Communication support method by sending and receiving communication images

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] In recent years, services have become popular that allow users to communicate with each other by creating individual chat rooms and 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 individual chat rooms and allowing 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 trend toward nuclear families and an increase in dual-income households, the amount of time spent communicating with children and their families has been decreasing. While the spread of smartphones has led to a diversification of communication tools, many of these tools are limited to adults. As a result, many families face challenges in communicating appropriately with their children. Meanwhile, children are said to perform better when praised and expected, as in the Pygmalion effect. However, in reality, specific individual encouragement tends to be rare. Patent Document 1 aims to streamline communication by creating chat rooms and enabling businesses and families to communicate and share necessary information through individual chat communication interfaces. However, its purpose is to share information between families and businesses, not to allow the parties to participate. As a result, it is difficult for users who desire communication to feel a sense of fulfillment or security, and users who have difficulty typing remain unable to easily communicate with others, such as family members.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to realize a communication method that can create individual chat rooms and send and receive communication images for the purpose of support, thereby satisfying the psychological sense of security and fulfillment of users with attributes who need communication, and improving 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 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. [Effects 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 abilities of users with attributes that require communication. [Brief explanation 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. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the server terminal 100 of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the user terminal 200 of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of user data stored in the server 100. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of chat data stored in the server 100. [Figure 6] 1 is an example flowchart illustrating a method for creating a communication image according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 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] 10 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] 10 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] 1 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] 10 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]10 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 14] 10 is an example of an interface screen of user terminal 200A related to the transmission of a communication image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 10 is an example of an interface screen of user terminal 200A related to the transmission of a communication image according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 10 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 INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the embodiments 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. This system 1 allows multiple users to communicate via a chat communication interface. It has a server terminal 100 and user terminals 200A and 200B, which are users of the service. Here, user terminal 200A is a terminal for adults, and 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 multiple individual chat groups made up of users. Each chat group is made up of child users and user members related to the children (e.g., parents, grandparents). Through a team chat communication interface, child users report the completion of a set task by posting a communication image, and user members related to the children post communication images expressing praise in response to the child user's report. Through this, users communicate with each other and aim to complete the set task. The server terminal 100 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer, or may be logically realized using cloud computing. In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, one server terminal is illustrated as an example, but this is not limited to this, and multiple server terminals may be used.

[0014] The user terminals 200A and 200B are information processing devices such as personal computers and tablet terminals that are associated with (e.g., owned by) users who use the communication support method provided by the server terminal 100, but may also be configured as 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 (e.g., 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, the system 1 is described as comprising a server terminal 100 and user terminals 200A and 200B, and a configuration in which users use each terminal to perform operations on the server terminal 100; however, the server terminal 100 may be configured as a standalone unit, and the server terminal itself may have the function of allowing 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, photo poster terminal 300, and tourist spot user terminal 400 via the network NW, and communication is carried out using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

[0018] The storage unit 120 stores input data, programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 130, and is composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), 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 the user, and a chat information processing unit 133 that refers to and processes communication images of the user. The information receiving unit 131, the user information processing unit 132, and the chat information processing unit 133 are activated 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 the user makes a specified request (by entering 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 and 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, etc., 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] Display operation unit 220 is a user interface used for inputting instructions by the user and displaying text, images, etc. in accordance with input data from control unit 240, and is composed of a display, keyboard, and mouse when user terminal 200 is configured as a personal computer, and is composed of a touch panel, etc. when 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 storage unit 230 and executed by user terminal 200, which is a computer (electronic calculator).

[0026] The storage unit 230 stores input data, programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 240, and is composed of RAM, 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 be configured to 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 a user. For convenience of explanation, Fig. 4 shows an example of one user (a user identified by a user ID "10001"), but information on multiple users can be stored. The various data related to a user can include, for example, basic information about the user (user password, user name, adult, child, attributes, 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 the communication image data that is the material for the stamps.

[0033] <Processing flow> The processing flow of the communication image creation method executed by system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 6. Figure 6 is an example of a flowchart relating to the processing 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] To use the 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 if it is the first time the user is using the service, the user enters the basic user information described above, and if the user already has a user account, the user logs in after undergoing predetermined authentication, such as entering an ID and password, 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, in 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 the child (adult users such as the child's family or relatives), and the user attributes associated with the user terminal 200B include child users. However, the user attributes associated with the user terminal 200A are not limited to family members such as parents and grandparents, but may also include teachers of extracurricular activities. In this example, the user terminal 200A is described as a terminal associated with the adult user, and the user terminal 200b is described as a terminal associated with the child user. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the server terminal 100 generates a chat room to be displayed on the user interface screens displayed on the user terminals 200A and 200B. User information processing unit 132 of server terminal 100 stores information about the created 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, mother users, father users, etc.).

[0036] Next, in step S102, the user information processing unit 132 of the server terminal 100 references the user data 1000 stored in the user data storage unit 121 for the user information for which the user terminal 200A has sent a selection request, and registers the user information in the corresponding chat room. The selection request for the user terminal 200A requires the selection of one user (child user) associated with the user terminal 200B. The attributes associated with the user terminal 200A are not limited to family members such as parents and grandparents, but also include extracurricular teachers. Only one child user can be registered and associated with one chat room. For example, if the child user has siblings, allowing the child user to reference communications between other child users and adult users may encourage unnecessary competitive spirit among the children regarding task progress. Therefore, it is preferable to create 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 on 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 memory unit 120, linked to the stored chat room information. Note that, although the example shows that the task is input by a child user, the task may also be received from an adult user, etc.

[0038] Next, in the process of step S104, information receiving unit 131 of server terminal 100 creates a communication image (so-called stamp) based on the content of the task received from user terminal 200A or 200B via communication unit 110. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the task "Say good morning" is received from user 200B, 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. User information processing unit 132 of server terminal 100 stores the communication image information in user data storage unit 121 of memory unit 120 as user data 1000, linked to the stored chat room information.

[0039] 7 is an example of the interface screen of user terminal 200A related to chat room creation. Here, the name of an individual chat room is displayed, such as "XX's Room," along with the user name and facial photo of user terminal 200B. 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 related to chat room creation. Here too, an individual chat room name, such as "XX's Room," is displayed, 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 announcing the receipt is also displayed. 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] Figure 9 shows an example of a user interface screen for creating tasks. Users can freely enter text about the daily tasks they will work hard on. This allows not only child users but also adult users to enter tasks.

[0042] 10 shows 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 screen is displayed in conjunction with a calendar, and if there are multiple tasks, each task is displayed in a vertical column.

[0043] 11 is an example screen of the interface for user 200B involved in creating a communication image. In FIG. 10, the task entered by the user is converted into text, and a communication image is generated by combining standard text representing the user's thoughts upon completing the task with an illustrated image. For example, if the user enters the task "Say good morning," the communication image is generated by combining the text "Say good morning" with text such as "Good job!" representing the user's thoughts upon completing the task, and an illustration of a pig. Note that there are multiple types of standard text and illustrated images.

[0044] <Processing flow> Next, the 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 the set task, as shown in FIG.

[0046] Next, in the process of step S202, information receiving section 131 of server terminal 100 receives, via communication section 110, from user terminal 200A, a communication image whose content is a response to the communication image received 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 indicating 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, as a result of the determination, can refer to the task information stored in the user data storage unit 121 and update the task to indicate that the task (for example, "say good morning") has been completed.

[0048] Figure 13 shows an example of a screen of user 200A's interface for sending communication images. The child user selects a communication image showing the details of the completed task from the communication images created in Figure 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 shows an example of an interface screen for user 200A when sending a communication image. An adult user selects one of a set of pre-defined communication images intended to convey encouragement or support, and sends it via the chat interface. Again, users cannot input text; they communicate only through the sending and receiving of communication images.

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

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

[0052] As described above, in individual chat rooms, users can communicate with multiple users, such as family members, by posting communication images each time a child completes a task, and adults posting and responding to communication images, thereby receiving praise and expectations, and communicating with each other, and engaging in continuous activities to improve their abilities.

[0053] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made. These embodiments, modifications, and 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. A communication support method for users belonging to a group in which a plurality of users communicate via a chat communication interface, the method comprising: A method for receiving a room creation request from a user terminal, registering other users who will participate in the room, receiving task information from the other user terminals, linking the task information to the room and storing it in a memory unit of the server terminal, generating multiple types of communication images based on the task information, receiving the communication images from the other user terminals, storing the task information when the server terminal receives the task information, and referencing the stored task information in response to receiving the communication image to record that the task has been completed.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the server terminal receives from the user terminal a communication image whose content is different from the communication image and which responds to the communication image received from the other user terminal.

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

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

Images