Terminal and control method thereof, storage medium

Abstract

Provided are a terminal and a control method and a storage medium thereof. The terminal displays messages sent from other terminals, and the control method of the terminal includes: receiving multiple messages sent from the other terminals through a communication unit of the terminal; displaying a first message among the multiple messages on a display unit of the terminal; controlling the first message displayed on the display unit to move on the display unit through a control unit of the terminal based on an input to the display unit by a user of the terminal; displaying at least a part of a second message included in the multiple messages on the display unit of the terminal based on the input; and sending information indicating that the second message is being read through the communication unit of the terminal based on at least a part of the second message being outputted at the terminal.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of international application number PCT / JP2016 / 089219, Chinese national phase application number 201680083835.5, international application date December 29, 2016, and invention name “Terminal device control method, terminal device and storage medium”. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a terminal involved in a service system for exchanging messages between user terminals, a control method thereof and a storage medium. Background Art

[0003] In recent years, there are many so-called chat services (message services) for exchanging messages between user terminals via a network. In the messaging service, users utilizing the service can exchange messages in real time in a multiple or one-to-one manner.

[0004] In such a messaging service, information about whether other users have read messages sent by the user to other users is sometimes displayed to the user. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a messaging service operation method in which the number of unread users of each message is determined at an early stage based on the identification number of the message most recently read by the user in a group chat.

[0005] Prior Art Literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-541777 Summary of the invention

[0008] However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a detailed method for determining whether a message has been viewed by a user. In addition, in other messaging services, when a screen for displaying a received message is displayed on the display unit of a user terminal, it is determined that the message has been viewed by the user, and a read message indicating that the message has been viewed is sent to other users who sent the message. However, in this messaging service, there is the following problem: when there are multiple messages, it is not determined whether each message is displayed on the display unit of the user terminal, and a read message is sent to other users for messages that are not displayed on the display unit of the user terminal, that is, messages that have not been viewed by the user.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal and a control method and a storage medium for determining in detail whether each received message has been viewed by a user.

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a control method of a terminal in one embodiment of the present invention is provided, wherein the terminal displays messages sent from other terminals, and the control method comprises: receiving a plurality of messages sent from the other terminals through a communication unit of the terminal; displaying a first message among the plurality of messages on a display unit of the terminal; controlling, through a control unit of the terminal, to move the first message displayed on the display unit on the display unit based on an input to the display unit by a user of the terminal; displaying, based on the input, at least a portion of a second message included in the plurality of messages on the display unit of the terminal; and sending, through the communication unit of the terminal, information indicating that the second message is being read based on at least a portion of the second message being outputted at the terminal.

[0011] In a terminal control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control method includes: based on the second message being entirely output, transmitting information indicating that the second message has been viewed through a communication unit of the terminal.

[0012] In a terminal control method of one embodiment of the present invention, the control method includes: based on the input, the second message is moved on the display unit, based on the entire second message being displayed, and sending information indicating that the second message has been read through the communication unit of the terminal.

[0013] In the terminal control method according to one embodiment of the present invention, information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted based on stopping movement of the second message based on the input.

[0014] In a terminal control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, and the second message is determined to be displayed in its entirety based on the end of the text of the second message being displayed on the display unit.

[0015] In a control method of a terminal of one embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the second message, after a set time has passed since at least a portion of the second message is displayed on the display unit, when the end of the text of the second message is displayed on the display unit, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed.

[0016] In a terminal control method of one embodiment of the present invention, the multiple messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, and with respect to the second message, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed based on the fact that at least a portion of a third message that is later than the second message in the chronological order is displayed on the display unit.

[0017] In a control method of a terminal of one embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the second message, when at least a portion of the third message is displayed on the display unit after a set time has passed since at least a portion of the second message is displayed on the display unit, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed.

[0018] In the terminal control method according to one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of messages are received by a communication unit of the terminal via a server, and information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted by the communication unit of the terminal to the server.

[0019] In the terminal control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, and the second message is a message that is later than the first message in the chronological order.

[0020] In the terminal control method according to one embodiment of the present invention, the message is an animation or a sound.

[0021] In addition, a storage medium of one embodiment of the present invention stores a program, which is executed by a computer of a terminal, and the terminal displays messages sent from other terminals. The program includes: receiving multiple messages sent from the other terminals through the communication unit of the terminal; displaying a first message among the multiple messages on the display unit of the terminal; based on the input of the user of the terminal to the display unit of the terminal, controlling the first message displayed on the display unit to move on the display unit through the control unit of the terminal; based on the input, displaying at least a part of the second message included in the multiple messages on the display unit of the terminal; based on at least a part of the second message being output at the terminal, sending information indicating that the second message is being read through the communication unit of the terminal.

[0022] In addition, a terminal of one embodiment of the present invention displays messages sent from other terminals, and the terminal includes: a communication unit, which receives multiple messages sent from the other terminals; a display unit, which displays a first message among the multiple messages; and a control unit, which controls the movement of the first message displayed on the display unit on the display unit based on an input to the display unit by a user of the terminal, the display unit, based on the input, displays at least a part of a second message included in the multiple messages, and the communication unit, based on at least a part of the second message being output on the terminal, sends information indicating that the second message is being read through the communication unit of the terminal.

[0023] Effects of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, it is determined whether the result of moving the display unit displaying the message is that the entire message is displayed in the display unit. Therefore, a terminal and its control method and storage medium can be provided that can determine in detail whether each received message has been viewed by the user, which is highly convenient for users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the service system configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of a server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 This is an example of status information stored in the storage unit.

[0030] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a method for controlling a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a method for controlling a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 8 This is a sequence diagram for explaining exchanges between terminal devices according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the present invention.

[0034] Fig.10 This is a block diagram of a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Fig.11 This is a block diagram of a server according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Description of reference numerals:

[0037] TalkRoom100, TalkRoom100' chat room screen

[0038] 100A, 100B terminal device

[0039] 110 Ministry of Communications

[0040] 111 Receiving Department

[0041] 112 Sending Department

[0042] 120 Control Department

[0043] 121 Information Processing Department

[0044] 122 Display processing unit (output unit)

[0045] 123 Judgment Department

[0046] 124 Update Department

[0047] 130 Storage

[0048] 140 Display unit

[0049] 160 Input section

[0050] 170 Speakers

[0051] 200 Server

[0052] 210 Ministry of Communications

[0053] 211 Receiving Department

[0054] 212 Sending Department

[0055] 220 Control Department

[0056] 221 Judgment Department

[0057] 230 Storage

[0058] 300 Network

[0059] 400 Service System

[0060] 11, 11′ Chat room screen

[0061] 12.12′ Chat Room Information Table

[0062] 21~23 Status information display DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] <Observance of confidentiality of communications>

[0064] It should be noted that when implementing the invention described in this specification, it is implemented in compliance with legal matters related to communication confidentiality.

[0065] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 9 The outline of the present invention will be described. Fig. 9 (a) is a schematic diagram illustrating an existing messaging service. Fig. 9(b) is a schematic diagram for explaining a messaging service according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 In the chat room, user A and user B exchange messages, and a display screen (hereinafter referred to as "chat room screen") TalkRoom100 showing the exchange of messages between user A and user B in chronological order is displayed on the display unit of the terminal device of user A. Here, among the messages sent from user B to user A, messages N, N+1, and N+2 are in a state where the entire message is not displayed on the display unit of the terminal device of user A.

[0066] However, in the existing messaging service, in the terminal device of user A, such as Fig. 9 As in (a), messages N, N+1, and N+2 whose entire messages have not yet been displayed on the display unit are determined to have been viewed by user A, and read information indicating that messages N, N+1, and N+2 have been viewed by user A is sent to user B via the server. Then, on the terminal device of user B, "read" is displayed in the message sent by user B.

[0067] As described above, in the conventional messaging service, in the chat room screen between user A and user B displayed on the terminal device of user B, even if "read" is displayed on the message sent by user B to user A, the message may not actually be read by user A.

[0068] Therefore, it is inconvenient for user B to not be able to accurately know whether the message he sent has been read by user A. In addition, for user A, the message that he has not read is shown to user B as "read", so when the chat room screen is opened, he feels the need to confirm all the messages, which is not free.

[0069] In contrast, using Fig. 9 (b) An overview of a messaging service according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. Fig. 9As shown in (b), in the chat room screen TalkRoom100' displayed on the terminal device of user A, only the message N whose entire message is displayed on the chat room screen TalkRoom100' by the scrolling operation of user A or the like is determined to have been read by user A. Then, the read information indicating that message N has been read by user A is sent to user B via the server. Then, in the terminal device of user B, "read" is displayed in the message N sent by user B. For messages N+1 and N+2 that are not displayed in their entirety on the chat room screen TalkRoom100' as in the existing messaging service, "unread" is displayed on the terminal device of user B indicating that they have not been read by user A. Therefore, according to the present invention, user B can accurately grasp whether the message he / she sent has been read by user A, which is highly convenient. In addition, for user A, the message that he / she has not read will not be prompted to user B as "read", and it is easy to choose to confirm after the chat room screen is displayed, which has the advantage of high degree of freedom. The above is the outline of the present invention.

[0070] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a service system structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 4 , the service system 400 includes a server 200, terminal devices 100A and 100B, and a network 300. The server 200 is connected to the terminal devices 100A and 100B via the network 300. Figure 1 In order to simplify the description, only two terminal devices are shown, but of course there may be more than two terminal devices.

[0071] The terminal devices 100A and 100B are communication terminals represented by smartphones, etc. The terminal devices 100A and 100B use a messaging application (hereinafter referred to as a "message application") provided by the service side to exchange messages as part of a service of one embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the following describes a situation in which a user of the terminal device 100A (set as user A) and a user of the terminal device 100B (set as user B) exchange messages.

[0072] The server 200 functions as a relay for communication between terminal devices, and receives a message sent from the terminal device 100A to the terminal device 100B via the network 300 and transmits it to the terminal device 100B, or vice versa, receives a message sent from the terminal device 100B to the terminal device 100A via the network 300 and transmits it to the terminal device 100A. In addition, the server 200 receives information related to the content of an operation instruction input by the user using the input unit 160 of the terminal devices 100A and 100B, and performs processing corresponding to the content of the instruction.

[0073] Figure 21 is a block diagram of a terminal device 100A according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, although the terminal device 100A is described, the same applies to the terminal device 100B. Figure 2 As shown, the terminal device 100A includes a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, a storage unit 130, a display unit 140, a voice interface (I / F) 150, an input unit 160, and a speaker 170. The functions of each of these units will be briefly described and will be described in detail later.

[0074] The communication unit 110 includes a receiving unit 111 and a sending unit 112, and has a function of performing communication with the server 200 via the network 300. The communication can be performed by either wired or wireless, and any communication protocol can be used as long as the communication between the two can be performed. The receiving unit 111 receives a message sent from another terminal device 100B. Here, the message is not limited to a text message, but also includes images, sounds, animations, stamps (digital stickers), etc.

[0075] In addition, the receiving unit 111 receives, from other terminal devices 100B, status information of messages sent from the user of the terminal device 100A to the other terminal devices 100B in the other terminal devices 100B. Here, "status information" is information indicating whether the message received by the terminal device 100A or 100B is displayed on the respective display units 140. "Status information" in the "read" state indicates that the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 and the message has been read by the user of the terminal device 100A or 100B. Conversely, "status information" in the "unread" state indicates that the entire message is not displayed on the display unit 140 and the message has not been read by the user of the terminal device 100A or 100B.

[0076] In addition, "the entire message is displayed on the display unit" means that the full text of the message is displayed on the display unit 140. Even if the text of the message is long and the full text of the message cannot be displayed at once on the display unit 140, if the display is moved so that the text from the beginning to the end of the message is displayed on the display unit 140, it is a state of "the entire message is displayed on the display unit". On the contrary, a state in which only a part of the message such as the beginning of the text is displayed on the display unit 140 is an "unread" state.

[0077] The storage unit 130 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal device 100A. For example, the storage unit 130 includes information such as a message application for enjoying the services of this embodiment. In addition, the storage unit 130 is typically implemented by various recording media such as HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc. In addition, the storage unit 130 also includes a memory that is implemented by RAM (Random Access Memory) and functions as a working memory of the control unit 120. The memory stores temporary data, etc. In addition, the various data stored in the storage unit 130 can also be stored in the storage unit 130 after being temporarily stored in the memory.

[0078] The storage unit 130 stores the message received by the receiving unit 111 in association with the identification information and the status information of the message. Here, the identification information of the message may be an identification number composed of alphanumeric characters, for example, assigned to each message by the service provider.

[0079] The control unit 120 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the terminal device 100A.

[0080] The control unit 120 includes an information processing unit 121, a display processing unit (output unit) 122, a determination unit 123, and an update unit 124. The information processing unit 121 has a function of controlling the information (message, etc.) to be transmitted from the communication unit 110 to the server 200 according to the information input from the input unit 160. In addition, the information processing unit 121 has a function of transmitting the information received from the server 200 by the communication unit 110 to the display processing unit 122. The display processing unit 122 has a function of converting the display data transmitted from the information processing unit 121 into pixel information and writing it into the frame buffer of the display unit 140. That is, the display processing unit 122 outputs display information for displaying the message stored in the storage unit 130 on the display unit 140.

[0081] The display unit 140 is a monitor having a function of displaying images according to display data written into the frame buffer by the display processing unit 122, and is typically implemented by a liquid crystal display. The display unit 140 displays a message application screen provided from the service side and stored (stored) in the storage unit 130. In addition, the display unit 140 displays messages stored in the storage unit 130 in a time-sequential order based on the display information output from the display processing unit 122, or displays notifications sent from the server 200.

[0082] The input unit 160 receives input from the user and transmits information related to the input to the control unit 120. In the terminal device 100A, the input unit 160 is implemented by a touch panel or the like, detects contact of a user's finger or a stylus or other indicating tool and the contact position, and transmits the coordinates of the contact position to the information processing unit 121. In the present embodiment, the input unit 160 receives input operations from the user such as an operation to move the display of the display unit 140 (e.g., a scroll operation), an input of a message by the user, a selection of a notification received from the server 200, and the like.

[0083] The determination unit 123 determines whether the result of moving the display of the display unit 140 according to the input operation accepted by the input unit 160 is that the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140. The update unit 124 updates the status information of the message determined to be displayed in its entirety on the display unit 140 to a read status indicating that the message has been read. In addition, the transmission unit 112 transmits the identification information of the message whose status information is updated by the update unit 124 and the updated status information to the other terminal device 100B.

[0084] The audio I / F 150 is an interface for the speaker 170 or a headphone (not shown).

[0085] Speaker 170 may be set to emit a notification sound when receiving a notification from server 200. In addition, when an animation is sent as a message, the sound of the animation is output.

[0086] Figure 3 FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, the server 200 includes a communication unit 210 , a control unit 220 , and a storage unit 230 .

[0087] The communication unit 210 includes a receiving unit 211 and a sending unit 212, and has a function of performing communication (transmission and reception of various data and messages) with the user's terminal devices 100A and 100B via the network 300 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 220. The communication can be performed by either wired or wireless means, and any communication protocol can be used as long as communication between the two parties can be performed. The receiving unit 211 receives messages destined for other users and status information associated with the messages from the user's terminal device 100A. The sending unit 112 sends the received message to the terminal device 100B of the other user. In addition, the sending unit 112 sends the received status information to the terminal device that sent the message associated with the status information.

[0088] The control unit 220 is a processor having a function of controlling each part of the server 200. The control unit 220 includes a determination unit 221. The determination unit 221 performs various determination processes. For example, based on the identification information and status information of the message sent by the terminal device received by the receiving unit 211, the terminal device to which the status information should be sent is determined.

[0089] The storage unit 130 is typically implemented by various recording media such as HDD, SSD, flash memory, etc., and has the function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the server 200. The storage unit 230 stores information related to a chat room for users to exchange messages with each other (chat room information). The chat room information includes identification information of the chat room, identification information of users participating in the chat room, identification information of messages exchanged in the chat room, status information of the messages, etc. In addition, the storage unit 230 also includes a memory that is implemented by RAM, for example, and functions as a working memory of the control unit 220. The memory stores temporary data. In addition, the various data stored in the storage unit 230 can also be stored in the storage unit 230 after being temporarily stored in the memory.

[0090] <First embodiment>

[0091] Next, use Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the determination of whether the entire received message is displayed on the display unit 140, which is implemented by the determination unit 123 of the terminal device 100A, is described in detail. In the first embodiment of the present invention, when at least a part of the next message (for example, the beginning of the text) is displayed in the time sequence, it is determined that the entire message is displayed. Figure 4 (a) is a diagram showing a chat room screen 11 of user A and user B displayed on the display unit 140 of the terminal device 100A of user A. In the chat room screen 11, all of the messages N, N+1, and N+2 sent from user B are not displayed. Figure 4 (b) shows that Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a diagram of a chat room screen 11' in a state where the display of the display unit 140 is moved in response to an input operation (scroll operation of the screen) of the user A on the input unit 160 from the state (a). The chat room screen 11' is in a state where the entire message N is displayed and at least a part (the beginning of the text) of the message N+1 is displayed.

[0092] Here, Figure 5 1 is a diagram showing a chat room information table stored in the storage unit 130 in the terminal device 100A of the user A. Figure 5As shown, the chat room information table stores the time sequence, message ID, sending user, whether the beginning of the text is displayed, status information, etc. according to each chat room ID (IDentifier). In addition, the time sequence refers to the time sequence assigned to the messages sent from each terminal device in each terminal device. The sending time of the message can be assigned by the terminal device or the server 200, or by the combination of the terminal device and the server 200. Therefore, when the terminal device sends a message, it can associate the time information with the message and save it in the terminal, and when the server 200 relays the message between the terminal devices, it can associate the time information of the message received by the server 200 with the message and send it to each terminal device.

[0093] Figure 5 (a) is Figure 4 (a) The chat room information table 12 corresponding to the chat room screen 11, Figure 5 (b) is related to Figure 4 (b) The chat room information table 12' corresponding to the chat room screen 11'. Figure 5 In , let the timing sequence "N" correspond to message N. Figure 4 In the chat room screen 11 of (a), the beginning of the text of the message N is displayed on the display unit 140. Figure 5 In the chat room information table 12 of (a), in the message with message ID "m00004" corresponding to the chronological order N, the item "text start display" indicating that the text start is displayed is "1". The text start of the messages after message N+1 is not displayed, so the item "text start display" is "0".

[0094] In moving from this state to Figure 4 In the case of the chat room screen 11' shown in (b), the chat room information table is updated by the updating unit 124 to Figure 5 (b) The chat room information table 12′. In the chat room screen 11′, the text header of the message N+1 is displayed, and therefore, the updating unit 124 updates the item displayed at the text header of the message ID “m00005” corresponding to the message N+1 to “1”. As shown in the chat room screen 11′, when a part of the message N+1 (the N+1th message) is displayed on the display unit 140, the entire message N (the Nth message) is displayed on the display unit 140. Therefore, the determination unit 123 determines whether a part of the message (the text header) is displayed, and when at least a part of the N+1th message is displayed on the display unit 140, it is determined that the entire Nth message is displayed. The updating unit 124 updates the status information of the Nth message (the message with the message ID “m00004”) to the “read” status as shown in the chat room information table 12′.

[0095] The sending unit 112 sends the identification information (message ID "m00004") of the message N whose status information has been updated and the status information updated to the "read" status to the terminal device 100B of the user B via the server 200. In the terminal device 100A of the user A, the receiving unit 111 receives the identification information and status information of the message N whose status information has been updated to the "read" status from the terminal device 100B of the user B. Then, in the display unit 140 of the terminal device 100B of the user B, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown in (c), a "read" indication 21 is displayed on the message N. Here, "unread" indications 22 and 23 are displayed on the messages N+1 and N+2.

[0096] use Figure 6 The control method in the above-mentioned first embodiment will be described. Figure 6 is a flow chart of the above-mentioned control method.

[0097] First, the receiving unit 111 of the terminal device 100A receives a message sent from another terminal device 100B (step S11, receiving step). The received message contains identification information assigned from the server. The storage unit 130 stores the received message in association with the identification information and status information of the message (step S12, storing step). Then, the display processing unit 122 outputs display information for displaying the message on the display unit 140 in chronological order, so that the message is displayed on the display unit 140 (step S13, output step). Thereafter, the determination unit 123 determines whether a scrolling operation (input operation) is performed by the user from the input unit 160 (step S14, input step). In the case where a scrolling operation is performed via the input unit 160, the display processing unit 122 moves the display of the display unit 140 according to the scrolling operation (step S15, output step). The determination unit 123 determines whether the beginning (part) of the text of the N+1th message is displayed on the display unit 140 (step S16, determination step). When it is determined that the beginning of the text of the N+1th message is displayed, the updating unit 124 updates the status information of the Nth message from “unread” to “read” (step S17 , updating step).

[0098] Afterwards, the sending unit 112 sends the identification information of the message with updated status information and the updated status information to the terminal device 100B of the other user who sent the message (step S18, sending step). The determination unit 123 determines whether the scrolling operation from the user has stopped (step S19). If it has not stopped, it returns to step S15, updates N to N+1, and continues to determine the subsequent messages and update the status information. If it is determined in step S19 that the scrolling operation has stopped or if it is determined in step S14 that the scrolling operation has not been performed, the processing ends.

[0099] <Second embodiment>

[0100] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, Figure 6 The sending of identification information and the like of the message of updated status information by the sending unit 112 in step S18 of the flowchart is performed each time the status information is updated by the updating unit 124. In the second embodiment, the sending of identification information and the like updated by the updating unit 124 is performed when the user's input operation (scrolling operation) stops, that is, when the movement of the display on the display unit 140 stops.

[0101] Figure 7 is a flowchart of the control method of the second embodiment. Figure 7 In the flowchart of Figure 6 The steps S11 to S17 in the flowchart are the same, so the description is omitted. In the second embodiment, after the status information is updated by the updating unit 124 in step T17, in step T18, it is determined whether the user's input operation has stopped. In the case where it is determined in step T18 that the input operation has not stopped, the process returns to step T15 to continue the determination of subsequent messages and the updating of the status information. In the case where it is determined in step T18 that the input operation has stopped, in step T19, the identification information of the message with updated status information and the updated status information are sent by the sending unit 112. At this time, if there are multiple messages with updated status information, these information are sent uniformly from the sending unit 112.

[0102] Here, the exchange of messages and the like between the above-mentioned terminal devices is described using a sequence diagram. Figure 8 This is a sequence diagram for explaining one embodiment of the present invention. First, a message X is sent from the terminal device 100B of user B to user A (step S21). The server 200 assigns an identification number to the message X sent from the terminal device 100B, and stores the message X in the storage unit 230 in association with the identification information and the status information of the message X in the terminal device 100A of user A (which is in the "unread" state at this moment) (step S22). After that, the sending unit 212 of the server 200 sends the message X to the terminal device 100A (step S23).

[0103] In the terminal device 100A, Figure 6 or Figure 7The processing in the flowchart shown in the figure determines whether the message X is displayed (step S24). Then, when the status information of the message X is updated to the "read" status in the terminal device 100A, the updated status information (read status) is sent (step S25). The server 200 updates the status information of the message X stored in the storage unit 130 from the "unread" status to the "read" status for storage (step S26). After that, the server 200 sends the status information (read status) of the message X in the terminal device 100A to the terminal device 100B from the sending unit 212 (step S27). In the terminal device 100B, when the status information of the message X is received by the receiving unit 111, the display processing unit 122 displays the message X sent to the user A together with the information indicated as "read" on the display unit 140 (step S28).

[0104] As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, whether a message has been viewed by the user is determined by whether the entire message is displayed in the display unit 140. At this time, whether the entire message is displayed is determined by whether at least a portion of the N+1th message displayed immediately after the Nth message in chronological order is displayed in the display unit 140. Therefore, it is possible to reliably determine that the Nth message is displayed in the display unit 140. In addition, the status information of the message sent by the user is sent from the terminal device of other users, and the status (read or unread) of the message sent by the user in the terminal device of other users is displayed in the user's terminal device. At this time, as described above, the status information of the message sent from the user to other users is sent to the user's terminal device on the basis of reliably determining that the message has been viewed by other users, so the user can know in detail whether other users have viewed the message.

[0105] In addition, according to the second embodiment, the identification information of the message of updated status information is sent when the movement of the display of the display unit 140 corresponding to the input operation from the user stops. Therefore, compared with the first embodiment in which the status information is sent when it is updated, there is an advantage that the processing of the terminal device is not burdened.

[0106] <Third embodiment>

[0107] Next, the third embodiment of the present invention is described. In the first and second embodiments, when a part of the N+1th message is displayed on the display unit 140, the status information of the Nth message is updated to the "read" state. However, when the end of the text of the Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140, the status information of the Nth message may be updated to the "read" state. The situation of the third embodiment is effective when there is no subsequent message.

[0108] In the third embodiment, the message of the updated status information may be sent when the status information is updated as in the first embodiment, or may be sent when the movement of the display of the display unit 140 corresponding to the input operation from the user stops as in the second embodiment. The third embodiment may be implemented in combination with the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

[0109] <Fourth embodiment>

[0110] In the above embodiment, the case where the message status information is updated to the read state when it is determined that the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 is described. Next, as a fourth embodiment, a method of updating the message status information to the read state when the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 within a predetermined time is described.

[0111] The determination unit 123 determines whether the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140. At this time, the determination unit 123 can determine that the entire Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140 when a part of the N+1th message is displayed on the display unit 140 as in the first embodiment, or can determine that the entire Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140 when the end of the text of the Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140 as in the second embodiment. After that, the determination unit 123 determines whether the Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140 until a predetermined time has passed (condition 1). Alternatively, the determination unit 123 determines whether a part of the N+1th message is displayed after a predetermined time has passed since at least a part of the Nth message was displayed (condition 2). Alternatively, the determination unit 123 determines whether the end of the text of the Nth message is displayed after a predetermined time has passed since a part of the Nth message was displayed (condition 3). In addition, as the predetermined time, it is preferably determined based on the number of characters in the message or based on the amount of content when the message is content such as sound data or animation data. For example, if the number of characters in the message is 10, the prescribed time may be 1.0 second, and if the number of characters in the message is 100, the prescribed time may be 10 seconds.

[0112] When the determination unit 123 determines that any one of the above-mentioned conditions 1 to 3 is satisfied, the updating unit 124 updates the status information of the message for which the condition is satisfied to the read status. In addition, the sending unit 112 may send the updated status information when the status information is updated as in the first embodiment, or may send the updated status information when the movement of the display corresponding to the user's input operation stops as in the second embodiment.

[0113] According to the fourth embodiment, when the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 for a predetermined time, the status information is updated to the read state by the updating unit 124. Therefore, when the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 for a moment, such as when the display screen is moved at a high speed according to the user's input operation, the status information is not updated to the read state. Therefore, the user can more reliably determine the status of reading the message, which is highly convenient.

[0114] The effect of the present invention is described again. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the user can accurately know whether the message sent by the user has been read by other users, which is highly convenient. In addition, for other users, messages that the user has not read will not be prompted as "read", and it is easy to choose to confirm after displaying the chat room screen, which has a high degree of freedom.

[0115] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, whether a message has been viewed by the user is determined by whether the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140. In this case, whether the entire message is displayed is determined by whether at least a portion of the N+1th message displayed immediately after the Nth message in chronological order is displayed on the display unit 140. Therefore, it can be reliably determined that the Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140.

[0116] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the identification information of the message of updated status information is sent when the movement of the display of the display unit 140 corresponding to the input operation from the user stops. Therefore, compared with the first embodiment in which the status information is sent when it is updated, there is an advantage that the processing of the terminal device is not burdened.

[0117] Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the end of the text of the Nth message is displayed on the display unit 140, the status information of the Nth message is updated to the "read" status, which is effective when there is no subsequent message.

[0118] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, when the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 for a predetermined time, the status information is updated to the read state by the updating unit 124. Therefore, when the entire message is displayed on the display unit 140 for a moment, such as when the display screen is moved at a high speed according to the user's input operation, the status information is not updated to the read state. Therefore, the user can more reliably determine the status of reading the message, which is highly convenient.

[0119] Although one embodiment of the invention involved in the present invention has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the above-mentioned predetermined time is an example and may be another numerical value. In addition, the present invention may be realized by combining the various embodiments.

[0120] For example, in the above, a method for exchanging messages between user A and user B on a one-to-one basis is described. However, the present invention is not limited to one-to-one communication between users, but can also be applied to a situation where a group is formed by multiple terminal devices and messages are exchanged between the groups. At this time, when a message is sent from a certain terminal device (for example, terminal device 100A) to a destination within the group, the message is sent to other terminal devices of the group other than terminal device 100A via server 200. In the case of exchanging messages within multiple terminal devices, the above-mentioned determination processing and status information update processing are performed in the other terminal devices respectively for messages sent from terminal device 100A to multiple other terminal devices. Then, the updated status information is sent to terminal device 100A from the other terminal devices respectively. In terminal device 100A, the number of received read messages can also be displayed in "Read" displayed in conjunction with the message, for example.

[0121] In addition, according to the user's scrolling operation, there are cases where the display on the display unit moves gradually and cases where it moves at a high speed. The former is a case where the user performs a scrolling operation without releasing the finger from the input unit 160, and the latter is a case where the user performs a scrolling operation with the finger released from the input unit 160. In the former case of a scrolling operation in which the display moves gradually, it is preferable to perform the scrolling operation as described above. Figure 6 In the first embodiment of the flowchart shown in FIG. 1 , a method of communicating to a server when the status information becomes “read” is used. In addition, in the case of the latter scrolling operation of moving the display at high speed, it is preferred to perform the above-mentioned Figure 7 As in the second embodiment of the flowchart shown in the figure, communication is made to the server when the movement of the display stops. Whether the scroll operation is one of the two can be determined by determining whether a pointing tool such as a user's finger or a stylus pen is in contact with the input unit 140.

[0122] In addition, in the above, a method for determining the "read" state or the "unread" state as state information is described. However, the "open" state can also be determined as state information. The "open" state is a state indicating that the user is reading the message, and refers to a state in which at least a part of the message is displayed on the display unit 140. This can be achieved by the updating unit 124 updating the state information from the "unread" state to the "open" state when the determination unit 123 determines that at least a part of the message is displayed on the display unit 140. The "open" state can also be sent from the sending unit 112 to other terminal devices, and the message can be displayed in the display unit 140 of the other terminal device in association with a display such as "open".

[0123] In addition, the terminal devices 100A and 100B are not limited to smartphones. The terminal devices 100A and 100B can be any information processing device as long as they can realize the functions described in the above embodiments, and can also be any device, for example, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, a wearable terminal (including glasses type, watch type, etc.), and a desktop PC (Personal Computer).

[0124] Each functional unit of the terminal device 100A, 100B and the server 200 can be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed by an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or can be implemented by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In addition, each functional unit can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, or the functions of multiple functional units can be implemented by one integrated circuit. Depending on the degree of integration, LSI is sometimes referred to as VLSI, very large LSI, extra large LSI, etc.

[0125] In the case where each functional unit of the terminal device 100A, 100B and the server 200 is implemented by software, the server 200 or the terminal device 100A, 100B has: a CPU that executes the software that implements each function, i.e., a program; a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as "recording media") that records the above program and various data in a manner that can be read by the computer (or CPU); and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the above program. Moreover, the above program is read from the above recording medium and executed by the computer (or CPU), thereby achieving the purpose of the present invention. As the above recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a magnetic tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, etc. can be used. In addition, the above search program can also be supplied to the above computer via any transmission medium (communication network or broadcast wave, etc.) that can transmit the search program. The present invention can also be implemented in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave that embodies the above search program by electronic transmission.

[0126] Specifically, the program of one embodiment of the present invention enables the terminal devices 100A and 100B to realize the receiving function, storage function, transmission function, output function, input function, determination function, update function and display function. The above-mentioned receiving function, storage function, transmission function, output function, input function, determination function, update function and display function can be realized by the above-mentioned receiving unit 111, storage unit 130, transmission unit 112, display processing unit 122, input unit 160, determination unit 123, update unit 124 and display unit 140 respectively. In addition, the terminal device 100A and the server 200 can also be respectively realized by Fig.10 and Fig.11 The circuit structure shown is used to achieve this.

[0127] The above-mentioned program can be realized by using, for example, a scripting language such as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language such as Objective-C or Java (registered trademark), a markup language such as HTML5, or the like.

[0128] The present invention is described based on the drawings and embodiments, but it should be noted that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions contained in each unit, each step, etc. can be reconfigured in a logically non-contradictory manner, and multiple units or steps can be combined into one, or they can be divided. In addition, the structures shown in the above embodiments can also be appropriately combined.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a terminal, wherein the terminal displays messages sent from other terminals so as to exchange messages between the terminals for chatting, the method comprising: receiving, by the communication unit of the terminal, a plurality of messages sent from the other terminals; Displaying a first message among the plurality of messages on a display unit of the terminal; Based on an input to a display unit of the terminal by a user of the terminal, controlling, by a control unit of the terminal, to move the first message displayed on the display unit on the display unit; Based on the input, displaying at least a portion of a second message included in the plurality of messages on a display unit of the terminal; Based on at least a part of the second message being outputted at the terminal, information indicating that the second message is being read is transmitted via the communication unit of the terminal.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The control method comprises: Based on the second message being entirely output, information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted through the communication unit of the terminal.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The control method comprises: Based on the input, the second message is moved on the display unit, and based on the entirety of the second message being displayed, information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted through the communication unit of the terminal.

4. The control method according to claim 3, wherein: Information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted based on stopping the movement of the second message based on the input.

5. The control method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The plurality of messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, The second message determines that the entire second message is displayed based on the end of the text of the second message being displayed on the display unit.

6. The control method according to claim 5, wherein: Regarding the second message, when a set time has passed since at least a portion of the second message was displayed on the display unit, and the end of the text of the second message is displayed on the display unit, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed.

7. The control method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The plurality of messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, Regarding the second message, based on the fact that at least a portion of a third message that is later than the second message in the chronological order is displayed on the display unit, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed.

8. The control method according to claim 7, wherein: Regarding the second message, when at least a portion of the third message is displayed on the display unit after a set time has passed since at least a portion of the second message was displayed on the display unit, it is determined that the entire second message is displayed.

9. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: receiving the plurality of messages by a communication unit of the terminal via a server, Information indicating that the second message has been viewed is transmitted to the server by the communication unit of the terminal.

10. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The plurality of messages are displayed on the display unit in chronological order, The second message is a message that is later than the first message in the chronological order.

11. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The message is an animation or a sound.

12. A storage medium storing a program, the program being executed by a computer of a terminal, the terminal exchanging messages between terminals for chatting by displaying messages sent from other terminals, the program comprising: receiving, by the communication unit of the terminal, a plurality of messages sent from the other terminals; Displaying a first message among the plurality of messages on a display unit of the terminal; Based on an input to a display unit of the terminal by a user of the terminal, controlling, by a control unit of the terminal, to move the first message displayed on the display unit on the display unit; Based on the input, displaying at least a portion of a second message included in the plurality of messages on a display unit of the terminal; Based on at least a part of the second message being outputted at the terminal, information indicating that the second message is being read is transmitted via the communication unit of the terminal.

13. A terminal for chatting by exchanging messages between terminals by displaying messages sent from other terminals, the terminal comprising: a communication unit configured to receive a plurality of messages sent from the other terminals; a display unit for displaying a first message among the plurality of messages; and a control unit that controls the first message displayed on the display unit to move on the display unit based on an input to the display unit by a user of the terminal, The display unit displays at least a portion of a second message included in the plurality of messages based on the input, The communication unit transmits information indicating that the second message is being viewed through the communication unit of the terminal based on at least a portion of the second message being outputted at the terminal.

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