COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, ADMINISTRATOR DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

Abstract

To provide a communication system, administrator terminal, server device, communication method and communication program, which allow an administrator side to smoothly notify a user side of message information.SOLUTION: A communication system comprises: an administrator device 6; and one or more guardian terminals 2 connected with the administrator device 6 via a network. The administrator device 6 comprises: a school terminal 1 comprising a message information acquisition unit 311 for acquiring message information to be notified to the guardian terminals 2, and a communication control unit 313 for sending the message information to the school terminal 1; and a printer 5 for printing the message information. The above configuration allows a teacher to reliably convey his / her message information to guardians.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system, an administrator terminal, a communication method, and a communication program. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, elementary school teachers may send various messages concerning students, such as "school newsletters" and "school lunch menus," to the parents of each student.

[0003] Conventionally, a method has been adopted in which a printing device is used to print out notification items on a notification slip for each child, and the notification slips are then given to the children to deliver to their parents (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-112379 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when the child delivers the message to the guardian, there is a risk that the child may lose the message or forget to show it to the guardian, making it impossible to ensure that the message is delivered to the guardian.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a communication system, an administrator terminal, a server device, a communication method, and a communication program that can smoothly notify contact information from the administrator to the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the communication system of the present invention is a communication system comprising an administrator device and at least one user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, wherein the administrator device comprises an administrator terminal having a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal, and a printing device that prints the contact information.

[0008] The administrator terminal of the present invention is an administrator device connected to at least one user terminal via a network, and is equipped with an administrator terminal having a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal, and a printing device that prints the contact information.

[0009] The communication method of the present invention is a communication method for transmitting contact information from an administrator device to a user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, and includes the steps of obtaining contact information to be notified to the user terminal, transmitting the contact information to the user terminal, and outputting a printing command to a printing device to print the contact information.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a communication program for causing a computer to function as the administrator terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, contact information can be smoothly transmitted from the administrator to the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a school terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parent terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing data transmission and reception when contact information sent from a school terminal is sent to a parent terminal via a server device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an application selection screen displayed on the display unit of the school terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display screen of "Letter distribution status" displayed on the display unit of a school terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the display screen when "New Letter Delivery" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the display screen when "Check number of read messages" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an application selection screen displayed on the display unit of the parent terminal. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the display screen when "Notification List" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the display screen when contact information is selected on the screen shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the display screen when contact information is selected on the screen shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing data transmission and reception when contact information sent from a school terminal is sent to a parent terminal via a server device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts or components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

[0014] [Configuration of the embodiment] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100 according to this embodiment includes a school device 6 (administrator device), a plurality of parent terminals 2 (user terminals), and a server device 3. The school device 6 includes a school terminal 1 (administrator terminal) and a printing device 5. The school terminal 1 and parent terminal 2 are connectable to the server device 3 via a network 4 such as the Internet. The school terminal 1 is also connected to the printing device 5. In the following, children and students attending school will simply be referred to as "children".

[0015] [School Terminal 1 explanation] We will now explain the detailed configuration of the school terminal 1. The school terminal 1 is installed in a school such as an elementary school, and is a terminal device for teachers at the school to transmit contact information to the guardian terminal 2 and, as necessary, to perform processes such as acquiring messages transmitted from the guardian terminal 2. The school terminal 1 can be configured as a computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the school terminal 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the school terminal 1 includes a control unit 31, an input unit 32, a display unit 33, a program storage unit 34, a database 35, and an external communication unit 36. The school terminal 1 is also connected to a printing device 5.

[0017] The input unit 32 accepts input operations by the teacher. The input unit 32 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse mounted on a personal computer, or a touch panel sensor mounted on a tablet terminal. The input unit 32 also includes a scanner that reads a printed matter on which contact information is printed and generates electronic data.

[0018] The display unit 33 displays various images on a screen. The display unit 33 is, for example, a liquid crystal display mounted on a personal computer or a tablet terminal.

[0019] The program storage unit 34 stores various programs including application programs for executing various controls and communicating various contact information with the server device 3. The program storage unit 34 can be configured with a flash memory or the like. The application programs for executing various controls and communicating contact information can be downloaded from a cloud server or the like via the network 4, for example.

[0020] The database 35 stores a class correspondence table in which the attendance number of each child is associated with the class ID of the class to which each child belongs. The database 35 can be configured, for example, from a hard disk.

[0021] The external communication unit 36 ​​performs communication processing with external devices via the network 4 .

[0022] The control unit 31 includes a contact information acquisition unit 311 , a display control unit 312 , a communication control unit 313 , and a print control unit 314 .

[0023] The contact information acquisition unit 311 acquires contact information inputted by the input unit 32. "Contact information" refers to various types of information that teachers inform each child and their parents / guardians on a regular or irregular basis, such as "school newsletters" and "school lunch menus." Contact information includes information targeted at all grades, information targeted at a specific grade, information targeted at a specific class, information targeted at members of a specific club activity, and the like.

[0024] The contact information acquisition unit 311 acquires image data generated by reading a printed matter on which contact information is printed with a scanner. The contact information acquisition unit 311 can also acquire data entered using image creation software or character input software as image data.

[0025] Therefore, teachers can create contact information in print form and input it as electronic data by scanning it. Teachers can also create contact information using computer software and input the created contact information as electronic data.

[0026] The display control unit 312 controls the display of various information on the display unit 33. Specifically, the display control unit 312 controls the display of the contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit 311 on the display unit 33. For example, when the contact information is "September school lunch menu," an image of this is displayed on the display unit 33. The display control unit 312 also controls the display of an image showing the transmission status of the contact information on the display unit 33.

[0027] The display control unit 312 also controls the input image of the contact information stored in the server device 3, the delivery status, and the like. The control unit 31 controls the display of an image showing the status on the display unit 33. Specifically, the control unit 31 controls the display of images shown in Figs. 7 and 8, which will be described later.

[0028] The communication control unit 313 performs a process of transmitting the contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit 311 from the school terminal 1 to the server device 3. When a command to transmit contact information is input via the input unit 32, the communication control unit 313 transmits the contact information stored in the database 35 to the server device 3.

[0029] The contact information includes information on the parent terminal 2 that is the destination. The parent terminal 2 that is the destination can be set according to the entire school to which the child belongs, the grade, class, club activity, region, etc. For example, when the target contact information is to be sent to the parent terminal 2 of a third-grade child, the destination is set to third-grade students. Also, when the target contact information is to be sent to the parent terminal 2 of a child in the soccer club, the destination is set to the soccer club.

[0030] The contact information may also include transmission time information. The transmission time information is information indicating the date and time when the contact information is transmitted to each parent terminal 2. As will be described later, the contact information transmitted by the communication control unit 313 is stored in the server device 3, and then transmitted to the parent terminal 2 to which it is to be transmitted, at the date and time set in the transmission time information.

[0031] The communication control unit 313 also receives various types of information transmitted from the parent terminal 2 via the server device 3. The communication control unit 313 stores the received information in the database 35. The information transmitted from the parent terminal 2 is, for example, information such as an absence notification that the parent notifies the teacher.

[0032] Furthermore, when a delete command for already-sent contact information is input from the input unit 32, the communications control unit 313 transmits this delete command to the server device 3. As will be described later, when the server device 3 receives a delete command transmitted from the communications control unit 313, it deletes the contact information to be deleted that is stored in the contact information table 124 (see FIG. 4, which will be described later).

[0033] The print control unit 314 outputs a print command to the printer 5 when an operation to instruct printing of contact information is inputted at the input unit 32. In addition, when an operation to instruct transmission of contact information is inputted at the input unit 32, the print control unit 314 outputs a print command to the printer 5 in conjunction with the transmission of the contact information.

[0034] The printing device 5 is a printing device such as a printer or a copier. The printing device 5 performs printing processing of the print information when a print command is output from the print control unit 314. The teacher can instruct the student to bring the printed matter to the student's guardian.

[0035] [Explanation of Parent Terminal 2] Next, the guardian terminal 2 shown in Fig. 1 will be described. The guardian terminal 2 is, for example, a terminal device owned by a guardian in the household of a child or student attending school. Specifically, the guardian terminal 2 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. owned by the guardian (for example, a parent) of a child or student attending school, or the person himself / herself. There may be one or more guardian terminals 2 in one household. The guardian terminal 2 is configured by a computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc.

[0036] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the parent terminal 2. As shown in Fig. 3, the parent terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, an input unit 22, a display unit 23, a program storage unit 24, a database 25, and an external communication unit 26.

[0037] The input unit 22 accepts input operations by a guardian (user) who operates the guardian terminal 2. The input unit 22 is, for example, a touch panel sensor mounted on a smartphone or a tablet terminal. A dedicated keyboard, mouse, etc. can also be used as the input unit 22. The guardian can operate the input unit 22 to input contact information to be notified to the school terminal 1.

[0038] The display unit 23 displays various images on a screen. The display unit 23 is, for example, a liquid crystal display mounted on a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

[0039] The program storage unit 24 stores various programs including application programs for executing various controls and various information communications with the server device 3. The program storage unit 24 can be configured with a flash memory or the like. The application programs for executing various controls and communicating contact information can be downloaded from a cloud server or the like via the network 4, for example.

[0040] The database 25 stores various types of information related to communication with the server device 3. For example, it stores various types of ID information set by an ID management unit 211, which will be described later.

[0041] The external communication unit 26 performs communication processing with external devices via the network 4 .

[0042] The control unit 21 includes an ID management unit 211, a display control unit 212, and a communication control unit 213.

[0043] The ID management unit 211 acquires the class ID of the class to which the child belongs from among the class IDs set for each class in the school the child attends. The class ID is data that uniquely identifies the class to which the child belongs. The ID management unit 211 performs a process of storing the acquired class ID in the database 25. That is, when the guardian inputs the class ID of the class to which the child belongs in the input unit 22, the ID management unit 211 stores this class ID in the database 25.

[0044] The ID management unit 211 also acquires the attendance number (child ID) set for each child at the school the child attends, and stores this attendance number in the database 25. That is, when a guardian inputs an attendance number in the input unit 22, the ID management unit 211 stores this attendance number in the database 25. The attendance numbers are numbers set for each class, for example, in alphabetical order or by date of birth.

[0045] The ID management unit 211 also performs a process of rewriting the class ID and attendance number stored in the database 25 when an operation to change the class ID or attendance number is input through the input unit 22 .

[0046] The display control unit 212 controls the display of various information on the display unit 23 .

[0047] The communication control unit 213 controls the transmission and reception of data between the server device 3. The communication control unit 213 receives a push notification (described in detail later) transmitted from the server device 3. When an operation for acquiring contact information is performed on the input unit 22 in response to the push notification, the communication control unit 213 transmits a transmission request for contact information to the server device 3. When contact information is transmitted from the server device 3 in response to the transmission request, the communication control unit 213 performs a process for receiving this contact information.

[0048] [Server device 3 description] Next, a detailed configuration of the server device 3 shown in Fig. 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the server device 3 includes a control unit 11, a database unit 12 (server-side database), a program storage unit 13, and an external communication unit 14.

[0049] The database unit 12 includes a school management table 121, a class management table 122, a user table 123, and a contact information table .

[0050] The school management table 121 is a table that stores information for managing each school connected to the network 4. The school management table 121 stores the MAC address of each school terminal 1, the ID of the teacher who operates each school terminal 1, and the like.

[0051] The class management table 122 is a table that stores information for managing each class in each school. The class management table 122 stores a class ID that is uniquely associated with each class.

[0052] The user table 123 is a table that stores information related to each parent / guardian terminal 2 and a child connected to the network 4. When a plurality of parent / guardian terminals 2 are provided in one household, the user table 123 stores information indicating the correspondence between the parent / guardian terminals 2 for each household.

[0053] The contact information table 124 is a table that stores contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1 to each guardian terminal 2. Contact information such as "school newsletter" and "school lunch menu" transmitted from the school terminal 1 is stored in the contact information table 124. Since the contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1 is transmitted as image data such as PDF, the PDF image data is processed by a data processing unit 181 (described later) into PNG data or the like before being stored in the contact information table 124.

[0054] The contact information table 124 also stores images for inputting and confirming contact information to be displayed on the display unit 33 of the school terminal 1. For example, an image showing a letter distribution status shown in Fig. 7, which will be described later, is stored. The contact information table 124 also stores images for inputting and confirming information to be displayed on the display unit 23 of the parent / guardian terminal 2. For example, an image shown in Fig. 11, which will be described later, is stored.

[0055] The program storage unit 13 stores various programs including application programs for executing various controls and communicating contact information between the parent terminal 2 and the school terminal 1. The program storage unit 13 can be configured with a flash memory or the like.

[0056] The external communication unit 14 performs communication processing with external devices via the network 4 .

[0057] The control unit 11 controls the operation of the entire server device 3. The control unit 11 is configured to include a CPU and the like. The control unit 11 includes a user management unit 15, a reception control unit 16, a transmission control unit 17, and a contact information management unit 18. Each unit of the control unit 11 is configured by the CPU executing a program stored in the program storage unit 13.

[0058] The user management unit 15 includes a class ID issuing unit 151 , an attendance number management unit 152 , and a parent terminal management unit 153 .

[0059] The class ID issuing unit 151 issues a class ID for identifying each class in the school. The class ID issuing unit 151 also stores the attendance number of each child in the class management table 122 in association with the class ID.

[0060] The attendance number management unit 152 manages the attendance number (child ID) of each child. Specifically, the attendance number management unit 152 stores in the user table 123 the attendance number of each child in association with the parent terminal 2 held by the parent of each child.

[0061] The parent terminal management unit 153 manages each parent terminal 2 connected to the network 4. Specifically, when multiple parent terminals 2 are provided in one household, the parent terminal management unit 153 performs processing such as synchronizing various types of information for each household.

[0062] The reception control unit 16 receives contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1 and performs processing to store the information in the contact information table 124. The reception control unit 16 also receives a request to send contact information transmitted from the parent terminal 2.

[0063] The transmission control unit 17 sends a push notification of predetermined contact information to the parent terminal 2 at the scheduled time set in a distribution reservation unit 182 described below. The transmission control unit 17 also sends the contact information stored in the contact information table 124 to the parent terminal 2 when a transmission request sent from the parent terminal 2 is acquired. The transmission control unit 17 also sends data including at least a part of a printed matter having the same content as the electronic data received by the reception control unit 16 to the parent terminal 2.

[0064] The contact information management unit 18 includes a data processing unit 181 , a delivery reservation unit 182 , a push notification processing unit 183 , a read processing unit 184 , an overwrite processing unit 185 , and a classification processing unit 186 .

[0065] The data processing unit 181 processes electronic data of the contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1. For example, when the contact information is transmitted as PDF data, it is processed into PNG data or the like.

[0066] If delivery time information indicating the date and time at which the contact information is to be sent is added to the contact information sent from the school terminal 1, the delivery reservation unit 182 sets a reservation so that a push notification is sent to the target parent terminal 2 at this date and time.

[0067] The push notification processing unit 183 sends a push notification indicating that the contact information has been sent to the target parent terminal 2 when the contact information is sent from the school terminal 1 and the above-mentioned reserved time arrives.

[0068] The read processing unit 184 transmits contact information to the parent terminal 2, and when this contact information is opened by the parent terminal 2, performs processing to add read information to the contact information stored in the contact information table 124. Read information is set for each parent terminal 2. For example, when one piece of contact information is sent to multiple parent terminals 2, read information is added for the parent terminal 2 that opened the one piece of contact information. By adding read information to the contact information, it is possible to recognize that the parent terminal 2 to which the contact information is to be sent has already viewed it.

[0069] In addition, when multiple parent terminals 2 are set in one household, for example, when a mother and a father for one child have smartphones that are parent terminals 2, when the contact information is opened on at least one parent terminal 2, read information is added to the contact information. Alternatively, when the contact information is opened on both parent terminals 2, read information may be added.

[0070] The overwrite processing unit 185 performs a process of overwriting the latest contact information when contact information with the same title is sent multiple times from the school terminal 1. The "same title" refers to a case where there are no multiple identical contact information, such as "September school lunch menu" or "March issue of the 3rd grade class 1 class newsletter." That is, when contact information with the same title is transmitted multiple times from the guardian terminal 2, the overwrite processing unit 185 performs a process of overwriting the contact information stored in the database unit 12 with the latest contact information. Also, when a delete command for specific contact information is transmitted from the school terminal 1, the overwrite processing unit 185 performs a process of deleting this contact information.

[0071] The classification processing unit 186 performs a process of classifying the contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1 into a plurality of preset types. The classification processing unit 186 adds various types of information to the contact information stored in the contact information table 124. The classification types include, for example, school newsletter, health newsletter, and school lunch menu. In other words, the classification processing unit 186 performs a process of classifying the contact information transmitted from the school terminal 1 into a plurality of preset types.

[0072] [Operation of the first embodiment] Next, a processing procedure of the communication system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a process of transmitting contact information from the school terminal 1 to the parent terminal 2 via the server device 3.

[0073] First, in step S11 of Fig. 5, the contact information acquisition unit 311 of the school terminal 1 acquires contact information. For example, if the contact information is provided as a printed matter, the printed matter is read by a scanner to acquire electronic data of the contact information. If the contact information is created using software such as image creation software or character input software, the electronic data is acquired. The electronic data of the contact information may also be generated by the server device 3. That is, the electronic data of the contact information written on the printed matter can be created by the school terminal 1 or the server device 3.

[0074] In step S 12 , the communication control unit 313 of the school terminal 1 uploads the contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit 311 to the server device 3 .

[0075] In step S13, the reception control unit 16 of the server device 3 receives the contact information uploaded from the school terminal 1. The data processing unit 181 processes the data of the uploaded contact information. For example, the contact information uploaded as PDF data is processed into PNG data.

[0076] The classification processor 186 also classifies the processed contact information into a plurality of preset types and stores the classified information in the contact information table 124 .

[0077] Furthermore, if contact information with the same title as the uploaded contact information is already stored in the contact information table 124, the overwrite processing unit 185 overwrites the already stored contact information. Therefore, if contact information with the same title is uploaded multiple times, it is always updated to the latest version.

[0078] In step S14, the contact information acquisition unit 311 of the school terminal 1 acquires information on the parent terminal 2 to which the contact information is to be delivered. Specifically, when the teacher who operates the school terminal 1 sets the destination of the contact information to, for example, all the students in the school, or the students in class XX of year XX, in the input unit 32, this information is acquired by the contact information acquisition unit 311.

[0079] A specific example of the process of uploading contact information will be described below with reference to Fig. 6 to Fig. 9. Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial screen displayed on the display unit 33 of the school terminal 1, Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display screen for "Letter distribution status", and Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display screen when "New letter distribution" is selected on the screen shown in Fig. 7.

[0080] When a teacher operating the school terminal 1 starts an application for executing communication of contact information, the initial screen shown in Fig. 6 is displayed on the display unit 33. The teacher selects the icon P1 for "Notification of Letters / Distribution Status" displayed on the initial screen shown in Fig. 6.

[0081] By selecting icon P1, the "Letter Distribution Status" screen shown in Fig. 7 is displayed. As shown in Fig. 7, the letter distribution status screen displays a selection box P4 for "new letter distribution." The letter distribution status screen also displays a list P2 of letters sent in the past, and the list displays a selection box P3 for checking the number of letters that have already been read.

[0082] When a teacher selects the selection box P4 for "New letter delivery" on the screen shown in Fig. 7, a setting screen for new contact information is displayed as shown in Fig. 8. On the setting screen shown in Fig. 8, a preview screen P11 of the contact information to be sent, a selection box P13 for selecting whether to print, a selection box P14 indicating that printing has been selected, and a pop-up screen P12 are displayed.

[0083] The teacher can recognize the contact information to be sent by looking at the preview screen P11 and the pop-up screen P12. If the teacher wants to print the contact information on the printer 5 in parallel with sending it as electronic data, he or she selects the selection box P13. As a result, the selection box P14, which indicates that printing has been selected, is checked.

[0084] The teacher inputs the title of the contact information, such as "Class Newspaper June Edition," into the title input box P15 shown in Fig. 8. The teacher also inputs the category name to which the contact information will be sent, such as "Whole School," "Grade," or "Class," into the letter category name input box P16. The teacher also inputs a message to be attached to the contact information into the message input box P17.

[0085] The teacher also sets the destination of the contact information in the distribution class selection box P18. For example, if the destination of the contact information is "all grades," the teacher checks the selection box for all grades. The teacher also sets the date and time of delivery of the contact information in a selection box P19 that indicates the date and time of delivery of the contact information. If the teacher wants to reserve the time of delivery, he or she selects "reserve," and if the delivery is to be immediate, he or she selects "immediate." The teacher can also register the delivery of the contact information by selecting the distribution registration selection box P20.

[0086] Furthermore, when confirmation selection frame P3 shown in FIG. 7 is selected, the name, attendance number, and read / unread information of each child are displayed as shown in FIG. 9. A table that associates the attendance numbers and names of children is set in the school terminal 1. Therefore, it is possible to display the name corresponding to the child's attendance number. The information on the child's name is not used for communication with the server device 3. Therefore, the child's name will not be leaked to the outside.

[0087] Returning to FIG. 5, in step S15, the communication control unit 313 of the school terminal 1 transmits to the server device 3 various information including the delivery destination of the contact information and information on delivery instructions.

[0088] In step S16, the delivery reservation unit 182 of the server device 3 associates the contact information stored in the contact information table 124 with information on the destination and the delivery date and time.

[0089] In step S17, the read processing unit 184 sets the read information to be added to the contact information stored in the contact information table 124 as "unread." That is, the contact information before being transmitted to the parent terminal 2 is set to unread.

[0090] In step S18, when the scheduled delivery time for the target contact information (for example, xx am on xx month xx day) arrives, the push notification processing unit 183 transmits a push notification to the parent terminal 2 that is the destination of this contact information.

[0091] In step S19, the parent terminal 2 receives the push notification transmitted from the server device 3. The parent operating the parent terminal 2 can recognize from the push notification that there is contact information from a teacher at the school.

[0092] When the parent operating the parent terminal 2 performs an operation to acquire contact information, the parent terminal 2 transmits a request to acquire contact information to the server device 3 in step S20.

[0093] In step S21, the reception control unit 16 of the server device 3 receives the request to acquire contact information. The transmission control unit 17 transmits the contact information to the parent terminal 2 that has made the request. Note that in a case where multiple parent terminals 2 are set in one household, and a request to acquire contact information is made from one of the parent terminals 2, the contact information may be transmitted to all parent terminals 2 in the household.

[0094] In step S22, the communication control unit 213 of the parent terminal 2 receives the contact information transmitted from the server device 3, and displays the received contact information on the display unit .

[0095] The process of a guardian viewing contact information will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 10 to Fig. 13. Fig. 10 to Fig. 13 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the display unit 23 of the guardian terminal 2. Here, an example is shown in which the guardian terminal 2 is a smartphone.

[0096] When the parent operating the parent terminal 2 starts an application for executing communication of contact information, a plurality of icons including an icon P5 indicating a notification list are displayed on the display unit 23 as an initial screen, for example as shown in Fig. 10. When the parent taps the icon P5 on the screen, a "notification list" screen is displayed on the display unit 23, as shown in Fig. 11.

[0097] On the notification list screen, a selection box P31 for selecting a child's nickname and a list P32 for selecting various types of contact information are displayed.

[0098] Nicknames of multiple children are displayed in the selection box P31. For example, if there are three children in one household, the nicknames set for each child are displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 11, "John," "George," and "Paul" are displayed. Since the guardian knows the correspondence between each child and each nickname, he or she can identify each child by the nickname displayed on the screen. Nicknames may be in any form other than real names, such as letters or symbols that the guardian can identify. By using nicknames, there is no need to handle personal information such as the children's names, addresses, and ages throughout the system, and the risk of information leakage can be reduced.

[0099] Each nickname is associated with the student's attendance number. The "attendance number" is a number used to identify each student, and may be set in alphabetical order, by date of birth, or the like.

[0100] The attendance number of each child is associated with the nickname of each child, and information indicating this relationship is stored in the server device 3 and the school terminal 1. Therefore, the nickname associated with each child is displayed on the notification list screen, instead of the child's name. By using nicknames, there is no need to handle personal information throughout the system, and the risk of information leaks can be reduced.

[0101] The guardian can select the target child by tapping the nickname of the child displayed in the selection box P31.

[0102] By selecting a nickname, a list P32 of contact information sent from the school terminal 1 is displayed on the display screen. Specifically, lists such as "School News," "School Lunch News," and "Soccer Club" are displayed. For unopened contact information among the contact information displayed on the display screen, a marker P34 indicating that the information is unopened is displayed.

[0103] Furthermore, by tapping the "Message type" selection box P35, the desired type of contact information can be selected. That is, since type information is added to the contact information in the contact information table 124 of the server device 3, by selecting the type of contact information, the contact information can be categorized and displayed according to the type. Furthermore, the type of contact information that is frequently selected can be set as "favorite" by tapping the icon P36. The marker P33 is displayed as being filled in on the contact information of the type that is set as "favorite."

[0104] By tapping on an unopened message, a guardian can display the message on a screen, for example, as shown in Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. Fig. 12 shows an example in which a school lunch menu is displayed. Fig. 13 shows an example in which notes attached to the school lunch menu are displayed. By looking at this screen, a guardian can recognize the school lunch menu and the notes regarding it.

[0105] Returning to FIG. 5, in step S23, when the contact information has been opened, the communication control unit 213 of the parent terminal 2 transmits read information regarding this contact information.

[0106] In step S24, the reception control unit 16 of the server device 3 receives the read information.

[0107] In step S25, the read processing unit 184 of the server device 3 adds read information to the contact information stored in the contact information table .

[0108] When a teacher selects the "Confirm" option P3 displayed on the "Letter Distribution Status" screen shown in Fig. 7, the name and attendance number of each child and the read status on the parent / guardian terminal 2 corresponding to that child are displayed as shown in Fig. 9. That is, when read information is sent from the parent / guardian terminal 2 to the server device 3, the read information is added to the target contact information, so that when a read confirmation operation is performed on the display unit 33 of the school terminal 1, the read information for the target contact information is displayed on the display unit 33. By viewing this display, the teacher can recognize whether the parent / guardian of each child has read or not.

[0109] In addition, when multiple parent terminals 2 are set in the same household, when read information is sent from at least one parent terminal, the read information is added to this contact information. Alternatively, when read information is sent from both parent terminals, the read information may be added to this contact information.

[0110] As an example of the process of adding opened / read information to contact information, for example, when the contact information is received by the parent terminal 2 and the contact information is opened on the display screen of the display unit 23 of the parent terminal 2, the opened information may be temporarily stored in the parent terminal 2 as read information, and then, when communication with the server device 3 is performed by a user operation, the read information may be updated in the database unit 12 of the server device 3.

[0111] [Effects of the first embodiment] In this way, in the communication system 100 according to the first embodiment, the teacher who operates the school terminal 1 can obtain contact information for parents as electronic data and transmit it to the parent terminal 2 via the server device 3. For this reason, for example, a teacher of an elementary school can send a message to the parents of each child saying, "It's school. When communicating contact information such as "Message" or "School Lunch Menu," there is no need to give the children printed copies of the contact information. Therefore, there is no problem of the children losing the printed copies or forgetting to hand them over to their guardians, and it is possible to reliably communicate contact information to the guardians of the children.

[0112] Furthermore, the communication system 100 according to this embodiment includes a server device 3, and contact information inputted at the school terminal 1 is uploaded to the server device 3, and the parent terminal 2 is able to view the contact information uploaded to the server device 3. Therefore, even when a large number of parent terminals 2 are connected to the school terminal 1 and communication becomes congested, it is possible to smoothly transmit and receive contact information.

[0113] Furthermore, by uploading contact information with the same title again for contact information that has already been sent, the teacher can overwrite the contact information stored in the server device 3 with the latest version. Therefore, when the teacher wants to rewrite contact information that has already been sent, the teacher can always convey the latest version of the contact information to the guardian without leaving the old version behind. Also, misunderstanding of the contact information can be prevented.

[0114] Furthermore, when contact information uploaded from the school terminal 1 is sent to the guardian terminal 2 and opened by a guardian, read information is added to this contact information. Therefore, when a teacher checks the distribution status of contact information on the school terminal 1, read / unread information can be obtained for each child. This allows the teacher to reliably recognize which child's guardian the contact information has been sent to.

[0115] Furthermore, when the teacher performs a delete operation on the sent contact information on the input unit 32, the contact information to be deleted stored in the server device 3 can be deleted. This makes it possible to prevent unnecessary contact information from being stored in the server device 3.

[0116] Furthermore, the contact information uploaded from the school terminal 1 is classified by preset type in the server device 3 and stored in the contact information table 124. When the guardian terminal 2 acquires contact information, if the classification type of the contact information is set, the contact information filtered by this classification type can be displayed. This makes it possible for the guardian terminal 2 to quickly search for and view required contact information.

[0117] Furthermore, since only contact information that does not include personal information is transmitted and received between the parent terminal 2, the server device 3, and the school terminal 1, it is possible to prevent personal information from being leaked.

[0118] In addition, when multiple parent terminals 2 are set in one household, for example when the smartphones of the father and mother of a child are set as parent terminals 2, when the contact information is viewed on at least one parent terminal 2, the contact information corresponding to this household is set to read. Therefore, the teacher can recognize that at least one parent has viewed the contact information.

[0119] Furthermore, if multiple parent terminals 2 are set in one household, when one parent terminal requests transmission of contact information in response to a push notification, the contact information is sent to all parent terminals in the household. Therefore, for example, if a child's father and mother each have a parent terminal 2, the contact information can be shared between both parent terminals 2.

[0120] [Description of the Second Embodiment] Next, a communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The system configuration is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 4, and therefore description of the configuration will be omitted.

[0121] Hereinafter, a processing procedure of the communication system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 14. The flowchart shown in Fig. 14 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 5 in that steps S141 to S144 are added. Other processing is the same as in Fig. 5, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0122] When the communication control unit 313 of the school terminal 1 acquires the information of the delivery destination of the contact information, it transmits a request to the server device 3 to start printing the contact information.

[0123] In step S142, the transmission control unit 17 of the server device 3 outputs to the school terminal 1 an instruction to start printing the contact information.

[0124] In step S143, the print control unit 314 of the school terminal 1 transmits the electronic data of the contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit 311 to the printing device 5. The print control unit 314 also transmits an instruction to the printing device 5 to print the contact information.

[0125] In step S144, the printer 5 prints the contact information. For example, the printer 5 prints the same number of pieces of contact information as the number of recipients of the contact information. By synchronizing the transmission of the print instruction shown in step S143 with the instruction to distribute the contact information shown in step S15, the distribution of the contact information and the printing process of the contact information by the printer 5 can be executed in a synchronized manner.

[0126] The teacher can notify the guardian of the printed matter on which the contact information is printed by having the child bring the printed matter printed by the printer 5. Therefore, the guardian can obtain both the contact information in the form of electronic data obtained by the guardian terminal 2 and the printed matter on which the contact information is printed. As a result, the contact information created by the teacher can be reliably conveyed to the guardian of the child.

[0127] Furthermore, since the delivery of contact information and printing on the printer 5 can be done in a single operation, the teacher does not need to put in much effort and can avoid problems such as forgetting to print. Also, by handing over the printed matter, it is possible to reliably convey contact information to the parent even if the parent is not checking the parent terminal 2 such as a smartphone.

[0128] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the school terminal 1 operated by an elementary school teacher has been described as an example of the administrator terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the administrator terminal may be a junior high school, a high school, a university, a cram school, a cultural school such as a cooking class, etc. Furthermore, the administrator terminal may be installed in a nursery school, a kindergarten, a hospital, a company, a department within a company, a public fire station, a mutual aid organization such as a fire brigade, a health center, etc.

[0129] In addition, the parent terminal 2 operated by the child's parent has been described as an example of the user terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the user terminal may be a smartphone owned by a student attending a university, or a smartphone owned by a student attending a cooking class. Furthermore, if the administrator terminal is installed in a nursery school or kindergarten, the user may be a parent or a family member of a graduate. If the administrator terminal is installed in a hospital, the user may be a patient, a caregiver, a person who has completed treatment, or a family member of these. If the administrator terminal is installed in a company, the user may be an employee, a full-time employee, a temporary employee, a shareholder, a retiree, an alumnus, or a family member of these. If the administrator terminal is installed in a mutual aid organization such as a public fire station or a fire brigade, or a public health center, the user may be a local resident, a visitor, or a family member of the local resident.

[0130] In addition, the communication system can be installed in households where people requiring care live and in care facilities such as day care centers, and used for communication between the guardians of the people requiring care and the care facility.

[0131] In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which communication between the parent terminal 2 and the school terminal 1 is performed via the server device 3, but it is also possible to configure the school terminal 1 to include the functions of the server device 3.

[0132] Thus, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments not described here. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention-specifying matters related to the scope of the claims that are appropriate from the above explanation. The inventions described in the scope of the claims at the time of filing are listed below.

[0133] [Appendix 1] A communication system including an administrator device and at least one user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, The administrator device includes: an administrator terminal including a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal, and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal; a printing device for printing the contact information; A communication system comprising:

[0134] [Appendix 2] The administrator terminal, The system further includes an administrator-side input unit that receives an input of a command to transmit the contact information, and a print control unit that outputs a print command to cause the printing device to execute printing, When a command to transmit the contact information is inputted to the administrator side input unit, the transmission of the contact information and the output of the print command are executed in parallel. 2. The communication system according to claim 1,

[0135] [Appendix 3] An administrator device connected to at least one user terminal via a network, an administrator terminal including a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal, and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal; a printing device for printing the contact information; An administrator device comprising:

[0136] [Appendix 4] A communication method for transmitting contact information from an administrator device to a user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, comprising: obtaining contact information to be notified to the user terminal; sending the contact information to the user terminal; outputting a print command to a printing device to print the contact information; A communication method comprising:

[0137] [Appendix 5] A communications program for causing a computer to function as the administrator device described in appendix 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0138] 1 School terminal 2 Parental terminal 3. Server equipment 4. Network 5 Printing device 6 Administrator device 11, 21, 31 Control section 12 Database section (server-side database) 13 Program memory section 14, 26, 36 External Communications Department 15 User Management Department 16 Reception control section 17 Transmission control section 18 Contact Information Management Department 22, 32 Input section 23, 33 Display section 24, 34 Program memory section 25, 35 Database 100 Communication Systems 121 School Management Table 122 Class Management Table 123 User Table 124 Contact Information Table 151 Class ID Issue Department 152 Attendance Number Management Department 153 Parental Device Management Department 181 Data Processing Department 182 Distribution Reservation Department 183 Push notification processing section 184 Read Processing Unit 185 Overwrite Processing Unit 186 Classification Processing Unit 211 ID Management Department 212, 312 Display control unit 213, 313 Communication control unit 311 Contact Information Acquisition Department 314 Printing control unit

Claims

1. A communication system including an administrator device and at least one user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, The administrator device includes: an administrator terminal including a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal, and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal; a printing device for printing the contact information; Equipped with transmitting the contact information by the communication control unit and printing the contact information by the printing device in parallel; The printing device prints the same number of pieces of contact information as the number of user terminals to which the administrator terminal transmits the contact information, in synchronization with the transmission of the contact information by the administrator terminal. A communication system comprising:

2. The administrator terminal, The system further includes an administrator-side input unit that receives an input of a command to transmit the contact information, and a print control unit that outputs a print command to cause the printing device to execute printing, When a command to transmit the contact information is inputted via the administrator-side input unit, the communication control unit transmits the contact information and the print control unit outputs the print command in parallel.

2. The communication system according to claim 1,

3. An administrator device connected to at least one user terminal via a network, an administrator terminal including a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information to be notified to the user terminal, and a communication control unit that transmits the contact information to the user terminal; a printing device for printing the contact information; Equipped with transmitting the contact information by the communication control unit and printing the contact information by the printing device in parallel; The printing device prints the same number of pieces of contact information as the number of user terminals to which the administrator terminal transmits the contact information, in synchronization with the transmission of the contact information by the administrator terminal. An administrator device comprising:

4. A communication method for transmitting contact information from an administrator device to a user terminal connected to the administrator device via a network, comprising: obtaining contact information to be notified to the user terminal; transmitting the contact information to the user terminal and printing the contact information by a printing device in parallel; outputting a print command to a printing device to print contact information in the same number as the number of user terminals transmitting the contact information, in synchronization with the transmission of the contact information by the administrator device; A communication method comprising:

5. A communications program for causing a computer to function as an administrator device as described in claim 3.

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