Message processing system, mobile external device, mobile device, message processing method, and message processing program

Abstract

To provide a message processing system or the like for enabling an inquiry source to easily and quickly acquire desired position data even when a response message whose contents are only a response is returned.SOLUTION: In the message processing system SS for transmitting and receiving a message between an information display device SM moving with a vehicle and a portable device SO outside the vehicle, the information display device SM is provided with an external communication part 7 transmitting an inquiry message inquiring a position to the portable device SO, and the portable device SO is provided with an external communication part 16 receiving the inquiry message, an operation part 13 receiving input of content data having a content indicating a response to the received inquiry message, a control part 1 generating a response message by adding position data indicating the inquired position to the received content data, and an external communication part 16 returning the generated response message to the information display device SM transmitting the inquiry message.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the technical fields of a message processing system, an off-mobile device, a mobile device, a message processing method, and a message processing program. More specifically, the present application relates to a message processing system, an off-mobile device, a mobile device, and a message processing method and a message processing program executed in the message processing system, which exchange messages between a mobile device mounted on a mobile body such as a vehicle and an off-mobile device located outside the mobile body. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, it has become common for different people to exchange desired messages using terminal devices carried by each other. Patent Document 1 below is an example of a prior art document disclosing such conventional technology. Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which a mobile device receives a signal from one of a plurality of signal output devices, obtains data transmitted by the signal, receives a message including the data, and identifies a signal output device in a faulty state based on the reception status of the message from the mobile device. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 transmits a response message in response to a location inquiry message, to which location data indicating the location of the target of the inquiry is added. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-156656 A (paragraph

[0161] etc.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of exchanging messages in a chat message system that can be used more easily than the complex technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, in response to an inquiry message such as "Where are you now?", after replying with "I'm here," the person who sent the reply must separately search for an address that indicates the person's location and then re-reply with the address that was found. In this case, the convenience of the easily usable chat message system is lost.

[0005] Therefore, the present application has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned demand, and one example of its objective is to provide a message processing system that enables the source of an inquiry to easily and quickly obtain desired location data even when a response message containing only a response message (for example, "It's here") is returned, an off-mobile device and a mobile device included in the message processing system, and a message processing method and a message processing program executed in the message processing system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a message processing system for exchanging messages between a mobile device that moves with a mobile device and an external device outside the mobile device, wherein the mobile device has a transmitting means for transmitting an inquiry message inquiring about its location to the external device, and the external device has a receiving means for receiving the inquiry message, a receiving means for receiving content data that is a response to the received inquiry message, an adding means for generating a response message by adding location data indicating the queried location to the received content data, and a replying means for returning the generated response message to the mobile device that sent the inquiry message.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 7 is the mobile outside device included in the message processing system described in claim 1, and is equipped with the receiving means, the accepting means, the adding means, and the replying means.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 8 is the mobile device included in the message processing system described in any one of claims 3 to 6, and includes the control means.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 9 is a message processing system for exchanging messages between a mobile device that moves with a mobile body and an external device outside the mobile body, wherein the mobile device has a transmitting means that transmits an inquiry message inquiring about a location to the external device, and the message processing method executed in the external device included in the message processing system includes a receiving means, an accepting means, an adding means, and a replying means, and includes a receiving step of receiving the inquiry message by the receiving means, a accepting step of accepting input of content data that is a response to the received inquiry message by the accepting means, an adding step of adding location data that indicates the inquired location to the accepted content data by the adding means to generate a response message, and a replying step of replying the generated response message to the mobile device that sent the inquiry message by the replying means.

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 10 is a message processing system for exchanging messages between a mobile device moving with a mobile body and an external device outside the mobile body, wherein the mobile device is provided with a transmitting means for transmitting an inquiry message inquiring about its location to the external device, and the computer included in the external device included in the message processing system functions as a receiving means for receiving the inquiry message, a receiving means for receiving content data indicating that the content data is a response to the received inquiry message, an adding means for generating a response message by adding location data indicating the inquired location to the received content data, and a replying means for replying to the generated response message to the mobile device that sent the inquiry message. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a message processing system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a message processing system according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating message processing according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of information display according to an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a first example of the information display, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a second example of the information display. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of information display according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a message processing system according to an embodiment.

[0013] 1, the message processing system SS of the embodiment includes a mobile device SM that moves with a mobile body and an external device SO that is located outside the mobile body, and is a message processing system that transmits and receives messages between the mobile device SM and the external device SO. The mobile device SM includes a transmission means 7.

[0014] The external device SO also includes an adding means 10, a receiving means 13, a receiving means 16, and a replying means 16A.

[0015] In the above configuration, the transmitting means 7 of the mobile device SM transmits a location inquiry message to the mobile external device SO.

[0016] Meanwhile, the receiving means 16 of the non-mobile device SO receives the inquiry message. The accepting means 13 accepts input of content data indicating a response to the inquiry message received by the receiving means 16. The adding means 10 then adds location data indicating the location inquired about by the mobile device SM to the content data accepted by the accepting means 13 to generate a response message. Thereafter, the replying means 16A replies with the response message generated by the adding means 10 to the mobile device SM that sent the inquiry message. As described above, according to the configuration of the message processing system SS of the embodiment, in response to an inquiry message transmitted from the mobile device SM, a response message is returned from the mobile external device SO, which includes content data indicating that the response message is a response to the inquiry message and location data added thereto. Therefore, even when a response message containing only content indicating that the response message is a response is returned, the mobile device SM that originated the inquiry can easily and quickly obtain the desired location data. [Example]

[0017] Next, specific examples corresponding to the above-described embodiments will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 5. The examples described below are examples in which the present application is applied to a message processing system that processes chat messages exchanged between passengers of a vehicle moving using autonomous driving technology and a person outside the vehicle. In the following description, the person outside the vehicle will be simply referred to as an "outside vehicle person."

[0018] Also, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a message processing system of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing message processing of the embodiment, and Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are diagrams showing examples of information display of the embodiment, respectively. In Fig. 2, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the same component numbers as those of the message processing system SS of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 are used for the components of the embodiment corresponding to the components of the message processing system SS of the embodiment.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the message processing system SS of the embodiment includes an information display device SM of the embodiment, which is installed in, for example, a vehicle that can move using automatic driving technology, and a portable device SO that is capable of wirelessly exchanging data with the information display device SM and is carried by a person outside the vehicle. In the message processing system SS of the embodiment, chat messages for a passenger in a vehicle equipped with the information display device SM to meet a person outside the vehicle whose location is unknown are exchanged between the portable device SO carried by the person outside the vehicle and the information display device SM. Additionally, based on the location data added to the response message of the embodiment received from the portable terminal SO, the vehicle equipped with the information display device SO is guided by automatic driving technology to a location where the person outside the vehicle and the passenger in the vehicle will meet. In the above configuration, the information display device SM corresponds to an example of a mobile device SM of the embodiment, and the terminal device SO corresponds to an example of a mobile-external device SO of the embodiment.

[0020] Next, the information display device SM of the embodiment is composed of a control unit 1 consisting of a CPU (Central Processing System), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.; a recording unit 2 consisting of an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), etc.; a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 3; a motion detection unit 4; a display unit 6; and an external communication unit 7. The control unit 1, recording unit 2, GPS receiving unit 3, motion detection unit 4, display unit 6, and external communication unit 7 are connected via a bus 5 to enable data exchange between them. In this case, the control unit 1 may be realized by a hardware logic circuit such as the CPU, or may be realized in software by the CPU reading and executing a program corresponding to the processing as the information display device SM in the message processing of the embodiment described below. Furthermore, the external communication unit 7 corresponds to an example of a transmission means 7 of the embodiment. In the following description, the processing as the information display device SM in the message processing of the embodiment described above will simply be referred to as "message processing in the information display device SM."

[0021] On the other hand, the portable device SO of the embodiment is realized by, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a portable personal computer. The portable device SO is composed of a control unit 10 including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., a recording unit 11 including a solid-state drive (SSD) or the like, a GPS receiving unit 12, an operation unit 13 including operation buttons or a touch panel, etc., a display 15 including a liquid crystal display or the like, and an external communication unit 16. The control unit 10, the recording unit 11, the GPS receiving unit 12, the operation unit 13, the display 15, and the external communication unit 16 are connected via a bus 14 so that data can be exchanged between them. In this case, the control unit 10 may be realized by a hardware logic circuit such as the CPU, as with the control unit 1 of the information display device SM, or may be realized by software in which the CPU reads and executes a program corresponding to the processing of the portable device SO in the message processing of the embodiment described below. Furthermore, the external communication unit 16 corresponds to an example of the receiving means 16 and an example of the replying means 16A in the embodiment, the control unit 10 corresponds to an example of the adding means 10 in the embodiment, and the operation unit 13 corresponds to an example of the accepting means 13 in the embodiment. In the following description, the processing as the mobile device SO in the message processing in the above embodiment will be simply referred to as "message processing in the mobile device SO."

[0022] In the above configuration, the GPS receiver 3 of the information display device SM generates current position data indicating the current position of the information display device SM of the embodiment (in other words, the current position of the vehicle on which the information display device SM is mounted) based on navigation radio waves included in the GPS and received from a navigation satellite (not shown), under the control of the control unit 1 of the information display device SM, and outputs the generated current position data to the control unit 1. This current position is the current position of the vehicle expressed using, for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude. Meanwhile, the recording unit 2 non-volatilely stores map data MD indicating at least features such as buildings and facilities on the vehicle's travel route, icon data (described below) used for message processing in the information display device SM, and a program corresponding to processing by the information display device SM, and these are output to the control unit 1 as needed.

[0023] Under the control of the control unit 1, the external communication unit 7 is capable of wirelessly exchanging data with the portable device SO. Furthermore, under the control of the control unit 1, the motion detection unit 4 detects, for example, the direction of the vehicle's gaze and the manner of hand gestures by a vehicle occupant using a conventional method, such as using the results of imaging by an in-vehicle camera (not shown), and outputs the detection results to the control unit 1. Under the control of the control unit 1, the display unit 6 displays various information on the vehicle's glass using techniques such as projection. The vehicle's glass includes the windshield, side windows, rear window, and sunroof glass. Based on these, the control unit 1 executes message processing in the information display device SM using the display unit 6, using the current location data from the GPS receiver 3, data from the external communication unit 7, the detection results by the motion detection unit 4, and map data MD.

[0024] On the other hand, similar to the GPS receiver 3 of the information display device SM, the GPS receiver 12 of the portable device SO generates current position data indicating the current position of the portable device SM of the embodiment (in other words, the current position of the person outside the vehicle who is carrying the portable device SM) under the control of the control unit 10 of the portable device SO based on the navigation radio waves received from the navigation satellite, and outputs the generated current position data to the control unit 10. This current position is also the current position of the person outside the vehicle expressed using, for example, latitude, longitude, and altitude. On the other hand, the recording unit 11 non-volatilely records icon data, which will be described later and which are used in the message processing of the embodiment, and a program corresponding to the message processing in the portable device SO, and outputs the data to the control unit 10 as necessary.

[0025] Furthermore, the external communication unit 16 is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data to and from the information display device SM under the control of the control unit 10. Furthermore, when a necessary operation, including an operation for inputting the contents of a response message in an embodiment described below, is performed on the operation unit 13 under the control of the control unit 10, the operation unit 13 generates an operation signal corresponding to the performed operation and outputs the operation signal to the control unit 10. Furthermore, under the control of the control unit 1, various information required for message processing in the portable device SO is displayed on the display 15. As a result, the control unit 10 performs message processing as the portable device SO using the current location data from the GPS receiving unit 12, the data from the external communication unit 16, the operation signal from the operation unit 13, the icon data recorded in the recording unit 11, etc.

[0026] Next, the message processing of the embodiment, which is executed mainly by the control unit 1 of the information display device SM and the control unit 10 of the mobile device SO, will be specifically described with reference to Figures 2 to 5. The message processing of the embodiment is started when an inquiry message of the embodiment is transmitted from the information display device SM to the mobile device SO.

[0027] That is, as a message process in the information display device SM, first, an inquiry message of the embodiment is transmitted to the portable device SO by a passenger of the vehicle in which the information display device SM is mounted (step S1). At this time, the inquiry message of the embodiment is a so-called chat message having simple content such as "Where are you now?" and addressed to a person outside the vehicle who is carrying the portable device SO. The content of the inquiry message of the embodiment is input, for example, using the operation detection unit 4 of the information display device SM. After the inquiry message of the embodiment is transmitted, the control unit 1 then monitors transmission of a response message, which will be described later, from the portable device SO (step S2, step S2: NO).

[0028] Meanwhile, the control unit 10 of the portable device SO monitors reception of the inquiry message from the information display device SM, for example, after the portable device SO is powered on (step S10). If the inquiry message is not received during the monitoring in step S10 (step S10: NO), the control unit 10 continues the monitoring. On the other hand, if the inquiry message is received during the monitoring in step S10 (step S10: YES), the control unit 10 then generates a response message of the embodiment, adds the current location data generated by the GPS receiving unit 12 to the response message, and further reads and adds icon data of the embodiment from the recording unit 11 (step S11). Note that if the location where the passenger of the vehicle equipped with the information display device SM and the outside person carrying the portable device SO meet (rendezvous) is different from the current location of the outside person, it is preferable to add location data indicating the location of the rendezvous location instead of adding the current location data.

[0029] Here, the response message in the above embodiment is a chat message having simple content such as "It's here," addressed to a passenger in a vehicle equipped with the information display device SM, and is a response message to the inquiry message transmitted from the information display device SM. The icon data in the above embodiment is icon data for displaying an icon M, described below, indicating the presence of a person outside the vehicle, on the information display device SM. After the current location data and the icon data are added to the response message in the embodiment in step S11, the control unit 10 then transmits the response message, to which the current location data and the like have been added, to the information display device SM (step S12). Thereafter, the control unit 10 terminates message processing as the mobile device SO.

[0030] On the other hand, when the response message is transmitted from the portable device SO in step S12 (step S2: YES), the control unit 1 of the information display device SM, which is monitoring the transmission of the response message of the embodiment from the portable device SO, displays the information of the embodiment in the message processing as the information display device SM (step S3). This step S3 will be described in detail later.

[0031] Thereafter, the control unit 1 determines whether the vehicle equipped with the information display device SM has arrived at the position indicated by the current position data added to the response message (step S4). Note that the movement of the vehicle to the position indicated by the current position data is guided, for example, by using map data MD recorded in the recording unit 2. If it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle has not reached the position indicated by the current position data (step S4: NO), the control unit 1 continues the information processing of the embodiment (step S3). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle has reached the position indicated by the current position data (step S4: YES), the control unit 1 ends the message processing as the information display device SM.

[0032] Next, the information display in step S3 will be specifically described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. That is, as an example, assume that a passenger in a vehicle equipped with an information display device SM transmits an inquiry message of the embodiment to the mobile device SO to meet the outside person from inside the vehicle traveling on a highway (see step S1 in Fig. 3), and the response message corresponding to the inquiry message is received by the information display device SM (see step S2 in Fig. 3: YES). In this case, as the information display in step S3, the control unit 1 of the information display device SM displays, on the display unit 6, a corresponding icon MG using the icon data added to the response message at a position on the windshield GL corresponding to the current location of the outside person, as shown in Fig. 4(a), based on the current location data from the GPS receiver 3 of the information display device SM and the current location data added to the response message (i.e., the current location data indicating the current location of the outside person).

[0033] In addition, the control unit 1 causes the display unit 6 to display an inquiry icon M1 containing the content of the inquiry message at a display position different from the corresponding icon M on the windshield GL (for example, a display position facing the corresponding icon MG as exemplified in FIG. 4(a)). Furthermore, the control unit 1 causes the display unit 6 to display a response icon M containing the content of the response message at a display position corresponding to the corresponding icon MG on the windshield GL (for example, a display position beside the corresponding icon MG as exemplified in FIG. 4(a)).

[0034] Here, when the vehicle moves from the position illustrated in Fig. 4(a), the control unit 1 may display, on the display unit 6, the manner in which the vehicle has moved from the position illustrated in Fig. 4(a), for example, in the form of a timeline L, for example, near the bottom edge of the windshield GL so as not to obstruct the view, as illustrated in Fig. 4(b). In this case, the right edge of the timeline L in Fig. 4(b) corresponds to the position indicated by the current position data added to the response message.

[0035] Then, when the vehicle equipped with the information display device SM moves further and approaches the position indicated by the current position data added to the response message, the control unit 1 may cause the display unit 6 to display on the windshield GL a corresponding icon MG such as the corresponding icon MG illustrated in Fig. 5, which indicates that the vehicle is closer to the person outside the vehicle than the corresponding icon MG illustrated in Fig. 4(a). In this case, the position indicated by the corresponding icon MG illustrated in Fig. 5 on its design is the current position of the person outside the vehicle.

[0036] As described above, according to the message processing of the embodiment, a response message is returned from the mobile device SO in response to an inquiry message sent from the information display device SM, with current location data added to content data indicating that it is a response. Therefore, even if a response message is returned that only contains content indicating that it is a response (for example, "It's here"), the information display device SM that originated the inquiry can easily and quickly obtain the desired current location data.

[0037] In addition, icon data for displaying the corresponding icon MG is further added to the response message and returned, so that the information display device SM can use the corresponding icon MG corresponding to the icon data to symbolically display the presence of the portable device SO (i.e., the presence of a person outside the vehicle) (see Figure 4(a)).

[0038] Furthermore, based on the current position data of the vehicle in which the information display device SM is mounted, the map data MD, and the current position data and icon data added to the response message, a corresponding icon MG indicating the destination position is displayed on the windshield GL at a position corresponding to the destination position (see FIG. 4(a)). Thus, in response to the exchange of a simple chat message indicating the destination position, for example, a passenger in the vehicle and a person outside the vehicle carrying a portable device SO can cooperate and communicate with each other, and the vehicle can be moved to the destination position.

[0039] Furthermore, a response icon M corresponding to a response message is displayed at a position on the windshield GL corresponding to the corresponding icon MG (see Figure 4(a)), allowing the user to quickly recognize the meaning of the corresponding icon MG displayed corresponding to the arrival position.

[0040] Furthermore, since the inquiry icon M1 indicating the inquiry message is displayed at a position different from the corresponding icon MG (see FIG. 4(a)), it is possible to specifically display the content of the exchange with the person outside the vehicle, for example.

[0041] Furthermore, if a timeline L showing the vehicle's movement status until it reaches the destination is displayed at a position on the windshield GL different from the corresponding icon MG (see Figure 4(b)), the movement status can be easily recognized.

[0042] In the above-described embodiment, the present application is applied when displaying corresponding icons MG, etc. on the windshield GL of a vehicle, but the present application can also be applied when displaying corresponding icons MG, etc. on the transparent portion of a motorcycle, for example, which has a transparent portion around it, or when displaying corresponding icons MG, etc. on the display portion of a pedestrian wearing a helmet-type so-called head-mounted display.

[0043] In addition, it is also possible to record a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in Figure 3 on a recording medium such as an optical disk or obtain it via a network such as the Internet, and then read and execute it on a general-purpose microcomputer or the like, thereby causing the microcomputer or the like to function as the control unit 1 and control unit 10 according to the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1. Control section 7 Transmission means (external communication unit) 10 Additional means (control unit) 13 Reception means (operation unit) 16 Receiving means (external communication unit) 16A Reply Method M Response Icon SM information display device SO Portable Device SS Message Processing System MG compatible icon M1 Inquiry Icon

Claims

[Claim 1] A message processing system for exchanging messages between a mobile device that moves together with a mobile body and an external device that is outside the mobile body, comprising: the mobile device includes a transmitting means for transmitting an inquiry message to the non-mobile device inquiring about its location; the mobile external device, receiving means for receiving the inquiry message; a receiving means for receiving input of content data indicating that the content data is a response to the received inquiry message; adding means for generating a response message by adding location data indicating the inquired location to the received content data; a replying means for returning the generated response message to the mobile device that transmitted the inquiry message; A message processing system comprising:

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