W16, it is possible to switch the consultants displayed on the search result screen W1.

The search result screen W1 also includes a narrowing down button W15. When the narrowing down button W15 is selected, the search partners can be narrowed down in terms of the consultation field, consultation method, consultation fee, number of past consultations, evaluation, age group, gender, industry, and qualifications. When the genre list tab is selected in the search tab W11, a list of selectable consultation fields is displayed, and the client can select a consultation field. When a consultation field is selected here, the search means 12 extracts consultation partners who can handle that consultation field, and the extracted consultation partners are displayed on the search result screen W1.

In this embodiment, when a consultation field is specified in the narrowing down conditions or genre list tab, the search means 12 checks whether or not a related field linked to the specified consultation field is stored in the database DB. If a related field is stored, the search means 12 extracts consultation partners who can handle at least one of the specified selected field and the related field.

When a person to consult with is selected on the search result screen W1, the display means 13 processes and displays the information about the person to consult with and transmits the processing result to the client terminal 2, and a person to consult with display screen showing detailed information about the person to consult with is displayed on the client terminal 2.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a consultation partner display screen displayed in this embodiment. Thus, the consultation partner display screen W2 includes a favorites button W21, an instant consultation button W22, and a consultation reservation button W23. When the favorites button W21 is selected, the displayed consultation partner is registered in the database DB as a favorite consultation partner in association with the logged-in user (consultant).

When the Instant Consult button W22 or the Consultation Reservation button W23 is selected, an application screen for specifying the consultation field is displayed. When the Instant Consult button W22 is selected, a screen for specifying the consultation field and consultation method is displayed, and when the Consultation Reservation button W23 is selected, a screen for specifying the consultation field, consultation method, and further the reservation date and time is displayed.

The consultation partner display screen W2 has a profile tab and a rating list tab, and selecting either of them displays the screens shown in Figures 4(a) and (b). The profile tab displays the consultation areas (genres) that the consultation partner can handle, consultation fees for each consultation method, and an introduction. Note that consultation fees are only displayed for consultation methods that can be handled, and are not displayed for consultation methods that cannot be handled. The rating list tab displays the number of past evaluations and their average rating (overall rating), as well as individual ratings by the person seeking advice. The ratings are displayed as the date of the rating, a five-point rating, and comments.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of an application screen that is displayed when the consultation reservation button W23 is selected on the consultation partner display screen W2. The application screen W3 includes a selection section W31, an application button W32, and a display for inputting the consultation content in text. The selection section W31 includes displays for selecting the consultation field, consultation method, and consultation date and time. In this embodiment, consultation methods are set in advance in association with some consultation fields, and when a consultation method is set for a specified consultation field, the consultation method receiving means 14 automatically selects the consultation method and displays it on the application screen W3. It is also possible to allow selection of a consultation method other than the consultation methods set in advance.

When the application button W32 is selected, the application means 15 accepts application information including the consultation partner, consultation field, consultation method, and consultation date and time, and registers it in the database DB. The specified consultation partner is then notified that a consultation application has been made.

When a consultation application is accepted in the manner described above, the consultation begins at the specified date and time. In the case of chat consultation, at the specified consultation date and time (or when the consultation application is made in the case of instant consultation), the person consulting or the person consulting enters a message via the consultant terminal 2 or the person consulting terminal 3, the message is displayed on the other person's terminal device, and the consultation begins.

Figure 6 (a) is a diagram showing an example of a chat consultation screen. In the chat consultation screen W4, comments are displayed in chronological order in a form that allows the speaker to be identified. In addition, the chat consultation screen W4 has an input section W41, and the user can input text via the input section W41.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the chat consultation screen W4 displays the time elapsed since the start of the consultation. This allows the user to recognize the remaining time by comparing it with the pre-specified consultation time, and to check the excess time if the pre-specified consultation time is exceeded.

Here, there is a concern that if the person seeking advice leaves the chat unattended, the person may not be able to receive sufficient advice during the consultation time. This problem can be addressed, for example, by having the consultation matching system according to the present invention stop counting the consultation time if the person seeking advice does not reply to a message from the person seeking advice for a predetermined period of time or more. Also, for example, the consultation matching system according to the present invention may count the consultation time only while the person seeking advice and the person seeking advice are entering text, or may count the consultation time only while the chat consultation screen W4 is displayed on the person seeking advice terminal 2.

In addition, in this embodiment, the consultation fee is specified based on the consultation time for both chat and telephone consultations, but in the case of chat consultations, the consultation fee may be determined based on the number of messages sent, so that sufficient consultation can be received even if the person being consulted is slow to respond.

Figure 6 (b) is a diagram showing an example of a telephone consultation screen. The telephone consultation screen W5 displays the user (the person seeking advice or the person consulting) who is the other party in the call and the duration of the call. The telephone consultation screen W5 also includes a button for switching the output to a speaker and a button for putting the call on hold. When the button for putting the call on hold is selected, audio is temporarily muted on the other party's terminal device, and the call can be put on hold.

In addition, in this embodiment, the telephone consultation means 17 or chat consultation means 18 extends the consultation time and continues the consultation in response to an input via the client terminal 2 or the consultation partner terminal 3, or automatically when the consultation time reserved in advance has elapsed. In this way, the consultation time can be flexibly changed according to the progress of the consultation.

Furthermore, the registration means 11 may receive an input specifying the consultation fee when the consultation time is extended via the consultation partner terminal 3, and register it in the database DB in association with the information of the consultation partner. That is, the database DB may be configured to separately store the consultation fee for a normal reservation and the consultation fee when the consultation time is extended. With such a configuration, for example, a higher consultation fee can be shown to a consultant who extends a previously reserved consultation time than to a consultant who keeps to the previously reserved consultation time. This makes it possible to encourage consultants to keep to the consultation time, or to set a lower consultation fee for extensions according to the wishes of the consultation partner, allowing the consultant to easily extend the consultation time.

When the consultation is conducted in the above manner, the consultant and the person being consulted can evaluate each other. That is, in this embodiment, the server device 1 includes a means for accepting an evaluation of the person being consulted via the consultant terminal 2, and a means for accepting an evaluation of the consultant via the person being consulted terminal 3. In this embodiment, after the consultation is completed, a screen for accepting an input of a five-level evaluation and a message is displayed on each of the consultant terminal 2 and the person being consulted terminal 3. Such evaluations are accepted by the means for accepting the evaluation of the person being consulted or the means for accepting the evaluation of the consultant via the consultant terminal 2 or the person being consulted terminal 3, and are registered in the database DB in association with the user of the evaluation target and the evaluator.

Here, the application means 15 may be configured to restrict the acceptance of subsequent consultation requests according to the evaluation. For example, if a person seeking advice gives a low evaluation to a person who is seeking advice, the person who received the low evaluation may be prevented from accepting subsequent consultation requests from that person. Specifically, a standard value may be set in advance, and, in response to the request of the person who is seeking advice, a setting may be made not to accept consultation requests from people who have given an evaluation below (or below) the standard value, and the application means 15 may not accept consultation requests from that person that specify that person who is seeking advice.

When the consultation is completed, the consultation fee is paid from the person seeking advice to the person seeking advice. For example, in this embodiment, the server device 1 executes a process for the person seeking advice to make a payment from the person seeking advice to the person seeking advice, according to the consultation method accepted by the application means 15, the consultation fee registered in association with the information of the person seeking advice, and the amount claimed calculated based on the actual consultation time. Specifically, for example, the server device 1 may execute a process for debiting the amount claimed from an account registered in association with the information of the person seeking advice and the person seeking advice, or the information of the person seeking advice's account may be displayed on the person seeking advice terminal 2 to encourage the person seeking advice to transfer the amount claimed.

The first consultation may be a "trial consultation" with no consultation fee. For example, a consultation by a consultant who has no experience of consulting with any consultant may be a trial consultation with no consultation fee, or a consultation with a specific consultant may be a trial consultation when the consultant has no experience of consulting with a specific consultant, regardless of the consultant's experience with other consultants. That is, a consultation with no experience of consulting with any consultant may be a first consultation, or a consultation with a certain consultant but not with another consultant may be treated as a first consultation only. In the case of a trial consultation, a limit may be set on the consultation time, and the consultant may not be able to extend the consultation time.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen displayed on the consultation partner terminal 3. The consultation partner can input immediate consultation information, consultation field (consultation genre), consultation fee, and introduction via the setting screen W6. Figure 7 shows an input example when a consultation can be handled immediately, and the presence or absence of immediate consultation information can be switched on or off by operating the button displayed for the "Make consultation available now" item in the figure.

When the person to be consulted inputs information as shown in FIG. 7, the immediate consultation registration means 16 accepts the input of the immediate consultation information, links it to the person to be consulted, and registers it in the database DB. As a result, an immediate consultation display W13 for the person to be consulted is displayed on the search result screen W1.

As described above, the consultation matching system of this embodiment allows you to search for a consultation partner in an optimal way.

<Other embodiments>
8 to 10, modified examples focusing on changes to the display contents of each screen will be described below. In this embodiment, the server device 1 further includes a means for storing a consultation history in the database DB, which specifies at least the person seeking advice, the person being consulted, and the field of consultation. In addition to the above-mentioned information, the consultation history may further include the consultation start date and time, the consultation end date and time, the chat contents, etc. Furthermore, the means for accepting an evaluation of the person being consulted via the consultant terminal 2 and the means for accepting an evaluation of the person seeking advice via the person being consulted terminal 3 may function as a means for storing the consultation history in the database DB together with the evaluations of the person seeking advice and the person being consulted.

Figure 8 shows another example of the search result screen W1 when no narrowing down conditions or consultation fields are specified, i.e., all consultation partners are displayed. In addition to the display in Figure 2, the search result screen W1 in this modified example further includes a usage method display section W17 as a display for confirming the usage method. It is preferable that the usage method display section W17 is displayed to users (consultants) who have registered for use for less than a predetermined period of time, and users whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the server device 1 further includes a means for identifying a client whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value, or a client whose period of time since registration is less than a predetermined period, based on the consultation history stored in the database DB. The display means 13 processes and displays a screen including the usage method display section W17, and transmits the processing result to the client terminal 2 of the identified client. Note that, not only for clients but also for counselors, counselors whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value may be identified based on the usage history, and the usage method display section W17 may be displayed on the counselor terminal 3 of the counselor.

When the usage method display section W17 is selected, a screen showing how to use the service is displayed over the search result screen W1, allowing the user to confirm the usage method. Here, when the usage method display section W17 is selected on the client terminal 2, it is preferable to display the usage method by the client, and when the usage method display section W17 is selected on the consultation partner terminal 3, it is preferable to display the usage method by the consultation partner.

In addition, for client terminals 2 other than those whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value, or those whose period of time since registration is less than a predetermined value, advertisements may be displayed instead of the usage method display section W17. In this case, it is preferable to display advertisements according to the interests of the client, taking into consideration the fields of consultation in the client's consultation history, etc.

In addition, the search result screen W1 of this embodiment further includes a consultation partner suggestion section W18. Note that the consultation partner suggestion section W18 is displayed only on the search result screen W1 in a state where all consultation partners are displayed, and is preferably not displayed when narrowing down conditions or consultation fields are specified.

The consultation partner suggestion section W18 displays recommended consultation partners according to the consultation history of the client. Therefore, in this embodiment, the server device 1 further includes a means for identifying a consultation partner who can handle a consultation field that the client has consulted on or a related field associated with the consultation field, based on the consultation field in the client's consultation history. That is, the above means extracts the consultation field in the client's consultation history, and identifies a consultation partner who can handle the consultation field based on the consultation field that the consultation partner can handle in the information of the consultation partner stored in the database DB.

The display means 13 processes and displays the information of the consultation partner identified as described above, and transmits the processing result to be displayed on the client terminal 2. As a result, a consultation partner suggestion section W18 is displayed on the search result screen W1, which presents recommended consultation partners (those who can handle the consultation field that the client has consulted on in the past or related fields).

In addition, in the search result screen W1 of this embodiment, a trial consultation display W19 is further displayed in addition to the information of the consultation partner who is available for a trial consultation. In this embodiment, the registration means 11 accepts whether or not a trial consultation, which is a free consultation within a specified time, via the consultation partner terminal 3, and stores this in the database DB as information of the consultation partner. The display means 13 processes this for display, and the trial consultation display W19 is displayed on the search result screen W1. Note that the consultation partner may specify conditions for the trial consultation, such as consultation time and consultation method, or first time only, and the conditions for the trial consultation may be managed as information of the consultation partner in the database DB.

Figure 9 shows another example of the consultation partner display screen W2. Figure 9(a) is an example of the consultation partner display screen W2 for a consultation partner to whom the consultant has sent a consultation request. In this way, for consultation partners to whom a consultation request has already been sent, a message is displayed indicating that a consultation request is in progress, and the immediate consultation button W22 and consultation reservation button W23 are not displayed.

Figure 9 (b) is an example of the display of the consultation partner display screen W2 for a consultation partner currently in consultation with another consultant. In this way, the immediate consultation button W22 is not displayed for a consultation partner currently in consultation with another consultant, and a consultation reservation button W23 is displayed to indicate that the consultation is in progress.

Figure 9 (c) is an example of the display of the consultation partner display screen W2 for consultation partners for whom no immediate consultation information is registered (who do not accept immediate consultations). Note that consultation partners who refuse consultations from the client may also be displayed in a similar manner. In this way, for consultation partners with whom immediate consultation is not possible, the display form of the immediate consultation button W22 is changed and it cannot be selected.

Also, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another display example of the chat consultation screen W4. In this embodiment, the chat consultation means 18 transmits and receives messages between the client terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3 when applying for a consultation or at any other timing. Here, during a chat consultation, there are cases where a user wants to check messages sent before the consultation begins. Therefore, in this embodiment, messages sent before and during the consultation are displayed on the same screen.

In addition, in this embodiment, the remaining time of the consultation is also displayed on the chat consultation screen W4. This allows the person seeking advice and the person being consulted to recognize the remaining time, making it easier to manage the consultation time.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display of a consultation list screen W7 that displays a list of consultations being conducted by the person seeking advice. For example, in the case of chat consultations, it is possible to conduct multiple consultations in parallel, in which case multiple ongoing consultations are displayed as shown in Figure 11. Here, the remaining time of the consultation, the name (user name) of the person being consulted, the consultation method (a speech bubble mark indicates chat consultation, a phone mark indicates phone consultation), the date and time of the consultation, and part of the most recent message are displayed.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the application list screen W8 that displays applications from people seeking advice. The "Reservations in progress" column displays a list of applications that have been accepted by the person seeking advice, and the "Consultation requests in progress" column displays a list of applications that are awaiting acceptance by the person seeking advice. As with the consultation list screen W7, the name of the person seeking advice, the consultation method, consultation date and time, and part of the most recent message are displayed here. For "Reservations in progress" consultations whose scheduled start time is approaching, the time remaining until the scheduled start time is displayed.

When a consultation application is made, the specified person to be consulted is notified that an application has been made, and the application means 15 accepts an input via the person to be consulted terminal 3 as to whether or not they will accept the consultation. If the person to be consulted accepts the consultation, the status of the application information becomes "reserved," and the consultation begins at the specified time. If the person to be consulted does not accept the consultation, the application means 15 notifies the person who made the application of that fact.

The person to be consulted may be allowed to start consultation a certain time before the designated time. For example, in this embodiment, the telephone consultation means 17 accepts input from the person to be consulted to start consultation from 5 minutes before the designated time in the reservation.

The consultation time may be calculated in any manner. For example, in a telephone consultation, if the call is started before the specified time, the consultation time may be calculated from the time the caller answers (the time the call is started), and if the call is started after the specified time, the consultation time may be calculated from the time the person being consulted inputs the start of the consultation. Also, if the person being consulted inputs the start of the consultation before the specified time and the caller answers (the call is started) after the specified time, the consultation time may be calculated from the specified time.

In addition, in chat consultations, if an input to start a consultation is received before a specified time, the consultation time may be calculated from the specified time, and if an input to start a consultation is received after the specified time, the consultation time may be calculated from the time when the input to start a consultation is received.

Regarding the end of the consultation, an input may be received from the person consulting or the person being consulted via, for example, the display of "End" in the upper right corner of Figures 6(a) and (b) or Figure 10, and the telephone consultation means 17 or the chat consultation means 18 may end the consultation accordingly. Note that such input to end the consultation may be accepted when the consultation time specified in the consultation reservation has elapsed. Also, a display for inputting the end of the consultation may be displayed when the consultation time specified in the consultation reservation has elapsed. Also, for example, the consultation may be automatically ended when a predetermined time has elapsed beyond the consultation time specified in the consultation reservation.

Next, we will explain about immediate consultation. When an immediate consultation is selected by a person seeking advice, there are two possible processing methods. The first method is for the person seeking advice to contact the person they are consulting with immediately. In this case, if it is a chat consultation, the person seeking advice will send a message to the person they are consulting with, and if it is a phone consultation, the person seeking advice will make a call to the person they are consulting with.

The other method is a method in which a consultation application is made with the start time set to the current time. In this case, the person seeking advice inputs information other than the start time in the same way as when applying for a consultation with a specified time, and the application means 15 notifies the person being consulted of this. If the person being consulted agrees to the consultation, the application is accepted and the person being consulted contacts the person seeking advice by message or phone call. There are no limitations on the method for starting and managing an instant consultation, and any method may be used. Methods other than those mentioned above may also be used.

As another function, for example, the person consulting may be allowed to set his/her own consultation menu. Specifically, instead of specifying the consultation fee for each consultation field, a menu may be set specifying the consultation field and consultation time in addition to the consultation fee, and this may be registered as information about the person consulting. Furthermore, each professional mentor may be given a qualification specifying the consultation field, and the registration means 11 may be configured to accept registration of such a consultation menu only for the consultation field for which the qualification has been given.

When a telephone consultation is put on hold, it is preferable not to include the time on hold in the consultation time. For example, the consultation may be temporarily interrupted, and when an input to resume the consultation is received from the person being consulted, the consultation may be resumed and the calculation of the consultation time may be restarted. In this case, the calculation of the consultation time may be restarted from the point at which the call was started, or from the point at which an input to resume the consultation is received from the person being consulted. Also, for example, while the communication state between the client terminal 2 and the person being consulted terminal 3 continues, the call may be temporarily not played back, and the consultation may be automatically interrupted when a predetermined time has passed. In this case, it is preferable that the consultation be resumed when an input to resume the consultation is received from the person being consulted.

In this embodiment, the telephone consultation means 17 or chat consultation means 18 accepts an input requesting an extension of the consultation time in response to an input via the client terminal 2, and whether or not to extend the consultation time may be determined based on certain conditions, such as confirming the intention of the person being consulted. For example, an extension may be permitted only to the extent that it does not overlap with other consultation times, based on the schedule of the client and the person being consulted, i.e., the consultation reservation. Furthermore, if an extension is possible, this may be displayed on the person being consulted terminal 3, and an input specifying whether or not to accept the extension may be accepted from the person being consulted.

In addition, in the above example, when a person seeking advice gives a low rating to a person seeking advice, the application means 15 does not accept future consultations from that person who received a low rating. However, in addition to the rating, the application means 15 may also accept a designation of a specific person by the person seeking advice, so that the application means 15 does not accept consultations from that person.

As another additional function, the telephone consultation means 17 may be provided with a voice recognition function, and may analyze the voice received via the client terminal 2 or the consultation partner terminal 3, and output it as text. Then, by displaying the output text on the client terminal 2 and the consultation partner terminal 3, telephone consultations, including video calls, can be conducted smoothly even when the voice is difficult to hear. Furthermore, specific words may be detected based on the output text, and used to restrict expressions, etc. Furthermore, the chat consultation means 18 may further be provided with a function to output input text information as voice.

The server device 1 may further include a translation means. For example, it is envisioned that the telephone consultation means 17 may recognize received voice, further translate it into a pre-specified language, and output it as voice or text, or that the chat consultation means 18 may translate received text information into a pre-specified language, and output it as voice or text. In this way, by instantly translating received information and outputting it in real time, it is possible to effectively mediate communication between a consultant and a consultant who speak different languages.

In addition, the server device 1 may further include a means for detecting violations, for example. Specifically, it is expected that prohibited words may be detected in profiles, chats, and other messages, and inappropriate images may be extracted using a learning model trained using prohibited images and other images.

It is preferable that the above-mentioned various screens are displayed in a universal color. For example, each user can specify whether or not they want to convert to universal colors, and the various screens can be displayed to that user in a screen with enhanced contrast.

As described above, the form of the present invention can be modified as desired. For example, as described above, by presenting a consultation partner based on the consultation field in the consultation history, the person seeking advice can more easily find a consultation partner that is more suited to the consultation content he or she wishes to have. In addition, by displaying a message for confirming how to use the system according to the number of consultations and frequency of consultations based on the consultation history, it is possible to guide users who are not familiar with the system on how to use the system, improving convenience.

1: Server device 2: Consultant terminal 3: Consultant terminal 11: Registration means 12: Search means 13: Display means 14: Consultation method reception means 15: Application means 16: Instant consultation registration means 17: Telephone consultation means 18: Chat consultation means 21: Input means 22: Output means 31: Input means 32: Output means NW: Network DB: Database W1: Search result screen W11: Search tab W12: Display switching W13: Instant consultation display W14: Consultation in progress display W15: Narrow down button W16: Display switching section W17: Usage method display section W18: Consultant suggestion section W19: Trial consultation display W2: Consultant display screen W21: Favorite button W22: Instant consultation button W23: Consultation reservation button W3: Application screen W31: Selection section W32: Application button W4: Chat consultation screen W41: Input section W5 : Telephone consultation screen W6 : Settings screen W7 : Consultation list screen W8 : Application list screen

Claims (14)

A consultation matching system for managing consultations between a consultant and a person to be consulted ,
application means for receiving an input from the person seeking advice specifying the person to be consulted and a consultation time;
The consultation matching system includes a display means for displaying a plurality of ongoing consultations being conducted by the client side by side, displaying the designated consultation partner and the remaining time of the consultation for each consultation, and transmitting the processing result to the terminal device of the client . A consultation method receiving means for receiving a selection of a consultation method from options including telephone consultation and chat consultation;
a telephone consultation means for transmitting and receiving voice between the terminal device of the consultant and the terminal device of the person to be consulted;
2. The consultation matching system according to claim 1, further comprising a chat consultation means for transmitting and receiving text information between the terminal device of said seeker and the terminal device of said consultation partner. 3. The consultation matching system according to claim 2, further comprising: a means for calculating a consultation time required for consultation through said chat consultation means, said means adding said consultation time in accordance with an elapsed time from the start of the consultation. The chat consultation means transmits and receives messages before the start of a consultation and messages during the consultation;
4. The consultation matching system according to claim 2, wherein said display means processes said text information to display said messages before the start of said consultation and during said consultation on the same screen. 5. The consultation matching system according to claim 2 , further comprising a registration means for receiving an input specifying a consultation fee for each of said consultation methods and registering the input in the database . The system further includes a registration means for accepting an input of a consultation field that the consultation person can handle as information of the consultation person and registering the input in a database ,
The application means accepts an application for consultation together with the designation of the consultation field and the consultation partner,
6. The consultation matching system according to claim 2 , wherein the consultation method receiving means determines the consultation method based on the consultation field received by the application means. 7. The consultation matching system according to claim 6, wherein said registration means accepts an input specifying a consultation fee for each of said consultation fields and registers the input in said database. A related field, which is another consultation field related to the specific consultation field, is stored in the database in association with the specific consultation field;
8. The consultation matching system according to claim 6 or claim 7, further comprising a search means for accepting input of search conditions for the consultation partner and performing a search, the search means accepting designation of the consultation field as the search condition, and extracting , as a search result, the consultation partner who can handle the related field corresponding to the designated consultation field. The instantaneous consultation registration means further includes an instantaneous consultation information registration means for registering the instantaneous consultation information by linking it to the consultation partner, the instantaneous consultation information registration means for registering the instantaneous consultation information by linking it to the consultation partner,
9. The consultation matching system according to claim 8 , wherein the display means displays the immediate consultation information and transmits a processing result in order to display on a search result screen an indication that the consultation partner is immediately available for consultation. A related field, which is another consultation field related to the specific consultation field, is stored in the database in association with the specific consultation field;
a means for storing in said database a consultation history that identifies at least said consultant and a consultation field;
and a means for identifying the counselor who can handle the consultation field in which the counselor has consulted or the related field associated with the consultation field, based on the consultation field in the consultation history of the counselor;
10. The consultation matching system according to claim 6, wherein the display means displays information about the identified consultation partner and transmits a processing result to the terminal device of the consultation partner. a means for storing in a database a consultation history that identifies at least the client;
and a means for identifying the client whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value based on the consultation history,
The consultation matching system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the display means processes a screen including a display for confirming a usage method, and transmits a processing result to a terminal device of the client whose number of consultations or frequency of consultations is less than a predetermined value. means for receiving an evaluation of the consultation partner via a terminal device of the consultation person;
The consultation matching system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an application means for accepting an application for consultation from the person seeking advice together with the designation of the person to be consulted, while restricting the acceptance of the application for consultation specifying the person to be consulted from the person seeking advice who has given an evaluation of the person to be consulted below a reference value. A consultation matching program for managing consultations between a consultant and a person to be consulted , comprising:
application means for receiving an input from the person seeking advice specifying the person to be consulted and a consultation time ;
This consultation matching program functions as a display means for displaying a plurality of ongoing consultations being conducted by the client side by side, displaying the designated consultation partner and the remaining time of the consultation for each consultation , and transmitting the processing result to the client's terminal device . A consultation matching method for managing consultations between a consultant and a consultant partner , comprising:
an application step of accepting an input from the person seeking advice specifying the person to be consulted and a consultation time;
and,
A consultation matching method is executed which executes a display step of displaying a plurality of ongoing consultations being conducted by the consultant side by side, displaying the designated consultation partner and the remaining time of the consultation for each consultation, and transmitting the processing result to the terminal device of the consultant .