KR20160112260A - Method and device for serching emoticon - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for searching an emoticon in a user terminal includes displaying an emoticon selection region including the thumbnail image of at least one emoticon, outputting a first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image with a preview type in a chatting window, when a selection for one of the thumbnail images is received, and outputting a second emoticon different from the first emoticon outputted with the preview type corresponding to the interaction, when receiving the interaction of a user for the outputted first emoticon. At this time, the second emoticon includes emotion information identical or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SERCHING EMOTICON [0001]

The present invention relates to a method of searching for an emoticon and a terminal.

The instant messaging service (IMS) is a real-time online communication service that allows a message sent by a sender to be instantly displayed on the screen of a recipient's terminal without using an e-mail program or a web browser separately. In particular, a service providing chatting, voice and video call using a mobile network is called a mobile instant messenger (MIM) service. In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2011-0012315 discloses an instant message control method.

Meanwhile, the instant message service provided to the user terminal may allow the conversation partner to transmit an emoticon to an instant message. In this case, when the emoticon selection region and the emoticon set selection region are displayed on the screen of the user terminal, the user has to search for the emoticon to be transmitted in the emoticon selection region and the emoticon set selection region. That is, the emoticons are usually grouped according to the emoticon set. In order to select and transmit one of the emoticons and then select and transmit another emoticon having the same or similar emotions as the transmitted emoticons, The user must search for the set of emoticons again in the selected emoticon set selection area. In addition, since the emoticon to be transmitted must be selected in the emoticon selection area in which the corresponding emoticon set is displayed, it is troublesome to select the emoticon.

In addition, even if one emoticon set is selected, a plurality of emoticons exist in the emoticon set area, and the user has to search the emoticon having the same or similar emotion information previously transmitted in the emoticon set area .

Accordingly, since the user consumes a relatively long time to select an emoticon that includes the same or similar emoticon as the emoticon transmitted or previewed in the past, the flow of conversation with the conversation partner is impeded There was a problem.

In addition, existing emoticons search methods provide emoticons without considering the user's intention, usage pattern, etc., and there is a problem that when a user does not have interest or purpose for a new emoticons, it is difficult for the user to buy the emoticons.

In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2011-0088693 (a method and server for providing a messenger service) discloses a method of providing a messenger service for changing an emoticon displayed according to an input signal.

In some embodiments of the present invention, upon receiving a user's interaction with an emoticon output in a preview form in a chat window of a user terminal, an emoticon search for outputting an emoticon containing the same or similar emotional information in a preview form Method and terminal.

It should be understood, however, that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described technical problems, and other technical problems may exist.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of searching for an emoticon in a user terminal, the method comprising: displaying an emoticon selection region including a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon; Receiving a selection of any one of the thumbnail images; Outputting a first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image in a preview form in a chat window; Receiving an interaction of the user with respect to the output first emoticon; And outputting, in preview form, a second emoticon different from the first emoticon output in the preview form corresponding to the interaction. At this time, the second emoticon includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon.

The user terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention may further include a communication module for communicating with the at least one user terminal and the emoticon providing server, a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon, an image file of the emoticon, and a program for providing the emoticon, And a processor for executing the program. At this time, as the program is executed, the processor displays an emoticon selection region including a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon, and when receiving a selection of one of the thumbnail images from the user, And a second emoticon which is different from the output first emoticon corresponding to the interaction is displayed in response to the user's interaction with the output of the first emoticon, And the second emoticon includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon.

According to any one of the above-mentioned means for solving the problems, it is possible to search through the interaction input to the emoticon output in a preview form, without performing a tap movement in retrieving the emoticon to be transmitted on the user terminal.

In addition, an emoticon including the same or similar emotional information as the emoticon output in preview form is provided, so that the emoticon matching the user's intention can be easily searched and selected.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a chat window configuration in a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a process in which emoticons including the same or similar emotion information are searched and output in a preview format according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an emoticon purchase process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an emoticon thumbnail image display method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an emoticon search method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For reference, the user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a terminal capable of connecting to an instant message server (not shown) and an emoticon providing server (not shown), for example, Device. That is, the user terminal 100 may be a Personal Communication System (PCS), a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), a Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), a Personal Handyphone System (PHS), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) ) -2000, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) -2000, W-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) terminals and the like. can do. In particular, the user terminal 100 is an intelligent terminal that adds a computer support function such as Internet communication and information search to a portable terminal. The intelligent terminal is a smart phone capable of installing and executing a large number of application programs ). In addition, the user terminal 100 may be a terminal device which can be connected to an emoticon providing server (not shown) and an instant message server (not shown) through wired / wireless communication such as a PC.

The emoticon providing server (not shown) provides the image file corresponding to the emoticon to the user terminal 100. That is, a file corresponding to the emoticons that the user has downloaded for free or for free is provided to the user terminal 100, and an image file corresponding to the emoticons not stored in the user terminal 100 among the emoticons used by the conversation participant in the chat room And provides it to the user terminal 100 to be displayed on the chat window of the user terminal 100. In addition, if the user desires to purchase the emoticons not downloaded to the user terminal 100 for a fee or free of charge, the user can provide an image file of the emoticon set to the emoticon purchase window output to the user terminal 100.

An instant message server (not shown) provides a service for relaying messages in real time in a chat application using data communication using a network such as the Internet. An instant message server (not shown) may be connected to the user terminal 100 through a network to transmit an instant message to the user terminal 100.

Such an emoticon providing server (not shown) and an instant message server (not shown) may be operated by independent server computers, respectively, or may be installed as server programs in the same server computer.

Meanwhile, a plurality of user terminals 100 may be connected to an instant message server (not shown) and terminals through a network to process a chat service through an instant message. As described above, a network connecting each component constituting a chat system using an instant messaging service means a connection structure in which information can be exchanged between each node such as terminals and servers. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX) network, But is not limited to, an area network, a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), a Bluetooth network, a satellite broadcasting network, an analog broadcasting network, a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB)

1, a user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication module 110, a memory 120, and a processor 130.

The communication module 110 communicates with one or more user terminals and an emoticon providing server (not shown). That is, the communication module 110 receives the emoticons from the emoticon providing server (not shown). More specifically, the communication module 110 may receive the entire list of emoticons from an emoticons providing server (not shown). If the image file corresponding to the emoticon is not stored in the user terminal 100, the communication module 110 can receive the image file from the emoticon providing server (not shown).

The memory 120 stores a thumbnail image of one or more emoticons, an image file of emoticons, and a program for transmitting and receiving an instant message. If the thumbnail image and the image file are downloaded from the emoticons providing server (not shown) and stored or not stored, the thumbnail image and the image file are downloaded through the communication module 110 and stored in the memory 120.

The processor 130 generates a chat window in which the user participates, and displays an instant message input by the user in the display area of the chat window to provide an instant message. At this time, the instant message processes a variety of messages such as a chat message, a picture, a picture, an audio, and an emoticon. In the present invention, emoticons can be transmitted and received among conversation participants through an instant message.

The processor 130 displays the emoticon selection area including the thumbnail image of at least one emoticon as the program stored in the memory 120 is executed. Upon receiving a selection from the user for one of the thumbnail images displayed in the emoticon selection area, the processor 130 outputs the first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image in a preview form in the chat window. Upon receiving the interaction of the user with respect to the first emoticon output in preview form, the processor 130 outputs the second emoticon different from the first emoticon output in preview form corresponding to the user's interaction in a preview form do. Here, the types of the interaction include a click, a tap, a drag and drop, a swipe, a pinch in / out, and a flick by a user. Or the like.

At this time, the second emoticon can be switched from the first emoticon output in preview form and outputted in preview form upon receiving the user's interaction. That is, as the first emoticon is output in a preview format and the user's interaction is input, the first emoticon output in preview form can be converted to the second emoticon. The first emoticon or the second emoticon output in the preview form can be displayed in the display area in the chat window upon receiving the transmission button from the user.

On the other hand, the second emoticon output in preview form includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon. That is, the second emoticon having the same or similar emotional information as the first emoticon may be switched from the first emoticon output in preview form in the chat window upon receipt of the interaction of the user, and may be outputted in preview form . The related contents will be described in more detail in FIG. 3 below.

The first emoticon or the second emoticon output in the preview form may be displayed in the display area in the chat window in which the instant message is output as the send button to the conversation partner terminal is input.

Hereinafter, the user terminal according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 through FIG. 3 together with FIG. FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a chat window configuration in a user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a process in which emoticons including the same or similar emotion information are searched and output in a preview format according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the emoticon menu of the preset user interface menu is selected on the chat window P200, the processor 130 displays the emoticon selection area P210 on a part of the chat window P200. At this time, the emoticon selection area P210 is distinguished from the display area P220 included in the chat window P200, and a thumbnail image P211 of one or more emoticons is displayed in the emoticon selection area P210.

The processor 130 receives the user's selection of one of the thumbnail images displayed in the emoticon selection area P210.

Referring to FIG. 3 (a), the processor 130 may provide a preview function for the emoticon P212 selected by the user. That is, when the user selects one of the thumbnail images P212 of the emoticons from the user, the processor 130 displays the first emoticon P10 corresponding to the thumbnail image P212 of the selected emoticons in the chat window P200 In a preview form.

Meanwhile, the first emoticon P10 output in a preview form can be output in a preview form in the display area P220 in the chat window P200 as shown in FIG. 3A. In addition, the first emoticon may include an entire area of the chat window P200, a specific area P225 of the display area P220 of the chat window P200, an entire area of the emoticon selection area P210, ), And the like, as shown in FIG. In addition, the preview of the emoticons can be output in a form that is overlaid on the set area (i.e., the entire area of the chat window, the display area, the emoticon selection area, and the like).

The processor 130 receives a user's interaction (e.g., a tap toggle) with respect to the first emoticon P10 output in a preview form, and then, as shown in FIG. 3 (b) And outputs the second emoticon P20 different from the first emoticon P10 output in preview form in a preview form corresponding to the interaction. At this time, the second emoticon P20 output in a preview form includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon P10. For example, the first emoticon P10 shown in FIG. 3A includes emotion information corresponding to " greetings indicating separation, " and the first emoticon P10 is displayed in a previewed state The second emoticon P20 including emotion information of " greetings showing separation " as shown in Fig. 3 (b) is output in a preview form.

The metadata including the emotion information corresponding to each of the first and second emoticons may be stored in the memory 120 of the user terminal 100. That is, upon receiving the interaction of the user, the processor 130 searches the memory 120 for the second emoticon corresponding to the metadata including the same or similar emotion information as the emotion information of the first emoticon, And output it in a preview form in the chat window of the terminal 100. [

Alternatively, the metadata including the emotion information corresponding to the first emoticon and the second emoticon may be stored in a memory of the emoticon providing server (not shown). Upon receiving the user's interaction on the user terminal 100, the emoticon providing server (not shown) receives a second emoticon P20 corresponding to the metadata including the same or similar emotion information as the emotion information of the first emoticon P10 May be transmitted to the user terminal 100.

Meanwhile, the metadata stored in the memory 120 of the user terminal 100 or the memory of the emoticon providing server (not shown) may include one or more detailed metadata. The detailed metadata may include one or more refined emotion information classified according to the emotion information. Accordingly, one or more detailed metadata can be assigned to one emoticon. For example, the emotion information of " laugh " can be classified into one or more refined emotion information such as " happy laugh ", " sad laugh ", and & Such detailed emotion information may be composed of detailed metadata and may be allocated to each emoticon. For example, detailed metadata including detailed emotion information indicating " greeting indicating separation " and " sadness " may be respectively assigned to the emoticon P10 shown in FIG. 3A

As described above, the user terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may store metadata (metadata) stored in the memory of the memory 120 or the emoticon providing server (not shown) Emoticons can be output in preview form. At this time, the second emoticon including the same emotion information as the first emoticon may be outputted in preview form through the same detail metadata as the first emoticon. For example, when the first emoticon is outputted in a preview form according to the detailed metadata including the emotion information of " sad laugh ", the second emoticon is also displayed in accordance with the detailed metadata including the feeling information of " And can be output in a preview form.

Alternatively, the second emoticon including emotion information similar to the first emoticon may be output in preview form through the same metadata as the first emoticon. That is, the second emoticon having the emotion information similar to the first emoticon may have the same first emoticon and metadata, and may be determined according to different detailed metadata included in the metadata and output in a preview form. For example, when the first emoticon is output in a preview format according to the detailed metadata including the emotion information of " sad laugh " among the metadata including the emotion information corresponding to "Quot; laughter ", and the detailed metadata including the emotion information of " embarrassing laughter ", which is similar to the first emoticon, similar to the first emoticon.

As described above, the user terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can output the second emoticon having the same emotional information as the first emoticon based on the detailed metadata when it is outputted in preview form, When the second emoticon including the emotion information is output, the second emoticon may be output in a preview form based on the metadata. At this time, whether to output the second emoticon having the same or similar emotion information as the first emoticon in a preview form based on the metadata or the detailed metadata is determined by the user terminal 100 or the emoticon providing server (not shown) And may be set in advance.

Meanwhile, the user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives emoticon that is not stored in the user terminal 100 and receives the user's interaction from the emoticon providing server (not shown) So that the purchase of the emoticons can be induced. 4 is a diagram illustrating an emoticon purchase process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The user terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may receive a recommendation of the third emoticon P30 different from the first emoticon P10 from the emoticon providing server . At this time, the image file of the third emoticon P30 recommended by the emoticons providing server (not shown) is not stored in the user terminal 100, and is downloaded from the emoticons providing server (not shown) .

In addition, the third emoticon P30 may be output in a preview form upon receiving the user's interaction after one or more second emoticons P20 stored in the user terminal 100 are output in preview form. That is, instead of outputting the third emoticon P30 that has not been downloaded immediately after receiving the user's interaction after the first emoticon P10 is output, the first emoticon P30 may include emotion information that is the same as or similar to the first emoticon P10 And the third emoticon P30 that has not been downloaded finally can be output in a preview form. Accordingly, the user terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can improve the convenience of using the downloaded emoticons and can induce the user to purchase the un-downloaded emoticons.

3 (a) and 3 (b), the first emoticon P10 output in a preview form includes emotion information corresponding to "greetings indicating separation", and the user's interaction A second emoticon P20 including emotion information corresponding to " greetings representing a departure ", which is the same or similar to the first emoticon P10, is output in a preview form. When the user's interaction is input again in a state where the second emoticon P20 is output in a preview form, the processor 130 determines whether or not the first emoticon P10, which is already downloaded to the user terminal 100, If there is no emoticons downloaded as a result of the search, emoticons including emotion information that is the same as or similar to the first emoticon (P10) are downloaded from the emoticons providing server (not shown). 4A, the image file of the third emoticon P30 corresponding to " greetings showing separation " can be downloaded to the user terminal 100 and output in preview form . At this time, the emoticon providing server (not shown) may send a file for the emoticon set corresponding to the third emoticon P30 to the user terminal 100, but may not preview the emoticon set in the chat window P200 of the user terminal 100 To be output in the form of an image file can be transmitted.

Such an image file can be downloaded by a preset condition from an emoticon providing server (not shown). At this time, preset conditions may be a random order, an updated order in an emoticon providing server (not shown), a high emoticon sales order, and the like. For example, when the predetermined condition is a random order, the emoticon providing server (not shown) searches emoticons including emotion information that is the same as or similar to the first emoticon P10, and when there are a plurality of emoticons The third emoticon P30 corresponding to the image file downloaded at random can be output to the user terminal 100 in a preview form.

4, the first emoticon P10 and the second emoticon P20 are output in a preview form, and then the third emoticon P30, which is not downloaded to the user terminal 100, is output in a preview form However, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the third emoticon P30, which has not been downloaded after the plurality of emoticons downloaded in response to the input of the user's interaction, is output in a preview form in succession, The third emoticon P30 may be output in a preview form according to preset conditions.

Upon receiving an input from the user to select the third emoticon P30 output in a preview form, the processor 130 according to the present invention generates the thumbnail image (s) for one or more emoticons, as shown in Figure 4 (b) The emoticon purchase window P400 that displays the emoticon purchase window P400. A portion of the emoticon purchase window P400 includes an emoticon selection window P410 displaying a plurality of emoticon thumbnail images. The processor 130 receives the purchase of the emoticon set including the third emoticon P30 from the emoticon purchase window P400. At this time, if the purchase selection of any one of the emoticons is inputted from the user, the processor 130 according to the present invention downloads the purchased set of emoticons from the emoticons providing server (not shown) and includes them in the emoticon selecting region P210 .

Meanwhile, the third emoticon output in a preview form according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be recommended based on a preset condition of profile information of a plurality of users participating in a chat room from an emoticon providing server (not shown). At this time, the profile information may include at least one of the sex and age of the user. For example, if the average age of a plurality of users participating in a chat room is "30" and the gender of a majority of users is "female", the processor provides an emoticons image file The emoticon providing server (not shown) sends an image file for the emoticon frequently used by the "30s female" to the user terminal 100, A third emoticon may be output in a preview form in the chat window. At this time, the processor 130 may averify the ages of a plurality of users participating in the chat room, or may averify the averages of the plurality of users participating in the chat room, or may sort the averages by a higher or lower order to request an image file for the emoticons.

The user terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention not only recommends the third emoticon based on the profile information of the user participating in the chat room but also recommends the third emoticon based on predetermined conditions, have. At this time, the predetermined information may include at least one of the profile information of the user and the interest information of the user. For example, when the user sets the " exercise " as interest information in advance, the processor 130 requests the emoticon providing server (not shown) with an image file of the emoticon related to " The server (not shown) transmits a file for the emoticon related to the " exercise ", so that the emoticon associated with the " exercise "

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the third emoticon may be recommended based on at least one of emotion information inputted by at least one of a plurality of users participating in a chat room or emotion information of a character, according to preset conditions. A case where the conversation partner participating in the chat room has entered an emoticon containing emotion information corresponding to " greeting indicating separation " will be described as an example. The first emoticon including the emotion information corresponding to the " departure person " that is different from the emoticon input by the conversation partner is selected by the user, and the first emoticon is output in preview form to the user terminal 100 When the interaction is input, the processor 130 of the user terminal 100 may output the third emoticon that has not been downloaded on the user terminal 100 in a preview form. In this case, the third emoticon may be an emoticon that is not downloaded to the user terminal 100, and may be the same emoticon as the emoticon input by the conversation partner. As described above, the user terminal 100 according to the present invention can output the emoticons or characters input by one or more users of the plurality of users participating in the chat room in a preview form by recommending the third emoticons, Or emoticons including similar emotion information may be recommended and output in a preview form.

In addition, the user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that, based on emotion information included in an instant message input by one or more of a plurality of users participating in a chat room, You can also print out the emoticon in a preview format. At this time, the emotion information included in the instant message may be extracted based on at least one of words extracted from one or more sentences included in the instant message, a predicate, and an exclamation point. For example, if the conversation partner inputs an instant message in the sentence "It is embarrassed and does not come out laughing" and the user selects an emoticon containing the emotion information corresponding to "laughing" and inputs the interaction, The emoticon providing server 130 can receive emoticons corresponding to "embarrassing laughs", which are detailed emotion information among the emotion information corresponding to "laughs", from the emoticon providing server (not shown) and output them in a preview form on the user terminal.

In addition, the user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can output the third emoticons in a preview form based on a preset emoticon usage log in the user terminal 100. [ At this time, the emoticon usage log may be collected based on the kind of the emoticon, and the type of the emoticon may include one or more of static emoticons, dynamic emoticons, character emoticons, real or synthetic emoticons. For example, when a user mainly uses an emoticon in which a character is pictured, if the user outputs a first emoticon including emotion information corresponding to " laugh " in a preview form and inputs an interaction, The processor 130 analyzes the emoticon usage log, and outputs the emoticon pictured with the character " HAPPY " as a third emoticon and outputs the emoticon in a preview form. As described above, the user terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention recommends the un-downloaded emoticons based on the emoticon usage log of the user when recommending them, thereby inducing the purchase more efficiently than recommending the emoticons at random It is possible.

Meanwhile, the user terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may display thumbnail images of second to third emoticons including emotion information identical or similar to the first emoticon output in preview form together in the emoticon selection area Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to Fig. 5.

5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary method of displaying thumbnail images of emoticons according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5A, when a user selects a thumbnail image of a first emoticon P40 including emotion information of " cool " among emoticons output as thumbnail images in the emoticon selection region, The emoticon P40 is output in a preview form in the chat window P200. When the user selects a tab for outputting a thumbnail image of a set of emoticons including emotion information that is the same as or similar to the first emoticon P40 in the emoticon set selection area P230 in the chat window P200, a thumbnail image of the emoticon including the emotion information " cool ", which is the same or similar emotion information as the first emoticon P40 output in a preview form as shown in Fig. At this time, the thumbnail image of the emoticons displayed in the emoticon selection area P210 may be a thumbnail image of the unloaded emoticons as well as the emoticons downloaded in the user terminal 100, and displays such thumbnail images, You may also be tempted to buy an emoticon.

5, the emoticon which is switched when another interaction is input is displayed in a preview form on the first emoticon output in preview form, have. For example, when a first emoticon including emotion information corresponding to " greetings indicating separation " is input and a swipe operation is performed by a user's left and right motions, the second emoticon and the third emoticon are displayed in a preview form And can be output together. A plurality of emoticons output in a preview form can be moved left and right through a left-right swipe operation. Accordingly, the user can more easily select the emoticon including the same or similar emotion through the left-and-right swipe operation.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an emoticon search method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The emoticon search method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes steps that are processed in a time-series manner in the user terminal 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. Therefore, the content already described with respect to the user terminal 100 is applied to the emoticon search method of FIG. 6, even if omitted below.

In an emoticon search method according to an embodiment of the present invention, an emoticon selection region including a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon is displayed (S610).

Next, in step S620, when the user selects one of the displayed thumbnail images, the first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image is previewed in the chat window in step S630.

Next, the user's interaction with the first emoticon output in preview form is input (S640), and the second emoticon different from the first emoticon output in preview form corresponding to the input interaction is output in preview form (S650). At this time, the second emoticon may be converted into the second emoticon and output in a preview form upon receiving the interaction of the user.

On the other hand, the second emoticon output in preview form includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon. The emotion information for each emoticon may be stored in the memory 120 of the user terminal 100 in the form of metadata. That is, upon receiving the interaction of the user, the second emoticon corresponding to the metadata including the same or similar emotion information as the emotion information of the first emoticon is retrieved from the memory 120 of the user terminal 100, And may be output in a preview form in the chat window of the terminal 100. [

Alternatively, the metadata may be stored in a memory of an emoticon providing server (not shown). Accordingly, when receiving the user's interaction on the user terminal 100, the emoticon providing server (not shown) transmits a second emoticon corresponding to the metadata including the same or similar emotion information to the emotion information of the first emoticon, 100).

On the other hand, the metadata may include one or more detailed metadata. The detailed metadata may include one or more subdivided emotion information classified according to the emotion information, so that one or more detailed metadata may be assigned to one emoticon. Since the detailed contents are described in FIG. 3, the following description is omitted.

Meanwhile, the method of searching for an emoticon according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include receiving a recommendation of a third emoticon different from the first emoticon from an emoticon providing server (not shown) upon receipt of a user's interaction. At this time, the image file of the recommended third emoticon is not stored in the user terminal 100, and may be downloaded from the emoticon providing server (not shown) and output in preview form. A specific embodiment for outputting the third emoticons in a preview form has been described with reference to Figs. 4 to 5, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

The emoticon search method in the user terminal 100 and the user terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by a method of searching for an emoticon to be transmitted on the user terminal 100, It is possible to search through the interaction input.

In addition, emoticons including emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emoticons output in preview form are provided, so that emoticons matching the user's intention can be easily selected.

In the above description, steps S610 to S650 may be further divided into further steps or combined into fewer steps, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Also, some of the steps may be omitted as necessary, and the order between the steps may be changed.

One embodiment of the present invention may also be embodied in the form of a computer program stored on a medium executed by a computer or a recording medium including instructions executable by the computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium can include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes any information delivery media, including computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism.

While the methods and systems of the present invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments, some or all of those elements or operations may be implemented using a computer system having a general purpose hardware architecture.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

100: user terminal 110: communication module
120: memory 130: processor

Claims (18)

A method for searching an emoticon in a user terminal,
Displaying an emoticon selection area including a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon;
Receiving a selection of any one of the thumbnail images;
Outputting a first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image in a preview form in a chat window;
Receiving an interaction of the user with respect to the output first emoticon; And
And outputting, in preview form, a second emoticon different from the first emoticon output in the preview form corresponding to the interaction,
Wherein the second emoticon includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the memory of the user terminal or the memory of the emoticon providing server stores metadata including emotion information corresponding to the first emoticon and the second emoticon, respectively. 3. The method of claim 2,
After receiving the user's interaction with the first emoticon,
And receiving a second emoticon corresponding to the metadata including the same or similar emotion information as the emotion information of the first emoticon according to the interaction. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the metadata includes one or more detailed metadata,
Wherein the detailed metadata includes one or more subdivided emotion information classified according to the emotion information,
And one or more detailed metadata is assigned to one emoticon. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second emoticon is switched from a first emoticon output in the preview form upon receipt of the interaction, and is output in a preview form. The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a recommendation of a third emoticon different from the first emoticon from the emoticon providing server upon receiving the interaction of the user,
And the image file of the recommended third emoticons is not stored in the user terminal and is downloaded from the emoticons providing server. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the third emoticon is output in a preview form upon receiving the interaction of the user after one or more second emoticons stored in the user terminal are outputted in preview form. The method according to claim 6,
The image file is downloaded based on a preset condition from the emoticon providing server,
The outputting of the third emoticons in a preview form may include outputting a third emoticon corresponding to the downloaded image file in a preview form according to the preset condition,
Wherein the predetermined condition is set based on at least one of a random order, an order in which the emoticons are updated in the emoticons providing server, and a sales order of high emoticon sales. The method according to claim 6,
Upon receiving an input for selecting a third emoticon output in the preview form,
Outputting an emoticon purchase window displaying a thumbnail image of one or more emoticons;
Receiving a purchase for an emoticon set including the third emoticon from the emoticon purchase window; And
Further comprising the step of including the purchased set of emoticons in the emoticon selection area. The method according to claim 6,
The third emoticon is recommended based on profile information of a plurality of users participating in a chat room,
Wherein the profile information includes at least one of a sex and an age of the user. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the third emoticon is recommended based on at least one of emotion information inputted by at least one of a plurality of users participating in a chat room or emotion information of a character. The method according to claim 6,
The third emoticon is recommended based on the emotion information included in the instant message input by one or more of the plurality of users participating in the chat room,
Wherein the emotion information included in the instant message is extracted based on at least one of a word extracted from at least one sentence included in the instant message, a predicate, and an exclamation point. The method according to claim 6,
The third emoticon is recommended based on the emoticon usage log in the user terminal,
The emoticon usage log is collected based on the type of the emoticon,
Wherein the type of the emoticon includes at least one of a static emoticon, a dynamic emoticon, a character emoticon, a real image or a synthetic emoticone. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the first emoticon to the third emoticon are displayed in the emoticon selection area,
Wherein the third emoticons are displayed as the image files of the recommended third emoticons are downloaded in advance from the emoticons providing server. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of displaying on the display area in the chat window upon receipt of the transmission of the first emoticon or the second emoticon outputted in the preview. The method according to claim 1,
The interaction may include at least one of a click, a tap, a drag and drop, a swipe, a pinch in / out, and a flick How to search for emoticons. The method according to claim 1,
And receiving an interaction different from the interaction of the user with respect to the output first emoticon,
Wherein the first emoticon and the second emoticon are previewed together in the chat window upon receiving an interaction different from the interaction of the user. In a user terminal,
A communication module for communicating with the one or more user terminals and the emoticon providing server,
A memory for storing a thumbnail image of one or more emoticons, an image file of the emoticons, and a program for providing the emoticons,
And a processor for executing the program,
As the processor executes the program,
Displaying an emoticon selection area including a thumbnail image of at least one emoticon,
And outputting a first emoticon corresponding to the thumbnail image in a preview form in a chat window when receiving a selection of one of the thumbnail images from a user,
And outputting a second emoticon different from the output first emoticon in response to the interaction when the user's interaction with the output first emoticon is input,
Wherein the second emoticon includes emotion information that is the same as or similar to the emotion information of the first emoticon.

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