Communication support method through transmission and reception of communication image

Abstract

To provide a communication support method for achieving a psychological sense of security, a sense of fulfillment, and ability of a user with an attribute requiring communication.SOLUTION: In a system providing a communication support method in which a server terminal and a plurality of user terminals are connected via a network and a plurality of users communicate with each other via an interface for chat communication, the server terminal receives, from the user terminal, a chat room creation request from a user, registers another user participating in the chat room, receives task information from another user terminal, and creates a communication image on the basis of the task information. The communication support method thereby creates individual chat rooms and transmits and receives the communication image for the purpose of support, thereby satisfying a psychological sense of security and a sense of fulfillment of a user with an attribute requiring communication, and through the user's achievement of a certain task, improving the ability of the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for supporting communication by transmitting and receiving communication images. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, services have become widespread in which users create individual chat rooms and communicate with each other by sending and receiving text and images via applications installed on user devices such as smartphones and tablets.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for creating an individual chat room and carrying out communication between specific users. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-77487 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] With the recent increase in nuclear families and dual-income households, the amount of time spent communicating between children and their families is on the decline. With the spread of smartphones, communication tools have become more diverse, but many of them are limited to adults. Thus, many families feel that there are issues with appropriate communication with their children. On the other hand, it is said that children will produce results when they are praised and expected to do so, as is called the Pygmalion effect, but in reality, there are few situations in which they are specifically encouraged. Here, Patent Document 1 aims to improve the efficiency of communication by creating a chat room and enabling the transmission of contact information and the sharing of necessary information between businesses and families through an individual chat communication interface, but the purpose is to share information between families and businesses, not for the parties to participate. Therefore, it is difficult for users with attributes who want to communicate to feel a sense of mental fulfillment or security, and there remains the issue that users with attributes who have difficulty entering characters cannot easily communicate with others such as family members.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to realize a communication method that creates individual chat rooms and enables users with attributes who need communication to feel psychologically secure and fulfilled by sending and receiving communication images for the purpose of support, and that enables users to improve their abilities by achieving certain tasks. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication support method for users belonging to a group in which multiple users communicate via a chat communication interface, in which a server terminal accepts a request from a user terminal to create a chat room, registers other users who will participate in the room, accepts task information from the other user terminals, and generates a communication image based on the task information. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a communication method that can improve the psychological sense of security, fulfillment, and capabilities of users with attributes that require communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a system for providing a communication support method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a functional block diagram showing the server terminal 100 of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a functional block diagram showing a user terminal 200 of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of user data stored in the server 100. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of chat data stored in a server 100. [Figure 6] 2 is an example flowchart illustrating a method for creating a communication image according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 13 is an example of a screen of an interface relating to a chat room of a user terminal 200A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 13 is an example of a screen of an interface relating to a chat room of a user terminal 200A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 4 is an example of a screen of a user interface related to task creation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 4 is an example of a screen of a user interface related to task management according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 13 is an example of an interface screen of terminal B of user 200 involved in creating a communication image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 1 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a communication support method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13]1 is an example of an interface screen of a user terminal 200A for transmitting a communication image according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 13 is an example of an interface screen of a user terminal 200A for transmitting a communication image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 13 is an example of an interface screen of a user terminal 200A for transmitting a communication image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 4 is an example of a screen of a user interface related to task completion according to the first embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below does not unduly limit the contents of the present invention described in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the embodiment are necessarily essential components of the present invention.

[0011] <Configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for providing a communication support method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this system 1, a plurality of users communicate with each other via a chat communication interface. The system 1 has a server terminal 100 and user terminals 200A and 200B that are users of the service. Here, the user terminal 200A is a terminal for adults, and the user terminal B is a terminal for children.

[0012] The server terminal 100 and the user terminals 200A and 200B are connected to each other via a network NW. The network NW is configured by the Internet, an intranet, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like.

[0013] The server terminal 100 generates a plurality of individual chat groups each composed of users. The chat group is composed of a child user and user members related to the child (e.g., parents, grandparents). Through a chat communication interface for a team, the child user reports by posting a communication image each time the set task is completed, and the user members related to the child post a communication image indicating praise in response to the child user's report, thereby communicating with each other and aiming to accomplish the set task. The server terminal 100 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing. In this embodiment, one server terminal is illustrated as an example for convenience of explanation, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be multiple.

[0014] The user terminals 200A and 200B are associated with (for example, owned by) users who use the communication support method provided by the server terminal 100, and are information processing devices such as personal computers and tablet terminals, but may also be constituted by smartphones, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. In this embodiment, the user terminal 200A will be described as a user terminal linked to a user related to a child (for example, a father, mother, grandparents, etc.), and the user terminal 200B will be described as a user terminal linked to a child user.

[0015] In this embodiment, system 1 is described as comprising a server terminal 100 and user terminals 200A, 200B, and configured so that users use each terminal to perform operations on server terminal 100; however, server terminal 100 may be configured as a stand-alone system, and the server terminal itself may be provided with a function for each user to perform operations directly.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a functional block configuration diagram of the server terminal 100 of Fig. 1. The server terminal 100 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit .

[0017] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 200, the photo contributor terminal 300, and the tourist destination user terminal 400 via the network NW, and communication is performed according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

[0018] The storage unit 120 stores programs for executing various control processes and various functions in the control unit 130, input data, etc., and is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The storage unit 120 also has a user data storage unit 121 that stores various data related to users, and a team data storage unit 122 that stores various data related to teams. A database (not shown) that stores various data may be constructed outside the storage unit 120 or the server terminal 100.

[0019] The control unit 130 controls the overall operation of the server terminal 100 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 120, and is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc. Functions of the control unit 130 include an information receiving unit 131 that receives information such as instructions from the user terminal 200, etc., a user information processing unit 132 that refers to and processes various data related to users, and a chat information processing unit 133 that refers to and processes communication images of users. The information receiving unit 131, the user information processing unit 132, and the chat information processing unit 133 are started by a program stored in the storage unit 120 and executed by the server terminal 100, which is a computer (electronic calculator).

[0020] The information receiving unit 131 receives instructions from the user terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 when a user makes a specified request (by inputting text, pressing an icon, etc.) via a user interface such as a screen provided by the server terminal 100 and displayed on the user terminals 200A, 200B via a web browser or application.

[0021] The user information processing unit 132 manages and processes various data related to the user (for example, the user name, user attributes, image data, tasks set by the user, and the like, as shown in FIG. 4).

[0022] The chat information processing unit 133 manages and processes various data related to chat (for example, image data shown in FIG. 5).

[0023] Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the user terminals 200A and 200B of Fig. 1. The user terminal 200 includes a communication unit 210, a display operation unit 220, a storage unit 230, and a control unit 240.

[0024] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for communicating with the server terminal 100 via the network NW, and communication is performed according to a communication protocol such as TCP / IP.

[0025] The display operation unit 220 is a user interface used for inputting instructions by the user and displaying text, images, etc. according to input data from the control unit 240, and is composed of a display, a keyboard, and a mouse when the user terminal 200 is configured as a personal computer, and is composed of a touch panel, etc. when the user terminal 200 is configured as a smartphone or tablet terminal. This display operation unit 220 is started up by a control program stored in the storage unit 230 and executed by the user terminal 200, which is a computer (electronic calculator).

[0026] The storage unit 230 stores programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 240, input data, etc., and is composed of a RAM, a ROM, etc. The storage unit 230 also temporarily stores the contents of communication with the server terminal 100.

[0027] The control unit 240 controls the overall operation of the user terminal 200 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 230, and is composed of a CPU, a GPU, and the like.

[0028] The server terminal 100 may have the function of a display operation unit, in which case the user terminal 200 may not be included.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of user data stored in the server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0030] The user data 1000 shown in Fig. 4 stores various data related to the user. For convenience of explanation, Fig. 4 shows an example of one user (a user identified by a user ID "10001"), but information of multiple users can be stored. The various data related to the user can include, for example, basic information of the user (user password, user name, adult, child, attribute, age, gender, etc.), chat information (text, image information, room, task, etc.).

[0031] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of chat data stored in the server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0032] 5 stores various data related to chats, such as communication image data (so-called stamps) created by the user and communication image data that is the material for the stamps.

[0033] <Processing flow> The process flow of the communication image creation method executed by system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is an example of a flowchart relating to the process flow of the communication image creation method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This example relates to a method in which a parent user creates a chat room for child users, accepts task registrations by the child users, and creates a communication image based on the task registrations.

[0034] Here, to use the present system 1, the user accesses the server terminal 100 using the web browser or application of each of the user terminals 200A and 200B, and when using the service for the first time, the user inputs the above-mentioned basic user information, and when a user account has already been acquired, the user logs in after undergoing a predetermined authentication such as inputting an ID and password, thereby becoming able to use the service. After this authentication, a predetermined user interface is provided via a website, application, etc., and the process proceeds to step S101 shown in FIG. 6.

[0035] First, as the process of step S101, the information receiving unit 131 of the server terminal 100 receives a request from the user terminal 200A via the communication unit 110 and creates a chat room. Here, as users participating in the chat room, the user attributes associated with the user terminal 200A include users related to children (adult users such as family members or relatives of children) and the user attributes associated with the user terminal 200B include child users, but the user attributes associated with the user terminal 200A are not limited to family members such as parents and grandparents, and may also include teachers of extracurricular activities. In this example, the user terminal 200A is described as a terminal associated with an adult user, and the user terminal 200b is described as a terminal associated with a child user. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the server terminal 100 generates a chat room to be displayed on a user interface screen displayed on the user terminal 200A and the user terminal 200B. User information processing unit 132 of server terminal 100 stores information about the generated chat room as user data 1000 in user data storage unit 121 of memory unit 120. Here, server terminal 100 can accept requests to create a chat room from multiple user terminals 200A (for example, a mother user, a father user, etc.).

[0036] Next, in step S102, the user information processing unit 132 of the server terminal 100 refers to the user information for which the user terminal 200A has sent a selection request from the user data 1000 stored in the user data storage unit 121, and performs a process of registering information about the user in the corresponding chat room. Here, the selection request of the user terminal 200A requires the selection of one user (child user) associated with the user terminal 200B. Here, the attributes associated with the user terminal 200A are not limited to family members such as parents and grandparents, but also include teachers of extracurricular activities. Here, only one child user can be registered in association with one chat room. For example, if the child user has siblings, if the child user is allowed to refer to communications between another child user and an adult user, etc., this will encourage unnecessary competitive spirit on the child side regarding the progress of the task, so it is preferable to generate a chat room for each child user.

[0037] Next, in the process of step S103, the information receiving unit 131 of the server terminal 100 receives a task input from the user terminal 200B via the communication unit 110, and performs a process of registering task information linked to the generated chat room so that the received task, for example, "say good morning", is registered in the user interface screen for task management of the user terminals 200A and 200B. The user information processing unit 132 of the server terminal 100 stores the task information as user data 1000 in the user data storage unit 121 of the storage unit 120, linked to the stored chat room information. Note that, although the task input is given as an example of being input by a child user, it may be received from an adult user or the like.

[0038] Next, in the process of step S104, the information receiving unit 131 of the server terminal 100 creates a communication image (so-called a stamp) based on the content of the task received from the user terminal 200A or 200B via the communication unit 110. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the task "say good morning" is received from the user 200B, the server terminal 100 creates a communication image that combines standard illustrations and characters with the text data of the received task "say good morning". This communication image can visually indicate the completion of the task set by the user. The user information processing unit 132 of the server terminal 100 stores the communication image information in the user data storage unit 121 of the storage unit 120 as user data 1000, linked to the chat room information stored above.

[0039] 7 is an example of the interface screen of user terminal 200A related to creating a chat room. Here, the name of an individual chat room is displayed, such as "XX's room", along with the user name of user terminal 200B and a facial photo. Only chat rooms in which the user is participating are displayed on the interface of user terminal 200B.

[0040] 8 is an example of an interface screen of user terminal 200A relating to chat room creation. Here too, an individual chat room name is displayed, such as "XX's Room", showing the user name of user terminal 200B and a facial photo. When a communication image is received, the completed task is displayed as text data, and a display is made announcing that the image has been received. Here, if there are multiple child users, an individual chat room is created for each child user and displayed on the interface screen of user terminal 200A.

[0041] Fig. 9 shows an example of a user interface screen for creating a task. Users can freely input text about what they will do to accomplish their daily tasks. Not only child users, but adult users can also input tasks.

[0042] 10 is an example of a user interface screen related to task management. When a user creates a task, a task management screen is displayed on the interface of the user terminals 200A and 200B. The task management screen is displayed in conjunction with a calendar, and when there are multiple tasks, each task is displayed in a vertical column.

[0043] Fig. 11 is an example of a screen of an interface for user 200B involved in creating a communication image. In Fig. 10, a task input by a user is converted into text, and a communication image is generated by combining standard text meaning the feelings associated with the completion of the task with an illustrated image. For example, when a task such as "say good morning" is input, the text "say good morning" is combined with text such as "you did your best" meaning the feelings associated with the completion of the task, and an illustration of a pig, or the like, to generate a communication image. Note that there are multiple types of standard text and illustrated images.

[0044] <Processing flow> Next, a flow of the communication support method executed by the system 1 of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 12 is an example of a flowchart relating to the flow of the communication support method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This example relates to a method for supporting communication between adults and children via stamps in the chat room created above.

[0045] First, in the process of step S201, the information receiving unit 131 of the server terminal 100 receives, via the communication unit 110, from the user terminal 200B, a communication image signifying a completion report of a set task, as shown in FIG.

[0046] Next, in the process of step S202, information accepting section 131 of server terminal 100 accepts, via communication section 110, from user terminal 200A, a communication image whose content is a response to the communication image accepted in step S210.

[0047] Next, in the process of step S203, the information receiving unit 131 of the server terminal 100 receives an instruction from the user terminal 200A or 200B via the communication unit 110 to the effect that the task set in step S103 has been completed. Here, the user information processing unit 132 determines that the child user's task has been completed based on receiving a communication image from the child user (the user linked to the user terminal 200B) or based on receiving a communication image from an adult user in response to a communication image posted by the child user, and can update the task information stored in the user data storage unit 121 as a determination result to indicate that the task (e.g., say "good morning") has been completed.

[0048] Fig. 13 is an example of a screen of user 200A's interface related to sending a communication image. The child user selects a communication image showing the details of the completed task from the communication images created in Fig. 10, and sends it on the chat interface. Here, the user cannot input text, and communicates only by sending and receiving communication images.

[0049] 14 is an example of an interface screen for user 200A in regard to sending a communication image. An adult user selects one of the already standardized communication images intended to encourage or support, and sends it on the chat interface. Again, the user cannot input text, and communicates only by sending and receiving communication images.

[0050] Fig. 15 is an example of an interface screen for user 200A relating to sending a communication image. When the adult user posts the communication image selected in Fig. 14, the posted communication image is displayed in the chat room, as shown in Fig. 15.

[0051] 16 is an example of a user interface screen related to the completion of a task. In the process of step S203, upon completion of the task, a check mark indicating the completion of the task is displayed in a portion corresponding to the content of the task and the date of completion on the task management screen of the user interface of user 200A and user 200B.

[0052] As described above, in individual chat rooms between multiple users such as family members, a child can post a communication image each time he or she completes a task, and adults can post and respond to communication images, thereby receiving praise and expectations, and communicating with each other, allowing for continuous activities to improve abilities.

[0053] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they can be embodied in various other forms and can be implemented with various omissions, substitutions, and modifications. These embodiments and modifications, as well as omissions, substitutions, and modifications, are included in the technical scope of the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1 System 100 Server terminal, 110 Communication unit, 120 Storage unit, 130 Control unit, 200 User terminal, NW network

Claims

1. 1. A method for supporting communication with users belonging to a group in which a plurality of users communicate with each other via a chat communication interface, comprising the steps of: The server terminal is Accepting a room creation request from a user from a user terminal; Register other users to participate in the room; A method of receiving task information from the other user terminal, and generating a communication image based on the task information.

2. 2. The method of claim 1 , comprising: A method of accepting the communication image from the other user terminal.

3. 2. The method of claim 1 , A method of accepting a communication image from the user terminal, the communication image being different from the communication image.

4. 2. The method of claim 1 , The chat communication interface does not allow input of text information.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising recording completion of the task in response to receiving the communication image.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the other user terminals cannot refer to other rooms created by the user.

Images