Message notification device, message notification system, message notification method and program

Abstract

To provide a message notification device, a message notification system, a message notification method, and a program that can reduce the occurrence of a situation where a user overlooks message information directed to the user during use.SOLUTION: A cloud server 1 comprises: a message selection unit 114 that selects one piece of message information from a plurality of types of message information; a message notification unit 115 that transmits the message information to a terminal device 5; an operation information acquisition unit 116 that acquires operation information transmitted from the terminal device 5 when an opening operation is performed in the terminal device 5; and an opening ratio calculation unit 118 that calculates an opening ratio based on a notification count that is the number of times the message information is transmitted to the terminal device 5 in a target period and an opening count that is the number of times opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired. When the opening ratio is less than an opening ratio threshold, the message selection unit 114 selects another piece of message information from the plurality of types of message information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a message notification device, a message notification system, a message notification method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A system has been proposed in which a determination is made as to whether a user terminal is in use based on the communication status of the user terminal, and if it is determined that the user terminal is in use, a push notification is delivered from a distribution server to the user terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6577907 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, whether or not a user of a user terminal is likely to overlook a push notification also depends on the message content. Therefore, in order to reduce the likelihood of overlooking a push notification, it is necessary to reduce the likelihood of users overlooking a push notification by selecting appropriate message content that will attract the user's attention.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above reasons, and aims to provide a message notification device, a message notification system, a message notification method, and a program that can reduce the occurrence of oversight due to the use of message information intended for users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the message notification device according to the present disclosure includes: a message selection unit that selects one piece of message information from a plurality of types of preset message information indicating the occurrence of a notification event that should be notified to a user, every time the notification event occurs; a message notification unit that transmits the message information to a terminal device carried by the user; an operation information acquisition unit in the terminal device that acquires opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; an opening rate calculation unit that calculates an opening rate, which is a probability that the user will perform the opening operation, based on a notification count, which is the number of times the message information is transmitted to the terminal device, and an opening count, which is the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired, within a predetermined target period; When the opening rate is less than a preset opening rate threshold, the message selection unit selects other message information from the plurality of types of message information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, when the opening rate of message information within a predetermined target period is less than a predetermined opening rate threshold, a message selection unit selects other message information from among multiple types of message information. As a result, message information with a low opening rate is not continuously transmitted to a terminal device every time an event occurs, thereby reducing the occurrence of oversight due to the use of message information intended for users. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message notification system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal device and a cloud server according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a terminal device and a cloud server according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4](A) is a diagram showing an example of a swipe operation on a terminal device according to the first embodiment, and (B) is a diagram showing an example of a tap operation on a terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a message storage unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in an operation status storage unit according to the first embodiment; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of a message notification system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a message notification process executed by the cloud server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an open rate calculation process executed by the cloud server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message notification system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a terminal device and a cloud server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a device information storage unit according to the second embodiment; [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in an operation status storage unit according to the second embodiment; [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a priority order storage unit according to the second embodiment; [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a message notification process executed by a cloud server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a priority order determination process executed by a cloud server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 17] Schematic configuration diagram of a message notification system according to a modified example [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal device and a cloud server according to a modified example. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a terminal device and a cloud server according to a modified example. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a determination criterion storage unit according to a modified example. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of a message notification process executed by a cloud server according to a modified example. [Figure 22] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of a message notification process executed by a cloud server according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (Embodiment 1) A cloud server and a control system including the cloud server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The message notification device according to the embodiment includes: a message selection unit that selects one piece of message information from multiple preset types of message information indicating the occurrence of an event each time an event that should be notified to a user occurs; a message notification unit that transmits the message information to a terminal device carried by the user; an operation information acquisition unit that acquires opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; and an opening rate calculation unit that calculates an opening rate, which is the probability that the user will perform an opening operation, based on a notification count, which is the number of times the message information is transmitted to the terminal device, and an opening count, which is the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired, within a predetermined target period. If the opening rate is less than a predetermined opening rate threshold, the message selection unit selects another piece of message information from the multiple types of message information.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the message notification system according to this embodiment includes a cloud server 1 that controls a device 3 (e.g., an air conditioner 3A) installed in a building H, and a terminal device 5. Here, the device 3 includes a communication module and is connected to a local network NW2 installed in the building H via the communication module. The local network NW2 is configured as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a wired LAN. Furthermore, the local network NW2 is connected to a wide area network NW1 such as the Internet via a broadband router (hereinafter referred to as "BBR") 4. The cloud server 1 and the terminal device 5 are connected to the wide area network NW1.

[0011] The device 3 includes an environmental sensor (not shown) that measures, for example, environmental parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, etc.) of the environment in which the device 3 is installed. When the device 3 receives device information request information from the cloud server 1, which requests transmission of device information including information indicating the operating state of the device 3 and information indicating the environmental parameters of the environment in which the device 3 is installed, the device 3 generates device information including operating state information indicating its own operating state, environmental information indicating the environmental parameters measured by the environmental sensor, and device identification information that identifies the device. Here, the device identification information may be, for example, information indicating the Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to the device 3, information indicating the global IP address, etc. The device 3 then transmits the generated device information to the cloud server 1.

[0012] The terminal device 5 is, for example, a smartphone, and as shown in FIG. 2 , includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a main memory 502, an auxiliary memory 503, a display 504, an input unit 505, a communication unit 506, and a bus 509 connecting these units to one another. The main memory 502 has a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The auxiliary memory 503 is a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor flash memory and stores programs for the CPU 501 to execute various processes. The display 504 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The input unit 505 is, for example, a transparent touchpad placed on top of the display 504. The communication unit 506 is connected to the wide area network NW1 and transmits information transferred from the CPU 501 to the cloud server 1 via the wide area network NW1, and transfers information received from the cloud server 1 via the wide area network NW1 to the CPU 501.

[0013] The CPU 501 reads out a program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 503 into the main storage unit 502 and executes it, thereby functioning as a message acquisition unit 511, a display control unit 512, a reception unit 513, and an operation notification unit 514, as shown in Fig. 3. The auxiliary storage unit 503 shown in Fig. 2 also has an image storage unit 531 that stores information for forming an image to be displayed on the display unit 504, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon acquiring message information transmitted from the cloud server 1, the message acquisition unit 511 notifies the display control unit 512 of the acquired message information. The message information is, for example, information that prompts the user to perform an operation for maintenance or setting change of the device 3, which will be described later.

[0014] When display control unit 512 acquires message information from message acquisition unit 511, it uses the acquired message information and information stored in image storage unit 531 to form a notification image that displays the content of the acquired message information. Then, display control unit 512 causes display unit 504 to display the formed notification image. As this notification image, for example, a so-called push notification image can be adopted. Receiving unit 513 accepts the content of an operation performed by the user on input unit 505, and notifies operation notification unit 514 of operation information indicating the content of the accepted operation.

[0015] Based on the operation information notified from the receiving unit 513, the operation notifying unit 514 determines whether an opening operation for checking detailed content corresponding to the notification image has been performed on the input unit 505 while the notification image is displayed on the display unit 504. Here, examples of the opening operation include a tap operation on a portion of the input unit 505 corresponding to the notification image to launch an application corresponding to the notification image or transition the screen to a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the notification image, or a long press on the portion of the input unit 505 corresponding to the notification image. Examples of an operation to avoid the opening operation include a swipe operation on the portion of the input unit 505 corresponding to the notification image, or an operation to transition the screen on which the notification image is displayed to another screen on which no notification image is displayed. 4(A), for example, when notification image GA1 is displayed on display unit 504, if the user touches the tip of finger F1 on a portion of input unit 505 corresponding to notification image GA1 and then performs a swipe operation of sliding finger F1 as indicated by arrow AR1, operation notifying unit 514 determines that the opening operation corresponding to notification image GA1 has not been performed. On the other hand, when notification image GA1 is displayed on display unit 504, if the user touches the tip of finger F1 on a portion of input unit 505 corresponding to notification image GA1 for a relatively long period of time as shown in FIG. 4(B), for example, the receiving unit 513 determines that the opening operation corresponding to notification image GA1 has been performed. Then, when operation notifying unit 514 determines that the opening operation has been performed, it generates opening operation information and transmits it to cloud server 1.

[0016] Returning to FIG. 2 , the cloud server 1 includes a CPU 101, a main memory unit 102, an auxiliary memory unit 103, a communication unit 106 connected to the wide area network NW1, a clock unit 108, and a bus 109 interconnecting these units, and functions as a message notification device. The main memory unit 102 is a volatile memory used as a work area for the CPU 101. The auxiliary memory unit 103 is a nonvolatile memory such as a magnetic disk or semiconductor flash memory, and stores programs for implementing various functions of the cloud server 1. The clock unit 108 functions as an RTC (Real Time Clock) that keeps track of the current date and time. The clock unit 108 includes, for example, a crystal oscillator (not shown) that generates a clock signal, a frequency divider circuit (not shown) that divides the clock signal, and a power storage element that supplies power to drive the crystal oscillator. Even if the power supply to the cloud server 1 is interrupted due to a power outage, for example, the clock unit 108 continues its timekeeping operation by operating on power supplied from the power storage element. In addition, the timing unit 108 may have the function of correcting the current date and time by acquiring date and time information conforming to NTP (Network Time Protocol) transmitted from a time server (not shown) connected to the wide area network NW1, or by receiving a standard radio wave for notifying the current time.

[0017] By loading the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 103 into the main storage unit 102 and executing them, the CPU 101 functions as a device information acquisition unit 111, a notification determination unit 113, a message selection unit 114, a message notification unit 115, an operation information acquisition unit 116, an opening determination unit 117, an opening rate calculation unit 118, and an opening rate determination unit 119, as shown in Fig. 3. The auxiliary storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 2 also has a device information storage unit 131, a determination criterion storage unit 132, a message storage unit 133, a user information storage unit 134, and an operation status storage unit 135, as shown in Fig. 3. The device information storage unit 131 stores device identification information, operating status information, and environmental information included in the device information transmitted from the device 3, in association with each other.

[0018] The determination criterion storage unit 132 stores determination criterion information indicating criteria for determining whether an event has occurred that requires a message related to the device 3 to be notified to the user of the device 3, with respect to the operating state of the device 3 indicated by the information stored in the device information storage unit 131 and the environmental parameters in which the device 3 is installed. Here, the determination criterion storage unit 132 stores determination criterion information corresponding to each notification content to the user in association with notification type information indicating the type of the notification content.

[0019] The message storage unit 133 stores multiple types of message information corresponding to multiple types of notification type information in association with message identification information that identifies the information and the notification type information, as shown in Fig. 5. The contents of the messages indicated by the multiple types of message information each indicate different expressions, such as so-called "explanation type," "question type," and "service guidance type," for the same event corresponding to the notification type information.

[0020] 3, the user information storage unit 134 stores device identification information that identifies the device 3 used by the user in association with user identification information that identifies the user. Here, examples of the user identification information include an email address and a host name assigned to the terminal device 5 owned by the user.

[0021] The operation status storage unit 135 stores, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, notification count information, opening count information, opening rate information, and selection flag information in association with a combination of message identification information and user identification information. Here, the notification count information indicates the notification count, which is the number of times the above-mentioned message information identified by the corresponding message identification information was transmitted to the terminal device 5. The opening count information indicates the opening count, which is the number of times the above-mentioned opening operation corresponding to the message information was performed on the terminal device 5 after the message information was transmitted to the terminal device 5. Specifically, the opening count information indicates the number of times opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device 5 corresponding to the message information transmitted to the terminal device 5 was acquired. The opening rate information indicates the opening rate, which is the probability that the above-mentioned opening operation is performed by the user on the terminal device 5 when the message information is transmitted to the terminal device 5. The selection flag information indicates whether or not the message information has been selected as message information to be transmitted to the terminal device 5 for each user. If the selection flag information is set to "F0," the message information has not been selected as message information to be transmitted to the terminal device 5. If the selection flag information is set to "F1," the message information has been selected as message information to be transmitted to the terminal device 5.

[0022] 3, the device information acquisition unit 111 generates the above-mentioned device information request information each time a preset device information acquisition time arrives and transmits the generated device information request information to the device 3, thereby acquiring the device information transmitted from the device 3. Upon acquiring the device information transmitted from the device 3, the device information acquisition unit 111 extracts device identification information, operating status information indicating the operating status of the device 3, and environment information indicating environmental parameters of the environment in which the device 3 is installed, included in the device information. Then, the device information acquisition unit 111 stores the extracted device identification information, operating status information, and environment information in the device information storage unit 131 in association with one another.

[0023] The notification determination unit 113 refers to the operation status information and environmental information stored in the device information storage unit 131 and determines whether at least one of the operation status of the device 3 indicated by the operation status information and the environmental parameters indicated by the environmental information satisfies any of the criteria indicated by the criteria information stored in the criteria storage unit 132. Here, if at least one of the operation status of the device 3 and the environmental parameters of the environment in which the device 3 is installed satisfies any of the criteria, the notification determination unit 113 determines that an event that should be notified to the user has occurred. In this case, the notification determination unit 113 refers to the notification type information stored in the criteria storage unit 132 to identify notification type information associated with the criteria satisfied by at least one of the operation status of the device 3 and the environmental parameters of the environment in which the device 3 is installed, and also identifies the device identification information of the target device 3 by referring to the device identification information stored in the device information storage unit 131. Then, the notification determination unit 113 notifies the message selection unit 114 of the identified notification type information and device identification information. The notification determination unit 113 also notifies the message notification unit 115 of the identified device identification information.

[0024] Each time an event occurs that the notification determination unit 113 should notify the user of, the message selection unit 114 selects one piece of message information from multiple types of message information stored in the message storage unit 133 and that indicates the occurrence of the event. Here, the message selection unit 114 references the selection flag information and message identification information stored in the operation status storage unit 135, and selects, from the multiple types of message information stored in the message storage unit 133, message information that corresponds to the notification type information notified by the notification determination unit 113 and whose selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 is set to "F1." Furthermore, if the opening rate corresponding to the selected message information is less than a predetermined opening rate threshold, the message selection unit 114 selects another piece of message information from the multiple types of message information that is different from the selected message information. Specifically, when the message selection unit 114 receives message change information (described below) from the open rate determination unit 119, it newly selects another piece of message information from the multiple types of message information that is different from the selected message information. Then, the message selection unit 114 notifies the message notification unit 115 of the selected message information. Furthermore, the message selection unit 114 updates the selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 based on the newly selected message information. Specifically, the message selection unit 114 updates the selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 by setting the selection flag information corresponding to the newly selected message information to "F1" and setting the selection flag information corresponding to the remaining message information to "F0." Furthermore, when the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate Ro corresponding to a notification event stored in the operation status storage unit 135 for all message information corresponding to one notification event is less than the open rate threshold Roth, the message selection unit 114 executes processing to stop the message notification unit 115 from transmitting the message information corresponding to that notification event.Specifically, the message selection unit 114 deletes the message information corresponding to the above-mentioned notification event stored in the message storage unit 133, and also deletes various information such as notification type information and event identification information corresponding to the notification event stored in the operation status storage unit 135.

[0025] The message notification unit 115 transmits the message information selected by the message selection unit 114 to the terminal device 5 carried by the user. The message notification unit 115 refers to the user identification information stored in the user information storage unit 134 and identifies the user identification information corresponding to the device identification information notified by the notification determination unit 113. Then, the message notification unit 115 acquires IP address information of the terminal device 5 based on the identified user identification information, and transmits the message information to the terminal device 5 based on the acquired IP address information. The message notification unit 115 notifies the opening determination unit 117 of the user identification information corresponding to the terminal device 5 to which the message information is to be sent. Furthermore, upon transmitting the message information, the message notification unit 115 updates the notification count information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 by incrementing the notification count corresponding to the transmitted message information by 1. Furthermore, when the message selection unit 114 executes processing to stop transmission of message information corresponding to the notification event, the message notification unit 115 stops transmission of the message information corresponding to the notification event to the terminal device 5.

[0026] When operation information acquisition unit 116 acquires the above-mentioned opening operation information transmitted from terminal device 5, it refers to the user information stored in user information storage unit 134, identifies the user identification information of the sender of the acquired opening operation information, and notifies opening determination unit 117 of the identified user identification information and opening operation information. When opening determination unit 117 is notified by operation information acquisition unit 116 of user identification information and opening operation information that are identical to the user identification information notified by message notification unit 115, it determines that an opening operation by the user has been performed corresponding to the message information. At this time, opening determination unit 117 updates the opening count information by incrementing by 1 the number of openings stored in operation status storage unit 135 that corresponds to the message information notified by message notification unit 115. On the other hand, when the same user identification information and opening operation information are not notified by operation information acquisition unit 116 within a predetermined determination period after being notified of the user identification information by message notification unit 115, opening determination unit 117 determines that an opening operation has not been performed.

[0027] The opening rate calculation unit 118 calculates an opening rate, which is the probability that a user will perform an opening operation, based on the aforementioned number of notifications and number of opens within a predetermined target period. Specifically, each time message information is transmitted to the terminal device 5, the opening rate calculation unit 118 identifies the opening count information and notification count information corresponding to the selected message information stored in the operation status storage unit 135, and calculates the opening rate by dividing the number of opens indicated by the identified opening count information by the number of notifications indicated by the identified notification count information. The interval at which this message review period arrives corresponds to the aforementioned predetermined target period, and is set to, for example, one month to several months. The opening rate calculation unit 118 updates the opening rate information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 with the opening rate information indicating the calculated opening rate.

[0028] Each time a preset message review time arrives, open rate determination unit 119 determines whether the open rate indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information stored in operation status storage unit 135 is less than a preset open rate threshold. If open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate is less than the open rate threshold, it notifies message selection unit 114 of message change notification information indicating that the selected message information needs to be changed.

[0029] Next, the operation of the message notification system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. First, when a preset device information acquisition time arrives, the cloud server 1 generates the above-mentioned device information request information (step S1), and the generated device information request information is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the device 3 (step S2). Meanwhile, upon receiving the device information request information, the device 3 generates device information including the above-mentioned device identification information, operating status information, and environmental information in response to the request (step S3). Next, the generated device information is transmitted from the device 3 to the cloud server 1 (step S4). Meanwhile, upon receiving the device information transmitted from the device 3, the cloud server 1 extracts the device identification information, operating status information indicating the operating status of the device 3, and environmental information indicating environmental parameters of the environment in which the device 3 is installed from the device information, and stores the extracted device identification information, operating status information, and environmental information in association with one another in the device information storage unit 131 (step S5).

[0030] Here, it is assumed that the cloud server 1 determines, based on the operating state information and environmental information stored in the device information storage unit 131, that a notification event related to the device 3 that should be notified to the user has occurred (step S6). In this case, the cloud server 1 selects one piece of message information from multiple types of pre-set message information indicating the occurrence of a notification event stored in the message storage unit 133 (step S7). Subsequently, the selected message information is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the terminal device 5 (step S8). Meanwhile, upon receiving the message information transmitted from the cloud server 1, the terminal device 5 forms the aforementioned notification image using the received message information and displays the formed notification image on the display unit 504 (step S9).

[0031] Thereafter, it is assumed that the user performs the aforementioned opening operation on input unit 505 of terminal device 5 while the notification image is displayed on display unit 504 of terminal device 5. In this case, terminal device 5 generates the aforementioned opening operation information (step S10), and the generated opening operation information is transmitted from terminal device 5 to cloud server 1 (step S11). Meanwhile, upon receiving the opening operation information transmitted from terminal device 5, cloud server 1 executes an opening rate calculation process for calculating the opening rate of the corresponding message information (step S12).

[0032] Next, when the preset message review time arrives, the cloud server 1 determines whether the opening rate corresponding to the selected message information is less than the aforementioned opening rate threshold. Then, assume that the cloud server 1 determines that the opening rate is less than the opening rate threshold (step S13). In this case, the cloud server 1 selects message information different from the selected message information from among the multiple types of message information stored in the message storage unit 133. Then, the cloud server 1 updates the selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 based on the newly selected message information (step S14). Thereafter, assume that the cloud server 1 determines that a notification event has occurred again (step S6), and selects one piece of message information from the multiple types of message information corresponding to the notification event stored in the message storage unit 133 based on the selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 (step S7). Then, the selected message information is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the terminal device 5 (step S8).

[0033] Next, the message notification process executed by the cloud server 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. This message notification process is started, for example, when an application for executing the message notification process is started in the cloud server 1. First, the device information acquisition unit 111 determines whether the aforementioned device information acquisition time has arrived based on time information measured by the clock unit 108 (step S101). If the device information acquisition unit 111 determines that the device information acquisition time has not yet arrived (step S101: No), the process of step S108, which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, if the device information acquisition unit 111 determines that the device information acquisition time has arrived (step S101: Yes), the device information acquisition unit 111 generates the aforementioned device information request information and transmits it to the device 3 (step S102), thereby acquiring the device information transmitted from the device 3. Then, the device information acquisition unit 111 extracts the device identification information, operating status information, and environmental information contained in the device information, and stores the extracted device identification information, operating status information, and environmental information in the device information storage unit 131 in association with each other (step S103).

[0034] Next, the notification determination unit 113 refers to the operation status information and the environmental information stored in the device information storage unit 131, and determines whether a notification event that should be notified to the user has occurred in the device 3, based on at least one of the operation status of the device 3 indicated by the operation status information and the environmental parameters indicated by the environmental information (step S104). Specifically, the notification determination unit 113 determines whether at least one of the operation status and the environmental parameters satisfies any of the criteria indicated by the criteria information stored in the criteria storage unit 132. Here, if the notification determination unit 113 determines that a notification event has not occurred (step S104: No), the process of step S108, which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, if the notification determination unit 113 determines that a notification event has occurred (step S104: Yes), the message selection unit 114 refers to the selection flag information and the message identification information stored in the operation status storage unit 135, and selects one piece of message information from multiple types of message information corresponding to the notification event stored in the message storage unit 133 (step S105). Next, the message notification unit 115 transmits the message information selected by the message selection unit 114 to the terminal device 5 carried by the user (step S106).

[0035] Thereafter, the opening rate calculation process is executed (step S107). Here, the opening rate calculation process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9. First, when message notification unit 115 sends message information, it updates the notification count information by incrementing the notification count NI corresponding to the sent message information stored in operation status storage unit 135 by 1 (step S201). Next, opening determination unit 117 determines whether or not the user has performed an opening operation corresponding to the message information based on whether or not the operation information acquisition unit 116 has notified it of user identification information and opening operation information that are the same as the user identification information notified by message notification unit 115 (step S202). Here, if opening determination unit 117 determines that the user has not performed an opening operation corresponding to the message information (step S202: No), the process of step S204, which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, when the opening determination unit 117 determines that an opening operation corresponding to the message information has been performed by the user (step S202: Yes), it updates the opening count information by incrementing the opening count NO corresponding to the message information notified by the message notification unit 115, stored in the operation status storage unit 135, by 1 (step S203). Subsequently, the opening rate calculation unit 118 calculates an opening rate, which is the probability that the user will perform an opening operation, based on the aforementioned number of notifications and number of opens within a preset target period, and updates the opening rate information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 with opening rate information indicating the calculated opening rate (step S204).

[0036] Returning to FIG. 8 , next, the open rate determination unit 119 determines whether the aforementioned time for reviewing the message has arrived (step S108). If the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the time for reviewing the message has not yet arrived (step S108: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the time for reviewing the message has arrived (step S108: Yes), the open rate determination unit 119 determines whether the open rate Ro indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 is less than the open rate threshold Roth (step S109). If the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate Ro indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information is equal to or greater than the open rate threshold Roth (step S109: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the opening rate Ro indicated by the opening rate information corresponding to the selected message information is less than the opening rate threshold Roth (step S109: Yes), it determines whether the corresponding opening rates Ro stored in the operation status storage unit 135 are less than the opening rate threshold Roth for all message information corresponding to the notification event (step S110). Here, it is assumed that the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that there is message information whose opening rate Ro is equal to or greater than the opening rate threshold Roth, or that there is message information that has not yet been sent to the terminal device 5 (step S110: No). In this case, the message selection unit 114 newly selects message information different from the selected message information from among the multiple types of message information. Then, the message selection unit 114 updates the selection flag information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 based on the newly selected message information (step S111). Subsequently, the process of step S101 is executed again.

[0037] On the other hand, if the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the corresponding opening rates Ro stored in the operation status storage unit 135 are less than the opening rate threshold Roth for all message information corresponding to the notification event (step S110: Yes), the message selection unit 114 executes processing to stop the transmission of message information by the message notification unit 115 (step S112). Specifically, the message selection unit 114 deletes the corresponding message information stored in the message storage unit 133 and deletes various information such as notification type information and event identification information corresponding to the notification event stored in the operation status storage unit 135. As a result, the message notification unit 115 stops transmitting the message information corresponding to the above-mentioned notification event to the terminal device 5. Thereafter, the device information acquisition unit 111 determines whether or not there is other notification type information, message identification information, etc. stored in the operation status storage unit 135 (step S113). Here, if the device information acquisition unit 111 determines that there is other notification type information, message identification information, etc. stored in the operation status storage unit 135 (step S113: Yes), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the device information acquisition unit 111 determines that there is no other notification type information or message identification information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 (step S113: No), the message notification process ends.

[0038] As described above, according to the cloud server 1 of this embodiment, whenever the time for reviewing a message arrives, if the opening rate of the message information during a predetermined target period prior to the time for reviewing the message is less than the opening rate threshold, the message selection unit 114 selects other message information from among multiple types of message information. As a result, whenever a notification event occurs, message information with a low opening rate is not continuously transmitted to the terminal device, thereby reducing the occurrence of oversight due to the use of message information intended for the user.

[0039] Furthermore, in the message notification unit 115 according to this embodiment, when the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the corresponding opening rate Ro for all message information corresponding to a notification event is less than the opening rate threshold Roth, the message selection unit executes a stop process to stop transmission of the message information corresponding to that notification event. In this case, the message notification unit 115 stops transmission of message information for the notification event that was the target of the stop process. This makes it possible to prevent message information that the user does not feel is necessary from being continuously sent to the terminal device 5, thereby improving user convenience.

[0040] (Embodiment 2) The message notification device of this embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in that it includes a classification unit that classifies multiple users into multiple pre-set classes based on the change over time in the power consumption of each of the multiple users and the change over time in the state of at least one device used by each of the multiple users, and a priority determination unit that determines a priority for each of the multiple classes so that the message information with a greater number of users has a higher priority for being selected as message information to be sent to a terminal device.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 10 , the message notification system according to this embodiment includes a cloud server 2001 that controls devices 3 (e.g., air conditioners 3A, ventilators 3B, cookers 3C, water heaters 3D, and lighting fixtures 3E) installed in multiple buildings H, and a terminal device 5. Note that in FIG. 10 , the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 . In each of the multiple buildings H, a power metering device 6 that has a communication module and measures the power consumed by the devices 3 is connected to a local network NW2 via the communication module. Each of the devices 3 includes a clocking unit (not shown) that generates date and time information indicating the date and time at which the operation information and environmental information were generated, based on date and time information notified from the clocking unit. The devices 3 then generate device information including the date and time information, along with device identification information, operation information, and environmental information, and transmit the generated device information to the cloud server 2001.

[0042] The power measuring device 6 measures the power supplied to the devices 3 from distribution boards (not shown) installed in each of the multiple buildings H. When the power measuring device 6 receives power information request information from the cloud server 1 requesting transmission of power information indicating the power consumption of the devices 3, the power measuring device 6 generates power value information indicating the value of power consumption of each device 3 in the building H in which the power measuring device 6 is installed. The power measuring device 6 also includes a clocking unit (not shown), and generates date and time information indicating the date and time when the power value information was generated based on date and time information notified from the clocking unit. The power measuring device 6 then generates power information including the generated power value information of the device 3, the device identification information of the device 3, and the above-mentioned date and time information, and transmits the power information to the cloud server 2001.

[0043] The hardware configuration of cloud server 2001 according to this embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of cloud server 1 described in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the description of this embodiment, the hardware configuration of cloud server 2001 will be described using the reference numerals shown in FIG. 2. CPU 101 of cloud server 2001 according to this embodiment reads out a program stored in auxiliary storage unit 103 into main storage unit 102 and executes it, thereby functioning as device information acquisition unit 2111, notification determination unit 113, message selection unit 2114, message notification unit 115, operation information acquisition unit 116, opening determination unit 117, opening rate calculation unit 118, power information acquisition unit 2120, vector generation unit 2121, classification unit 2122, user number counting unit 2123, and priority determination unit 2124, as shown in FIG. 11. Note that in FIG. 11, the same components as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3. In addition, as shown in Figure 11, the auxiliary memory unit 103 has a device information memory unit 2131, a judgment criterion memory unit 132, a message memory unit 133, a user information memory unit 134, an operation status memory unit 2135, and a priority memory unit 2136.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 12, for example, the device information storage unit 2131 stores, in chronological order, operation status information indicating the operation status (Fi[j], STi[j], ...) of each device 3 for each preset unit time, environmental information indicating environmental parameters (Thk[j], ...) of the environment in which the device 3 is installed, and power value information indicating the power value (Pi[j]) of power consumption by each device 3, in association with date and time information indicating the date and time (T[*]) corresponding to these various pieces of information. Here, the length of the unit period is set to, for example, one hour. The device information storage unit 2131 stores, for each of multiple users, the operation status information, environmental information, and power value information for each unit time within the aforementioned target period, in association with date and time information indicating the date and time of the start, end, or intermediate point of each unit time. 12, the operating state Fi[j] indicates an operating state identification value indicating the on / off state of the device 3 identified by the device identification information IDE[i] in a unit period corresponding to the date and time T[j], and the operating state STi[j] indicates the set temperature of the device 3 identified by the device identification information IDE[i] in a unit period corresponding to the date and time T[j]. Furthermore, Thk[j] indicates the temperature in a unit period corresponding to the date and time T[j] of the environment in which the device 3 used by the user identification information DIU[k] is installed.

[0045] The operation status memory unit 2135 stores, as shown in FIG. 13, notification count information, opening count information, opening rate information, and selection flag information, along with user information and message identification information, in association with class information indicating the class to which the user belongs.

[0046] 14, for example, the priority order storage unit 2136 stores priority order information indicating the priority order for selecting each of the multiple types of message information in each class as message information to be sent to the terminal device 5, in association with the class information indicating the corresponding class. The example shown in FIG. 14 indicates that for each class, the message information with message identification information written to the left has a higher priority order for being selected as message information to be sent to the terminal device 5. For example, with regard to message information to be sent to a terminal device 5 owned by a user belonging to class "CL-1," the message information with message identification information "4" has the highest priority order, and the message information with message identification information "3" has the lowest priority order.

[0047] 11, the device information acquisition unit 2111 generates the above-mentioned device information request information each time the device information acquisition time arrives and transmits the generated device information request information to the device 3, thereby acquiring the device information transmitted from the device 3. Upon acquiring the device information transmitted from the device 3, the device information acquisition unit 2111 extracts the device identification information, operating status information, environmental information, and the above-mentioned date and time information contained in the device information. Then, the device information acquisition unit 2111 stores the extracted device identification information, operating status information, environmental information, and date and time information in the device information storage unit 2131 in association with one another.

[0048] The power information acquisition unit 2120 acquires, for each user, power information indicating the power consumption of the devices 3 used by each of the multiple users. The power information acquisition unit 2120 generates the above-mentioned power information request information each time a preset device information acquisition time arrives, and acquires the power information transmitted from the power measuring device 6 by transmitting the generated power information request information to the power measuring device 6. Upon acquiring the power information transmitted from the power measuring device 6, the power information acquisition unit 2120 extracts device identification information, power value information, and date and time information included in the power information. The power information acquisition unit 2120 then stores the extracted power value information in the device information storage unit 2131 in association with the extracted device identification information and date and time information.

[0049] The vector generation unit 2121 generates a transition vector indicating a time transition of power consumption of the device 3, the element of which is the power consumption consumed by the device 3 indicated by the power value information at each of a plurality of preset time points within a predetermined target period. The vector generation unit 2121 also generates a transition vector indicating a time transition of the operation state of the device 3, the element of which is an operation state identification value that identifies the operation state of the device 3 indicated by the operation state information at each of a plurality of time points within the predetermined target period. Furthermore, the vector generation unit 2121 generates a transition vector indicating a time transition of environmental parameters, the element of which is an environmental parameter indicated by the environmental information at each of a plurality of time points within the predetermined target period. Then, the vector generation unit 2121 generates a user feature vector for each user that reflects the characteristics of the user's lifestyle pattern by combining these transition vectors. 12, the vector generation unit 2121 generates transition vectors (Fi[0], Fi[1], . . . , Fi[M]) and (STi[0], STi[1], . . . , STi[M]) having as elements operation state identification values ​​Fi[j] and STi[j] that identify the operation state of device 3 indicated by the operation state information. Furthermore, the vector generation unit 2121 generates a transition vector (Thk[0], Thi[1], . . . , Thi[M]) having as elements environmental parameters Thk[j] indicated by the environmental information. Then, the vector generation unit 2121 combines these generated transition vectors for each user to form a user feature vector (Fi[0], Fi[1], . . ., Fi[M], STi[0], STi[1], . . ., STi[M], . . ., Thk[0], Thi[1], . . ., Thi[M]). Here, if the number of unit times included in the target period is M+1, the total number of pieces of operational state information for each device 3 used by the user is L, and there are P types of environmental parameters, the number of dimensions of the user feature vector is (M+1) × (L+P). Furthermore, the vector generation unit 2121 notifies the classification unit 2122 of vector information indicating the generated user feature vector.

[0050] 11 , the classification unit 2122 classifies the users into a plurality of preset classes based on the time transition of power consumption of the devices 3 used by each of the users, which is indicated by the power information corresponding to each of the users, and the time transition of the operating state of each of the devices 3, which is indicated by the device information corresponding to each of the users. The classification unit 2122 performs a clustering process to classify the users into a plurality of classes based on the similarity of the transition vectors corresponding to each of the users. Specifically, the classification unit 2122 performs the clustering process by using the user feature vectors corresponding to each of the users, which are indicated by the vector information notified from the vector generation unit 2121, to classify the users into a plurality of classes that are similar to each other, for example, based on the Euclidean distance between the user feature vectors. The classification unit 2122 stores class information indicating the class to which each of the users belongs, obtained by the clustering process, in the operation status storage unit 2135, in association with the user identification information.

[0051] The user number counting unit 2123 counts the number of users whose opening rate is equal to or greater than the opening rate threshold for each of multiple types of message information for each of multiple classes while referring to the class information stored in the operation status storage unit 2135. The user number counting unit 2123 notifies the priority order determination unit 2124 of the counting result.

[0052] The priority order determination unit 2124 determines a priority order for each of the multiple classes such that the more users there are of multiple types of message information, the higher the priority order of selection as message information to be sent to the terminal device 5. The priority order determination unit 2124 stores the priority order information indicating the priority order determined for each of the multiple classes in the priority order storage unit 2136 in association with class information indicating the corresponding class.

[0053] Each time an event occurs, the message selection unit 2114 references the priority information stored in the priority storage unit 2136 and selects one piece of message information with the highest priority from among the multiple types of message information. Furthermore, each time an event occurs, the message selection unit 2114 selects one piece of message information with the highest past open rate from among the multiple types of message information for a user who has a history of sending all of the multiple types of message information to the terminal device 5. The message selection unit 2114 notifies the message notification unit 115 of the selected message information.

[0054] Next, a message notification process executed by the cloud server 2001 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 15. Note that in FIG. 15, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 8. First, after a series of processes from steps S101 to S107 are executed, the vector generation unit 2121 determines whether the time to review the message has arrived (step S108). If the vector generation unit 2121 determines that the time to review the message has not yet arrived (step S108: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the vector generation unit 2121 determines that the time to review the message has arrived (step S108: Yes), the vector generation unit 2121 generates a transition vector indicating the time transition of the power consumption of the device 3, the time transition of the operating state of the device 3, and the time transition of the environmental parameters at each of a plurality of preset time points within a preset target period. Then, the vector generation unit 2121 combines these transition vectors for each user to generate a user characteristic vector that reflects the characteristics of the user's lifestyle pattern (step S2101). Next, the classification unit 2122 executes a clustering process for classifying the users into a plurality of classes based on the similarity of the user feature vectors corresponding to each of the users (step S2102).

[0055] Next, a priority determination process is executed to determine the above-mentioned priority of each of the multiple types of message information (step S2103). The priority determination process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 16. First, the user number counting unit 2123 selects one class for which the number of users is to be counted (step S2301). Next, the user number counting unit 2123 counts the number of users whose open rate Ro is equal to or greater than the open rate threshold Roth for each of the multiple types of message information for the selected class, while referring to the class information stored in the operation status storage unit 2135 (step S2302). Next, the priority determination unit 2124 determines the priority for the selected class such that the message information with a larger number of users among the multiple types of message information has a higher priority, and stores priority information indicating the determined priority in the priority storage unit 2136 (step S2303). Thereafter, the user number counting unit 2123 determines whether the priorities have been determined for all classes (step S2304). If the user count tallying unit 2123 determines that there are classes for which the priority order has not yet been determined (step S2304: No), the process of step S2301 is executed again. On the other hand, if the user count tallying unit 2123 determines that the priority order has been determined for all classes (step S2304: Yes), the priority order determination process ends.

[0056] 15, the message selection unit 2114 then refers to the open rate information stored in the operation status storage unit 2135 and determines whether there is a user whose open rate Ro corresponding to the selected message information is less than the open rate threshold Roth (step S2104). If the message selection unit 2114 determines that the open rate Ro corresponding to the selected message information for all users is equal to or greater than the open rate threshold Roth (step S2104: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the message selection unit 2114 determines that there is a user whose open rate Ro corresponding to the selected message information is less than the open rate threshold Roth (step S2104: Yes), it determines whether all message information has been selected for that user in the past (step S2105). If the message selection unit 2114 determines that there is message information for the user that has not been selected in the past (step S2106), it selects the message information with the highest priority from among the message information that has not been selected in the past, with reference to the priority information stored in the priority storage unit 2136 (step S2107). Thereafter, the message selection unit 2114 determines whether new message information has been selected for all users whose opening rates Ro corresponding to the selected message information are less than the opening rate threshold Roth (step S2108). If the message selection unit 2114 determines that there is a user who has not yet selected new message information among the users whose opening rates Ro corresponding to the selected message information are less than the opening rate threshold Roth (step S2108: No), the process of step S2105 is executed again. On the other hand, if the message selection unit 2114 determines that new message information has been selected for all users whose opening rates Ro corresponding to the selected message information are less than the opening rate threshold Roth (step S2108: Yes), the process of step S110 and subsequent steps is executed.

[0057] Furthermore, in step S2105, if the message selection unit 2114 determines that all message information has been selected in the past for a user whose opening rate Ro corresponding to the selected message information is less than the opening rate threshold Roth (step S2105: Yes), it selects message information corresponding to the highest opening rate Romax, which has the highest past opening rate, from among the multiple types of message information (step S2109). Next, the processing from step S110 onwards is executed.

[0058] As described above, in the cloud server 2001 according to the present embodiment, the classification unit 2122 classifies multiple users into multiple classes based on the time transition of the power consumption of the device 3 used by each of the multiple users and the time transition of the operating state of the device 3 used by each of the multiple users. Furthermore, the priority determination unit 214 determines the priority for each of the multiple classes such that the more users there are of multiple types of message information, the higher the priority of message information to be selected as message information to be sent to the terminal device 5. This makes it possible to select message information with a high opening rate that corresponds to other users who have similar lifestyle patterns to one user and send it to the terminal device 5 owned by that one user, thereby quickly increasing the opening rate of message information for that one user.

[0059] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, a hold determination unit may be provided that determines whether to hold transmission of message information to a terminal device based on location information indicating a user's location, the user's movement status, and the user's biometric information, and when the hold determination unit determines that transmission of the message information should be held, the message notification unit may hold off transmission of the message information for a period of time equal to or less than a preset notification hold time.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 17 , the message notification system according to this modification includes a cloud server 3001, a terminal device 3005, a location management server 3007, and a wearable terminal device 3008. In FIG. 17 , the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1. The location management server 3007 manages location information indicating the location of the terminal device 3005 transmitted from the terminal device 3005, in association with user identification information identifying the user who owns the terminal device 3005 that transmitted the location information. When a preset location information acquisition time arrives, the location management server 3007 transmits, to the terminal device 3005, location information request information requesting the terminal device 3005 to transmit the location information of the terminal device 3005, thereby acquiring the location information transmitted from the terminal device 3005. The location management server 3005 also periodically transmits the location information of the terminal device 3005 and time information indicating the time when the location information was acquired to the cloud server 1.

[0061] The wearable terminal 3008 is, for example, a smartwatch that is worn on the user's wrist and functions as a biosensor that measures multiple preset biometric indicators of the user. The wearable terminal 3008 measures the user's body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse. Every time the wearable terminal 3008 receives biometric information request information from the cloud server 3001, which requests the wearable terminal 3008 to transmit biometric information, the wearable terminal 3008 generates biometric information including body temperature information, blood pressure information, and pulse information indicating the measured biometric indicators, i.e., body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse, and transmits the generated biometric information to the cloud server 3001.

[0062] 18, the terminal device 3005 includes a CPU 501, a main memory unit 502, an auxiliary memory unit 503, a display unit 504, an input unit 505, a communication unit 506, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving unit 3507, and a bus 509 connecting these units to one another. In FIG. 18, the same components as in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2. The GNSS receiving unit 3507 receives GNSS signals emitted from artificial satellites, and generates reference position information indicating the positions of the artificial satellites, time information, etc. based on the GNSS signals, and transfers the information to the CPU 501.

[0063] The CPU 501 loads a program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 503 into the main storage unit 502 and executes it, thereby functioning as a message acquisition unit 511, a display control unit 512, a reception unit 513, an operation notification unit 514, a positioning unit 3515, and a position notification unit 3516, as shown in FIG. 19. Note that in FIG. 19, the same components as those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3. The positioning unit 3515 estimates the position of the terminal device 3005 based on the reference position information, time information, etc. input from the GNSS receiving unit 3507. The positioning unit 3515 then notifies the position notification unit 3516 of the position information indicating the estimated position of the terminal device 3005. The position notification unit 3516 transmits the position information notified by the positioning unit 3515 to the position management server 3007.

[0064] The hardware configuration of cloud server 3001 according to this modification is the same as the hardware configuration of cloud server 1 described in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the description of this modification, the hardware configuration of cloud server 3001 will be described using the reference numerals shown in Fig. 2. CPU 101 of cloud server 3001 according to this modification reads out a program stored in auxiliary storage unit 103 into main storage unit 102 and executes it, thereby functioning as device information acquisition unit 111, notification determination unit 113, message selection unit 114, message notification unit 3115, operation information acquisition unit 116, opening determination unit 117, opening rate calculation unit 118, opening rate determination unit 119, position acquisition unit 3125, biometric information acquisition unit 3126, movement determination unit 3127, and suspension determination unit 3128, as shown in Fig. 19 . The auxiliary storage unit 103 also includes a device information storage unit 131, a determination criterion storage unit 3132, a message storage unit 133, a user information storage unit 134, an operation status storage unit 2135, and a behavior status storage unit 3136. The determination criterion storage unit 3132 stores, for example, as shown in FIG. 20 , reservation determination criterion information indicating the criteria for determining whether message information needs to be transmitted to the terminal device 3005. The reservation determination criterion information is information in which a combination of movement status condition information indicating conditions for the user's movement status and activity amount condition information indicating the user's activity amount is associated with notification necessity flag information indicating whether the corresponding message information needs to be transmitted to the terminal device 3005. The determination criterion storage unit 3132 also stores, as described in the first embodiment, determination criterion information indicating the criteria for determining whether a notification event has occurred based on the operating status of the device 3 and the environmental parameters in which the device 3 is installed.

[0065] The behavioral status storage unit 3136 stores location information indicating the current location of the user, movement speed information indicating the movement speed of the user, and activity amount information indicating the amount of activity of the user in association with the user identification information.

[0066] The position acquisition unit 3125 acquires position information indicating the position of the user transmitted from the position management server 3007, and stores the acquired position information in the behavior status storage unit 3136. The movement determination unit 3127 determines whether the user is moving based on time changes in the user's position information, and if it determines that the user is moving, calculates the user's movement speed and stores movement speed information indicating the calculated movement speed in the behavior status storage unit 3136. The biometric information acquisition unit 3126 acquires the user's biometric information transmitted from the wearable terminal 3008, converts the acquired biometric information into activity amount information indicating the user's activity amount, and stores the activity amount information in the behavior status storage unit 3136.

[0067] The hold determination unit 3128 determines whether to hold off transmitting the message information to the terminal device 3005, based on the location information, movement speed information, and activity amount information stored in the behavioral status storage unit 3136. The hold determination unit 3128 refers to the hold determination criterion information stored in the determination criterion storage unit 3132, and determines to hold off transmitting the message information to the terminal device 5 when the conditions indicated by the movement status condition information and the activity amount condition information corresponding to the notification necessity flag information set to "notification unnecessary" are satisfied. When the hold determination unit 3128 determines to hold off transmitting the message information, the message notification unit 3115 holds off transmitting the message information for a time equal to or shorter than a preset notification hold time.

[0068] Here, a message notification process executed by the cloud server 3001 according to this modification will be described with reference to Fig. 21. Note that in Fig. 21, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 8. First, a series of processes from steps S101 to S104 are executed. When the notification determination unit 113 determines that a notification event has occurred (step S104: Yes), the message selection unit 114 refers to the selection flag information and the message identification information stored in the operation status storage unit 135 and selects one piece of message information from among the multiple types of message information corresponding to the notification event stored in the message storage unit 133 (step S105). Next, the suspension determination unit 3128 determines whether to suspend transmission of the message information to the terminal device 3005 based on the location information, movement speed information, and activity amount information stored in the behavior status storage unit 3136 (step S3101). Here, it is assumed that the user's position, movement speed, and activity amount indicated by the position information, movement speed information, and activity amount information stored in the behavioral status storage unit 3136 satisfy the conditions indicated by the movement status condition information and activity amount condition information corresponding to the notification necessity flag information set to "notification required" stored in the determination criterion storage unit 3132. In this case, the hold determination unit 3128 determines to transmit the message information to the terminal device 5 without holding it (step S3101: No), and the processes from step S106 onwards are executed.

[0069] On the other hand, it is assumed that the user's location, movement speed, and activity amount indicated by the location information, movement speed information, and activity amount information stored in the behavioral status storage unit 3136 satisfy the conditions indicated by the movement status condition information and activity amount condition information corresponding to the notification necessity flag information set to "notification not required" stored in the determination criterion storage unit 3132. In this case, the suspension determination unit 3128 determines to suspend transmission of the message information to the terminal device 5 (step S3101: Yes) and determines whether a preset notification suspension period has elapsed (step S3102). Here, if the suspension determination unit 3128 determines that the notification suspension period has not yet elapsed (step S3102: No), the process of step S3101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the suspension determination unit 3128 determines that the notification suspension period has elapsed (step S3102: Yes), the process of step S108 and subsequent steps is executed as is.

[0070] According to this configuration, message information can be sent to the terminal device 3005 when the user is in a behavioral situation in which the user is likely to check the message information, thereby increasing the rate at which messages corresponding to the message information are opened.

[0071] In an embodiment, if the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information has decreased compared to the open rate at the previous message review time, and the absolute value of the difference from the open rate at the previous message review time is greater than a predetermined absolute value threshold, the message selection unit 114 may newly select other message information different from the selected message information from among multiple types of message information.

[0072] Here, the message notification process executed by the cloud server according to this modification will be described with reference to FIG. 22. Note that in FIG. 22, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 8. First, after a series of processes from steps S101 to S107 are executed, if the open rate determination unit 119 determines in step S108 that the time for message review has arrived (step S108: Yes), it determines whether the open rate Ro corresponding to the selected message information is less than the open rate threshold Roth (step S109). Here, if the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate Ro indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information is equal to or greater than the open rate threshold Roth (step S109: No), it determines whether the open rate Ro(Now) indicated by the open rate information corresponding to the selected message information has decreased compared to the open rate Ro(Last) at the previous message review time (step S4101). Here, if the open rate determination unit 119 determines that the open rate Ro(Now) corresponding to the selected message information is equal to or greater than the open rate Ro(Last) at the previous message review time (step S4101: No), the processing of step S101 is executed again.

[0073] On the other hand, suppose that the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the opening rate Ro(Now) corresponding to the selected message information is less than the opening rate Ro(Last) at the previous message review time (step S4101: Yes). In this case, the opening rate determination unit 119 calculates the absolute difference |ΔRo| between the opening rate Ro(Now) corresponding to the selected message information and the opening rate Ro(Last) at the previous message review time, and determines whether the calculated absolute difference |ΔRo| is equal to or greater than the absolute difference threshold |ΔRo|th (step S4102). Here, if the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the calculated absolute difference |ΔRo| is less than the absolute difference threshold |ΔRo|th (step S4102: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, if the opening rate determination unit 119 determines that the calculated absolute difference |ΔRo| is equal to or greater than the absolute difference threshold |ΔRo|th (step S4102: Yes), the process of step S110 is executed.

[0074] According to this configuration, the content of the message information can be changed when a downward trend in the rate at which users open their message information is observed, thereby increasing the rate at which messages corresponding to the message information are opened.

[0075] In the second embodiment, an example has been described in which the classification unit 2122 performs clustering processing by using user feature vectors corresponding to each of a plurality of users to classify the users into a plurality of classes that are similar to each other, for example, based on the Euclidean distance between the plurality of user feature vectors. However, the clustering processing method of the classification unit 2122 is not limited to this, and for example, the classification unit 2122 may classify the plurality of users using a dynamic time warping method. Specifically, the classification unit 2122 uses transition vectors corresponding to each of the plurality of users to calculate absolute values ​​of errors between elements at a plurality of time points indicated by the transition vectors of the plurality of users for all of the plurality of elements, and classifies the plurality of users based on the magnitude of the absolute values ​​of the calculated errors.

[0076] In the second embodiment, the vector generation unit 2121 may select a transition vector that is particularly likely to reflect the user's lifestyle pattern from among a plurality of types of transition vectors, and generate a user feature vector using only the selected transition vector.

[0077] Furthermore, the various functions of the cloud servers 1, 2001, and 3001 and the terminal devices 5 and 3005 according to the present disclosure may be implemented by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. In this case, the software or firmware may be written as a program, and the program may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or an MO (Magneto-Optical Disc). The program may then be read and installed on a computer to configure a computer capable of implementing each of the aforementioned functions. Furthermore, when each function is implemented by sharing the work between an operating system (OS) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and an application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the recording medium.

[0078] Furthermore, each program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and distributed via a communication network. For example, the program can be posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) on the communication network and distributed via the network. These programs can then be started and run under the control of the OS in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-mentioned processing to be performed. [Industrial Applicability]

[0079] The present disclosure is suitable as a message notification system that notifies message information to a terminal device carried by a user when an event occurs that is related to equipment used by the user and that requires notification to the user. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1,2001,3001 Cloud server, 3 Device, 4 BBR, 5,3005 Terminal device, 6 Power measurement device, 101,501 CPU, 102,502 Main memory unit, 103,503 Auxiliary memory unit, 106,506 Communication unit, 108 Timer unit, 109,509 Bus, 111 Device information acquisition unit, 113 Notification determination unit, 114,2114 Message selection unit, 115,3115 Message notification, 116 Operation information acquisition unit, 117 Opening determination unit, 118 Opening rate calculation unit, 119 Opening rate determination unit, 131,2131 Device information storage unit, 132,3132 Determination criterion storage unit, 133 Message storage unit, 134 User information storage unit, 135 Operation status storage unit, 504 Display unit, 505 Input unit, 511 Message acquisition unit, 512 display control unit, 513 reception unit, 514 operation notification unit, 531 image storage unit, 2121 vector generation unit, 2122 classification unit, 2123 user number count unit, 2124 priority determination unit, 2136 priority storage unit, 3007 location management server, 3008 wearable terminal device, 3507 GNSS reception unit, 3125 location acquisition unit, 3126 biometric information acquisition unit, 3127 movement determination unit, 3128 hold determination unit, 3515 positioning unit, 3516 location notification unit, F1 finger, H building, NW1 wide area network, NW2 local network

Claims

1. a message selection unit that selects one piece of message information from a plurality of types of preset message information indicating the occurrence of a notification event that should be notified to a user, every time the notification event occurs; a message notification unit that transmits the message information to a terminal device carried by the user; an operation information acquisition unit in the terminal device that acquires opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; an opening rate calculation unit that calculates an opening rate, which is a probability that the user will perform the opening operation, based on a notification count, which is the number of times the message information is transmitted to the terminal device, and an opening count, which is the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired, within a predetermined target period; the message selection unit selects other message information from the plurality of types of message information when the opening rate is less than a preset opening rate threshold. Message notification device.

2. a power information acquiring unit that acquires, for each of the plurality of users, power information including power value information indicating power consumption by at least one device used by each of the plurality of users; a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information for each user, the device information including operation status information indicating an operation status of the at least one device; a classification unit that classifies the plurality of users into a plurality of preset classes based on a time transition of power consumption indicated by the power value information of each of the plurality of users and a time transition of an operation state of each of the at least one device indicated by the operation state information of each of the plurality of users; a user number counting unit that counts, for each of the plurality of classes, the number of users whose opening rates corresponding to each of the plurality of types of message information are equal to or greater than the opening rate threshold; a priority determination unit that determines the priority for each of the plurality of classes such that the message information having a larger number of users among the plurality of types of message information has a higher priority for being selected as the message information to be transmitted to the terminal device, the message selection unit selects one piece of message information having the highest priority from the plurality of types of message information every time the notification event occurs. The message notification device according to claim 1 .

3. a vector generation unit that generates a transition vector indicating a time transition of the power consumption and the operating state of each of the at least one device, the transition vector being based on elements of the power consumption consumed by each of the at least one device indicated by the power information and a value indicating the operating state of each of the at least one device indicated by the operating state information at each of a plurality of preset time points within the period; the classifying unit performs a clustering process to classify the plurality of users into the plurality of classes based on the similarity of the transition vectors corresponding to each of the plurality of users. The message notification device according to claim 2.

4. the message selection unit selects, for the user who has a history of sending all of the plurality of types of message information to the terminal device, one piece of message information having the highest opening rate from the plurality of types of message information each time the notification event occurs.

4. The message notification device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. the message notification unit further selects other message information from the plurality of types of message information when the opening rate is lower than the opening rate in the past target period and an absolute value of a difference between the opening rate and the opening rate in the past target period is equal to or greater than a predetermined absolute value threshold. The message notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. the message notification unit stops transmission of the message information to the terminal device when the opening rates corresponding to the plurality of types of message information are all less than the opening rate threshold. The message notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. a location acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the location of the user; a movement determination unit that determines whether the user is moving based on the location information; a biometric information acquisition unit that acquires biometric information of the user; a suspension determination unit that determines whether to suspend transmission of the message information to the terminal device based on the location information, the movement status of the user, and the biological information, When the suspension determination unit determines that transmission of the message information is to be suspended, the message notification unit suspends transmission of the message information for a period of time equal to or less than a preset notification suspension time. The message notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A terminal device owned by a user; a message selection unit that selects one piece of message information from a plurality of types of preset message information indicating the occurrence of a notification event that should be notified to the user, every time the notification event occurs; a message notification unit that transmits the message information to the terminal device; an operation information acquisition unit in the terminal device that acquires opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; an opening rate calculation unit that calculates an opening rate, which is a probability that the user will perform the opening operation, based on the number of times the message information is sent and the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired within a predetermined target period, the message selection unit selects other message information from the plurality of types of message information when the opening rate is less than a preset opening rate threshold. Message notification system.

9. a step of selecting one piece of message information from a plurality of types of message information set in advance, each time a notification event that should be notified to a user occurs, the message information indicating the occurrence of the notification event; sending the message information to a terminal device carried by the user; acquiring, in the terminal device, opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; calculating an opening rate, which is a probability that the user will perform the opening operation, based on a notification count, which is the number of times the message information is sent to the terminal device, and an opening count, which is the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired, within a predetermined target period; and if the opening rate is less than a preset opening rate threshold, selecting another message information from the plurality of types of message information. Message notification method.

10. Computer, a message selection unit that selects one piece of message information from a plurality of types of preset message information indicating the occurrence of a notification event that should be notified to a user, every time the notification event occurs; a message notification unit that transmits the message information to a terminal device carried by the user; an operation information acquisition unit, in the terminal device, that acquires opening operation information transmitted from the terminal device when the user performs an opening operation to check the message information acquired by the terminal device; a program for causing the program to function as an opening rate calculation unit that calculates an opening rate, which is a probability that the user will perform the opening operation, based on a notification count, which is the number of times the message information is transmitted to the terminal device, and an opening count, which is the number of times the opening operation information corresponding to the message information is acquired, within a predetermined target period, the message selection unit selects other message information from the plurality of types of message information when the opening rate is less than a preset opening rate threshold. program.

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