Information processing device, and method for determining whether status change is necessary

Abstract

An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided with: an acquisition unit that acquires information about a user's operation history; an estimation unit that estimates the user's work status on the basis of the information about the operation history; and a determination unit that determines whether or not to change the user's status in an application being executed in association with the user, on the basis of the estimated work status.

Description

Information processing device and method for determining whether status change is necessary

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and a method for determining whether a status change is necessary.

[0002] With the increase in remote work, opportunities for employees working in the same workplace to chat have decreased. In order to deepen friendships between employees, it is conceivable that they may use chat applications (hereinafter referred to as chat apps) during working hours.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a method for a call between multiple participants using secret conversations. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, objects showing images of multiple participants are displayed on the screen of a user's terminal device, and the user moves the objects of participants they want to include in a chat group to a predetermined area by dragging and dropping them. The user repeats this drag-and-drop process to include multiple participants in the chat group.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-064944

[0005] Incidentally, some conventional chat apps provide a function to display a user's current status (which may also be referred to as situation, state, presence, etc.), such as "available for calls," "on a call," "busy," etc.

[0006] Such status may be set (or switched) manually by the user, or may be set (or switched) automatically by the chat app (or a server that provides the chat app functionality) in response to some criteria or event.

[0007] However, currently, a user's actual status may not match the status in a chat app. For example, if a user receives a call while running a chat app on a terminal device, the status in the chat app may be "available" even though the user is not actually "available" because the call was received. As another example, when a user runs a chat app, the user may forget that they previously manually set the status to "busy" because they were busy, and the status in the chat app may be "busy" even though the user is actually "available."

[0008] In view of the above, one aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide a technology that improves a situation in which a user's actual status does not match the user's status in an application.

[0009] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires information related to a user's operation history, an estimation unit that estimates the user's work status based on the information related to the operation history, and a decision unit that determines whether to change the user's status in an application that is being executed and associated with the user based on the estimated work status.

[0010] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a status change necessity determination system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a management device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a management device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a status transition according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of user information stored in a user information storage unit provided in the management device according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of association information stored in an application-business association information storage unit provided in the management device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information related to operations stored in an operation association information storage unit provided in the management device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of a status change necessity determination system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a more specific first operation example of a status change necessity determination system according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a more specific second operation example of a status change necessity determination system according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a more specific third operation example of a status change necessity determination system according to the embodiment.

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the examples shown in the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions and configurations will be denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and their description may be omitted.

[0012] [Embodiment] <Overview> According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an information processing device (for example, a management device 10 or a terminal device 20 described below) includes an acquisition unit, an estimation unit, and a determination unit. The acquisition unit acquires information related to a user's operation history. The estimation unit estimates the user's work status based on the acquired information related to the operation history. The determination unit determines whether to change the user's status in an application that is executed and associated with the user, based on the estimated user's work status.

[0013] In this way, the information processing device determines whether to change the user's status based on the user's work status estimated based on information about the operation history, thereby improving a situation in which the user's actual status does not match the user's status in the application.

[0014] <Configuration of Status Change Necessity Determining System> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a status change necessity determining system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] 1, the status change necessity determination system 1 includes a management device 10 and terminal devices 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-K, ..., 20-N (where N is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and K is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and less than N). The management device 10 and each of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are communicatively connected to each other via a network 30. The terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N may be communicatively connected to each other via the network 30. The network 30 may be a local area network (LAN), the Internet, an intranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a mobile communication network, or a combination thereof.

[0016] In the status change necessity determination system 1, users of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N can communicate with each other, including making calls to each other, using a chat app installed on the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N. In this embodiment, a call made by a user using a chat app (also simply referred to as a "call") refers to a packet call (VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol), and a voice call (VoLTE, etc.) using a mobile communication line such as an LTE (Long Term Evolution) line is referred to as a "telephone call."

[0017] The terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N used in this embodiment are assumed to be provided for business use by the companies to which the users U1 to UN belong. The chat app used in this embodiment is assumed to be used during working hours. Therefore, the chat app may be referred to as a business chat application, a business SNS (Social Networking Service) application, or the like.

[0018] In the chat application installed and executed on the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N, the statuses of the users U1 to UN of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are displayed.

[0019] Statuses in a chat app include the following: "Talk OK," "Call OK," and "Busy." "Talk OK": A status in which calls using the chat app are possible and calling using the chat app is also possible. "Call OK": A status in which calls using the chat app are not possible, but calling using the chat app is also possible. "Busy": A status in which calls using the chat app are not possible and calling using the chat app is also not possible. Here, "calling" refers to a function in which one user transmits the voice of another user to another user (one-way, packet-based). Because "calling" is a two-way communication method, "calling" may be considered a lower-level communication method than "calling." Note that when terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are connected to the management device 10 and the chat app is running, users (or information indicating) those users with any of these statuses are displayed on the user list screen of the chat app along with the status (or information indicating the status). On the other hand, users of terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N that cannot perform data communication due to reasons such as being out of service area are deleted from the user list.

[0020] The above-mentioned "talk" (i.e., "phone call") and "calling out" will be described in more detail below.

[0021] The voice call is voice data including the voice of the user of the sending side, transmitted via one-way communication from the terminal device of the sending side to the terminal device of the receiving side. Unlike two-way voice calls that require a session to be established in advance, such as protocols like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), the transmission of the voice call does not require prior consent from the terminal device of the receiving side for each voice reception. The voice call also includes a certain amount of relatively short voice.

[0022] A telephone call is a means of two-way real-time communication using voice, and allows you to transmit your own voice to the other party while listening to the other party's voice.

[0023] A call requires two-way communication, which is achieved by transmitting voice data to each other via a pre-established mutual communication line or session for simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0024] In a call, minimizing delay is essential; if the delay is too great, the conversation will feel unnatural and it will be difficult to interact with the other person.

[0025] A single call lasts from a dozen seconds to several hours depending on the topic, and ends when a call participant disconnects the communication line or leaves the session.

[0026] Furthermore, since a call is a system that guarantees that the other party can hear your voice, it is assumed that the other party is also on a call during the time that the call is being made. Therefore, prior consent is required for the other party's time to be used during a call.

[0027] On the other hand, voice-over is a means of initiating online communication with another person, and is used to start a conversation or grab their attention by transmitting your voice to the other person in one direction.

[0028] Calling out requires one-way communication and is realized by transmitting voice data including the speech content of the sending user via a one-way communication path from the sending terminal device to the receiving terminal device. For example, the calling voice may be transmitted by the sending terminal device transmitting voice data to the management device 10, and then the management device 10 transmitting the voice data to the receiving terminal device.

[0029] In the transmission of voice messages, short delays are preferable, but real-time transmission like that of telephone conversations is not essential, and a delay of a few seconds, for example, is acceptable. A single voice message ends when a single word of speech is played back on the receiving terminal device, and this takes no more than a few seconds.

[0030] Voice calling is a system that does not guarantee that the other party is listening to your voice. Therefore, voice calling does not require prior consent to use the other party's time. Voice calling can be considered a means of obtaining prior consent necessary for a call.

[0031] As described in detail below, the status change necessity determination system 1 determines whether to change the status of users U1 to UN based on the business status of users U1 to UN and / or the presence or absence of operations (also referred to as application operations) by users U1 to UN on applications including chat applications. Then, the status change necessity determination system 1 changes or does not change the status according to the determination. Users U1 to UN can also manually change their own status in the chat application.

[0032] The management device 10 is an information processing device such as a server that provides chat application functions to the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N. The management device 10 also manages calls or communications between the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N. The management device 10 communicates with each of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N via a network 30 to provide the chat application functions and manage the calls (or communications). For example, the management device 10 may be installed in a cloud environment or an on-premise environment.

[0033] The terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are devices that allow users of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N to talk to or call out to each other using a chat app. The terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are, for example, smartphones or tablet devices. In this embodiment, the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N communicate with each other via the management device 10 so that the users of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N can talk to or call out to each other. However, the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N may communicate with each other without going through the management device 10 so that the users of the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N can talk to or call out to each other. The terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N correspond one-to-one to multiple users. In this embodiment, it is assumed that user U1 uses terminal device 20-1, user U2 uses terminal device 20-2, ..., user UK uses terminal device 20-K, ..., and user UN uses terminal device 20-N. In this embodiment, the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N are assumed to have the same configuration. However, terminal devices that do not have the same configuration may also be included in the status change necessity determination system 1. In this specification, when there is no need to distinguish between the terminal devices 20-1 to 20-N, they will be referred to as terminal device 20, and when there is no need to distinguish between the users U1 to UN, they will be referred to as user U. The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user device, client, client device, information equipment, information processing device, etc.

[0034] 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a management device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the management device 10 may be implemented by an information processing device (or a computing device) such as a server.

[0035] 2, the management device 10 includes a storage device 11, a processing device 12, a user interface (UI) device 13, a communication device 14, and a bus 15. The storage device 11, the processing device 12, the UI device 13, and the communication device 14 are connected to each other via the bus 15.

[0036] The programs or instructions that realize the functions and processes of the management device 10 described above and below may be downloaded from some external device (e.g., a server) via a network, etc. Furthermore, such programs or instructions may be provided from a removable storage medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or flash memory.

[0037] The storage device 11 may be implemented by a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or the like, and stores installed programs or instructions as well as files, data, and the like used to execute the programs or instructions. The storage device 11 may also include a non-transitory storage medium.

[0038] The processing device 12 may be realized, for example, by a general-purpose processor or controller (circuit), or by a dedicated processor or controller (circuit). When realized by a general-purpose processor, the processing device 12 may be realized by one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processing circuitry, etc., each of which may be composed of one or more processor cores. In this case, the processing device 12 performs the functions and processes of the management device 10 described above and below in accordance with programs or instructions stored in the storage device 11, data such as parameters used to execute the programs or instructions, etc. Such programs, when executed by a computer or processing device 12, may cause the computer or processing device 12 to function as the management device 10 according to the present disclosure. Furthermore, such programs, when executed by a computer or processing device 12, may cause the computer or processing device 12 to execute a method for determining whether a status change is necessary according to the present disclosure.

[0039] The UI device 13 may be composed of input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, camera, microphone, etc., output devices such as a display, speaker, headset, printer, etc., and input / output devices such as a haptic device, touch panel, etc., and realizes an interface between a user of the management device 10 and the management device 10. For example, a user of the management device 10 operates the management device 10 by operating a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on a display or touch panel using a keyboard, mouse, etc.

[0040] The communication device 14 is realized by various communication circuits that execute communication processes with external devices and communication networks such as the Internet, LAN, and VPN.

[0041] The above-described hardware configuration of the management device 10 is merely an example, and the management device 10 according to the present disclosure may be realized by any other appropriate hardware configuration.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] 3, the management device 10 includes an acquisition unit 101, an estimation unit 102, a determination unit 103, a user information storage unit 151, an application-business relevance information storage unit 152, and an operation-related information storage unit 153. The acquisition unit 101, the estimation unit 102, and the determination unit 103 may be realized as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software by the processing device 12. The user information storage unit 151, the application-business relevance information storage unit 152, and the operation-related information storage unit 153 may be realized by the storage device 11.

[0044] The acquisition unit 101 acquires information about the operation history of the user of the terminal device 20 .

[0045] More specifically, the acquisition unit 101 may receive information about the operation of the user U of the terminal device 20, transmitted by the terminal device 20, via the communication device 14, and store the received information about the operation in the operation-related information storage unit 153. Then, the acquisition unit 101 may acquire information about operations over time (information about the operation history) stored in the operation-related information storage unit 153 from the operation-related information storage unit 153. The acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired information about the operation history to the estimation unit 102.

[0046] The estimation unit 102 estimates the business status of the user U of the terminal device 20 based on information related to the operation history.

[0047] More specifically, the estimation unit 102 may receive information related to the operation history output by the acquisition unit 101, and estimate the work status of the user U of the terminal device 20 based on the received information related to the operation history. In this embodiment, the work status is represented by a flag such as "working," "may be working," or "not working." However, the above work statuses are merely examples, and there may be more or less than three work statuses.

[0048] For example, the information on the operation history may include information on the operation history of a chat app, or may include information on foreground or background execution of the chat app. (When the chat app is running in the foreground on the terminal device 20 and the user U operates the chat app, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that the user U is not working.) Also, when the chat app is running in the foreground on the terminal device 20 but the user U has not operated the chat app for a predetermined time, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that the user U is working. Also, when the chat app is running in the background on the terminal device 20 and the user U has not operated the chat app for a predetermined time, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that the user U is working.

[0049] Furthermore, for example, the information about the operation history may include information about the operation history of another application other than the chat app. For example, the other application may be a telephone application. For example, if user U receives or makes a call using a telephone application, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that user U is working. Furthermore, association information indicating the association between the other application and the work may be stored in the application-work association information storage unit 152. For example, association information indicating that one or more predetermined applications are related to work and one or more other predetermined applications are not related to work may be stored in the application-work association information storage unit 152. Even if the chat app is running in the background (it is considered that user U may be working), if the association information indicates that the other application operated by user U is not related to work, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that user U's work status will remain the same as the previous work status (taking into account the possibility that user U may be working). Alternatively, the estimation unit 102 may not perform rule-based estimation using relevance information indicating the relevance between other applications and business, but may use a trained model that has previously learned the relevance between other applications and business, and estimate, as described above, that the work status of user U will remain unchanged from the previous work status.

[0050] The estimation unit 102 outputs the estimation result (i.e., the estimated work status of the user U) to the determination unit 103 .

[0051] The decision unit 103 decides whether to change the status of the user U in the application that is being executed in association with the user U, based on the estimated business situation.

[0052] More specifically, the determination unit 103 may accept the estimation result output by the estimation unit 102, and based on the accepted estimation result, determine whether or not to change the status of user U in the chat app installed and running on the terminal device 20 used by user U.

[0053] A specific example of determining whether or not to change the status of the user U will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of status transition according to this embodiment.

[0054] For example, as shown in (A) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is working, the determination unit 103 may determine to change the status of user U in the chat app to "busy" and change it to "busy." Also, as shown in (B) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U may be working, the determination unit 103 may determine to change the status of user U in the chat app to "OK to call out" and change it to "OK to call out." Also, as shown in (C) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is not working, the determination unit 103 may determine not to change the status of user U in the chat app and keep it as "OK to talk."

[0055] For example, as shown in (D) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is working, the determination unit 103 may determine to change the status of user U in the chat app to "busy" and change it to "busy." Also, as shown in (E) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is not working, the determination unit 103 may determine to change the status of user U in the chat app to "OK to talk" and change it to "OK to talk." Also, as shown in (F) of FIG. 4, when the status of user U in the chat app is "OK to talk" and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U may be working, the determination unit 103 may determine not to change the status of user U in the chat app and keep it as "OK to talk."

[0056] 4(E), when the status of user U in the chat app is “busy” and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is not working, the determination unit 103 may determine to change the status of user U in the chat app to “ready to talk” and change it to “ready to talk.” Also, when the status of user U in the chat app is “busy” and the estimation unit 102 estimates that user U is working, the determination unit 103 may determine not to change the status of user U in the chat app and keep it as “busy.”

[0057] When the determining unit 103 determines to change the status, it stores information indicating the changed status in the user information storage unit 151 .

[0058] The determination unit 103 transmits status information indicating the changed status or the unchanged status via the communication device 14 to all connected terminal devices 20 or to one or more terminal devices 20 used by one or more users U who form a group with the user U.

[0059] In this way, the management device 10 determines whether to change the status of user U on the terminal device 20, and controls the terminal device 20 to display the status information by transmitting the status information to the terminal device 20. This makes it possible to improve a situation in which the actual status of user U does not match the status of user U in the chat.

[0060] The user information storage unit 151 stores information (referred to as user information) about N users U1 to UN.

[0061] Fig. 5A is a diagram showing an example of user information stored in the user information storage unit 151. As shown in Fig. 5A, user information 510 includes a user name, a connection state, a status, and the like.

[0062] "User name" indicates the name of each user U. In Fig. 5A, each user name is indicated by the symbols "U1" to "UN," but in reality, each user U may have their own personal name or a nickname.

[0063] The "connection status" is information indicating whether the terminal device 20 used by each user U is connected to the status change necessity determination system 1 (management device 10). The connection status is represented by, for example, a flag of either "online" or "offline." If the connection status is "online," the "status" is displayed on the user list screen of the chat app, and if the connection status is "offline," the user U is removed from the user list in the chat app (is not displayed on the user list screen).

[0064] The "status" is information (e.g., a flag) indicating the above-mentioned status of each user U (i.e., "talk OK," "call OK," or "busy"). The "status" stored in the user information storage unit 151 is maintained even when the connection status becomes "offline." Therefore, when the connection status becomes "online" again, the "status" remains the "status" that was in effect immediately before the connection status became "offline."

[0065] The application-business relevance information storage unit 152 stores relevance information indicating the relevance between a business and an application other than the chat application.

[0066] Fig. 5B is a diagram showing an example of the relevance information stored in the application-business relevance information storage unit 152. As shown in Fig. 5B, the relevance information 520 includes the application name and the relevance to the business.

[0067] "Application name" indicates the name of each application that can be installed in the terminal device 20. Instead of the application name, any application identification information for identifying the application may be used.

[0068] The "relevance to business" is expressed by a flag indicating either "related" to business or "not related" to business.

[0069] As shown in Fig. 5B, application A1 to application AL are related to the business, and application AM to application AZ are not related to the business. Note that the number of applications shown in Fig. 5B is merely an example, and association information indicating the association between any number of applications and the business may be stored.

[0070] The operation-related information storage unit 153 stores information about operations reported from the terminal device 200 (for each user U, for example).

[0071] 5C is a diagram showing an example of information related to an operation stored in the operation-related information storage unit 153. As shown in Fig. 5C, information 530 related to an operation includes a user name, a report date and time, an operation application name, a report content, and the like.

[0072] "User name" indicates the name of each user U. In FIG. 5C, each user name is indicated by the symbols "U1" to "UN," but in reality, the user name may be the personal name of each user U or the nickname of each user U. Any terminal device identification information for identifying the terminal device 20 may be used instead of the "user name."

[0073] The "report date and time" indicates the date and time (for example, in the format of "YYYYMMDDhhmmss") when the terminal device 20 of the user U reported the "report content" described below. Instead of the "report date and time", the report content occurrence date and time when the "report content" occurred in the terminal device 20 may be used.

[0074] When an application operation is reported as the "report content," the "operated application" indicates the name of the application (chat application or other application) operated by the user U. Instead of the name of the application, any application identification information for identifying the application may be used.

[0075] The "report content" indicates the content of app operations on the terminal device 20 (for example, transition of a chat app to background / foreground execution, starting / ending a call using the chat app, starting / ending a call using the chat app, input operations for other applications, answering an incoming call, etc.), or whether a predetermined time has passed without operating the chat app.

[0076] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device according to this embodiment. As described above, the terminal device 20 may be realized by a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

[0077] 6 , the terminal device 20 includes a storage device 21, a processing device 22, a UI device 23, a communication device 24, and a bus 25. The storage device 21, the processing device 22, the UI device 23, and the communication device 24 are connected to each other via the bus 25.

[0078] The programs or instructions for realizing the functions and processes of the terminal device 20 described above and below may be downloaded from some external device (e.g., a server) via a network, etc. Furthermore, such programs or instructions may be provided from a removable storage medium such as a CD-ROM or flash memory.

[0079] The storage device 21 is realized by RAM, flash memory, a hard disk drive, etc., and stores installed programs or instructions as well as files, data, etc. used in executing the programs or instructions. The storage device 21 may also include a non-transitory storage medium.

[0080] The processing device 22 may be realized, for example, by a general-purpose processor or controller (circuit), or by a dedicated processor or controller (circuit). When realized by a general-purpose processor, the processing device 22 may be realized by one or more CPUs, GPUs, processing circuits, etc., each of which may be composed of one or more processor cores. In this case, the processing device 22 performs the functions and processes of the terminal device 20 described above and below in accordance with programs or instructions stored in the storage device 21, data such as parameters used to execute the programs or instructions, and the like. Such a program, when executed by a computer or processing device 22, may cause the computer or processing device 22 to function as the terminal device 20 according to the present disclosure. Furthermore, such a program, when executed by the computer or processing device 22, may cause the computer or processing device 22 to execute a method for determining whether a status change is necessary according to the present disclosure (e.g., a method implemented in a chat app).

[0081] The UI device 23 may be composed of input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a camera, a microphone, etc., output devices such as a display, a speaker, a headset, a printer, etc., and input / output devices such as a haptic device, a touch panel, etc., and realizes an interface between the user of the terminal device 20 and the terminal device 20. For example, the user of the terminal device 20 operates the terminal device 20 by operating a GUI displayed on a display or a touch panel with a finger or a pen (stylus).

[0082] The communication device 24 may be realized by various communication circuits that execute communication processes with external devices and communication networks such as the Internet, LAN, and VPN.

[0083] The above-described hardware configuration of the terminal device 20 is merely an example, and the terminal device 20 according to the present disclosure may be realized by any other appropriate hardware configuration.

[0084] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device according to this embodiment.

[0085] 7 , the terminal device 20 includes a determination unit 201, a reporting unit 202, an acquisition unit 203, a display control unit 204, a timer storage unit 251, and a display unit 252. The determination unit 201, the reporting unit 202, the acquisition unit 203, and the display control unit 204 may be realized by the processing device 22 as hardware, as software (e.g., a dedicated application), or as a combination of hardware and software. The timer storage unit 251 may be realized by the storage device 21. The display unit 252 may be realized by a display included in the UI device 23.

[0086] The determination unit 201 determines whether or not a user U of the terminal device 20 has performed an operation on the terminal device 20. The presence or absence of such an operation includes an operation on the chat app, an operation to execute the chat app in the background (background execution transition operation), an operation to execute the chat app in the foreground (foreground execution transition operation), an operation on an application other than the chat app, the passage of a predetermined time without operating the chat app, and the like.

[0087] The determination unit 201 uses a timer stored in the timer storage unit 251 to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed without any operation of the chat app. For example, the determination unit 201 sets the timer to "3 minutes" (i.e., the predetermined time is "3 minutes") when the status is "Ready to Talk," "Ready to Call," or "Busy." The time set in the timer may be different for "Ready to Talk," "Ready to Call," and "Busy." Furthermore, the time set in the timer may be changeable by the user of the management device 10, or the time set in the timer for user U may be changeable by the user U.

[0088] The determination unit 201 generates information regarding such an operation (or whether it has been performed) and outputs it to the reporting unit 202. The determination unit 201 may store the generated information regarding the operation in the storage device 21. The information regarding the operation corresponds to (one record (row) of) information 530 regarding the operation stored in the operation-related information storage unit 153 of the management device 10. Therefore, the determination unit 201 may be considered as an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the operation or the operation history.

[0089] Note that information regarding operations on the chat app or operations to execute the chat app in the foreground may be referred to as information regarding foreground execution of the chat app, etc. Information regarding operations on applications other than the chat app or operations to execute the chat app in the background may be referred to as information regarding background execution of the chat app, etc.

[0090] The reporting unit 202 receives the information about the operation output by the determining unit 201 , and reports (i.e., transmits) the received information about the operation to the management device 10 via the communication device 24 .

[0091] The acquisition unit 203 acquires the status information by receiving the status information transmitted by the management device 10 via the communication device 24. The acquisition unit 203 outputs the acquired status information to the display control unit 204.

[0092] The display control unit 204 generates screen information including the status information, and based on the screen information, displays a display screen on the display unit 252. It goes without saying that the display screen also includes various other information (for example, a button for making a call, a button for speaking, etc.).

[0093] The timer storage unit 251 stores the timer described above for measuring the time during which no operation is performed on the chat application.

[0094] The display unit 252 displays a display screen based on the screen information under the control of the display control unit 204 .

[0095] <Operation of Status Change Necessity Determining System> Next, an example of operation of the status change necessity determining system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 and FIGS. 9A to 9C.

[0096] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the status change necessity determination system according to this embodiment.

[0097] In step S11, the management device 10 acquires information about the user U's operation history.

[0098] In step S12, the management device 10 estimates the work status of the user U based on the information about the operation history of the user U acquired in step S11.

[0099] In step S13, the management device 10 determines, based on the business status of the user U estimated in step S12, whether to change the status of the user U in the application that is being executed in association with the user U, i.e., the chat application. Then, the flow ends.

[0100] 9A is a flowchart showing a first specific operation example of the status change determination system according to the present embodiment. The flow shown in FIG. 9A starts when the status of a user U in a chat app is set to “ready to talk.”

[0101] In step S21, the terminal device 20 resets the timer.

[0102] In step S22, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the user U has performed an operation to transition the chat application to background execution.

[0103] If the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S22; YES), the flow proceeds to step S24. At this time, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution, and transmits the information to the management device 10.

[0104] On the other hand, if the user U has not performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S22; NO), in step S23, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has performed a chat app operation other than the above operation.

[0105] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S23; YES), the flow returns to step S21. At this time, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines not to change the status of the user U in the chat app.

[0106] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S23; NO), the flow proceeds to step S24.

[0107] In step S24, the terminal device 20 sets a timer to a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes).

[0108] In step S25, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has operated the chat application.

[0109] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S25; YES), the flow returns to step S21. At this time, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines not to change the status of the user U in the chat app.

[0110] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S25; NO), the flow proceeds to step S26.

[0111] In step S26, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call.

[0112] If the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call (step S26; YES), in step S27, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call, and transmits the information to the management device 10. The management device 10 then determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app based on the received information about the operation, and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "busy." Then, the flow ends.

[0113] On the other hand, if the user U has not performed an operation to receive or make a call (step S26; NO), the flow proceeds to step S28.

[0114] In step S28, the terminal device 20 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer set in step S24 expired.

[0115] If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S28; NO), the flow returns to step S25.

[0116] On the other hand, if the predetermined time has passed (step S28; YES), in step S29, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the predetermined time has passed without the user U operating the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. The management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app based on the received information about the operation, and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "Ready to talk." Then, the flow ends.

[0117] Although not shown in the flowchart, if user U operates another application unrelated to work during this flow, terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that user U has operated the application, and transmits the information to management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, management device 10 determines not to change user U's status in the chat application. Then, the flow returns to step S21.

[0118] Also, although not described in the flowchart, if during this flow the management device 10 detects that data communication is not possible due to the terminal device 20 being out of range, communication being stopped, restrictions, etc., the management device 10 decides to delete user U from the user list and deletes user U from the user list.

[0119] 9B is a flowchart showing a second specific operation example of the status change determination system according to the present embodiment. The flow shown in FIG. 9B starts when the status of user U in the chat app is set to “Ready to Talk.”

[0120] In step S31, the terminal device 20 resets the timer.

[0121] In step S32, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the user U has performed an operation to transition the chat application to background execution.

[0122] If the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S32; YES), the flow proceeds to step S34. At this time, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution, and transmits the information to the management device 10.

[0123] On the other hand, if the user U has not performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S32; NO), in step S33, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has performed a chat app operation other than the above operation.

[0124] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S33; YES), in step S36, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "OK to talk." Then, the flow ends.

[0125] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S33; NO), the flow proceeds to step S34.

[0126] In step S34, the terminal device 20 sets a timer to a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes).

[0127] In step S35, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has operated the chat application.

[0128] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S35; YES), in step S36, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "OK to talk." Then, the flow ends.

[0129] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S35; NO), the flow proceeds to step S37.

[0130] In step S37, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call.

[0131] If the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call (step S37; YES), in step S38, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has performed an operation to receive or make a call, and transmits the information to the management device 10. The management device 10 then determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app based on the received information about the operation, and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "busy." Then, the flow ends.

[0132] On the other hand, if the user U has not performed an operation to receive or make a call (step S37; NO), the flow proceeds to step S39.

[0133] In step S39, the terminal device 20 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer set in step S34 expired.

[0134] If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S39; NO), the flow returns to step S35.

[0135] On the other hand, if the predetermined time has passed (step S39; YES), in step S40, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the predetermined time has passed without the user U operating the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. The management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app based on the received information about the operation, and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "busy." Then, the flow ends.

[0136] Although not shown in the flowchart, if user U operates another application unrelated to work during this flow, terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that user U has operated the application, and transmits the information to management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, management device 10 determines not to change user U's status in the chat application. Then, the flow returns to step S31.

[0137] Also, although not described in the flowchart, if during this flow the management device 10 detects that data communication is not possible due to the terminal device 20 being out of range, communication being stopped, restrictions, etc., the management device 10 decides to delete user U from the user list and deletes user U from the user list.

[0138] 9C is a flowchart showing a more specific third operation example of the status change necessity determination system according to the present embodiment. The flow shown in FIG. 9C starts when the status of user U in the chat app is set to “busy.”

[0139] In step S41, the terminal device 20 resets the timer.

[0140] In step S42, the terminal device 20 determines whether or not the user U has performed an operation to transition the chat application to background execution.

[0141] If the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S42; YES), the flow proceeds to step S44. At this time, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has performed an operation to transition to background execution, and transmits the information to the management device 10.

[0142] On the other hand, if the user U has not performed an operation to transition to background execution (step S42; NO), in step S43, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has performed a chat app operation other than the above operation.

[0143] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S43; YES), in step S46, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "OK to talk." Then, the flow ends.

[0144] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S43; NO), the flow proceeds to step S44.

[0145] In step S44, the terminal device 20 sets a timer to a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes).

[0146] In step S45, the terminal device 20 determines whether the user U has operated the chat application.

[0147] If the user U has operated the chat app (step S45; YES), in step S46, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the user U has operated the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, the management device 10 determines to change the status of the user U in the chat app and changes the status of the user U in the chat app to "OK to talk." Then, the flow ends.

[0148] On the other hand, if the user U has not operated the chat application (step S45; NO), the flow proceeds to step S47.

[0149] In step S47, the terminal device 20 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer set in step S44 expired.

[0150] If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S47; NO), the flow returns to step S45.

[0151] On the other hand, if the predetermined time has elapsed (step S47; YES), in step S48, the terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that the predetermined time has elapsed without the user U operating the chat app, and transmits the information to the management device 10. The management device 10 then determines to delete the user U from the user list based on the received information about the operation, and deletes the user U from the user list. The flow then ends.

[0152] Although not shown in the flowchart, if user U operates another application unrelated to work during this flow, terminal device 20 generates information about the operation, including information indicating that user U has operated the application, and transmits the information to management device 10. Based on the received information about the operation, management device 10 determines not to change user U's status in the chat application. Then, the flow returns to step S41.

[0153] Also, although not described in the flowchart, if during this flow the management device 10 detects that data communication is not possible due to the terminal device 20 being out of range, communication being stopped, restrictions, etc., the management device 10 decides to delete user U from the user list and deletes user U from the user list.

[0154] <Effects of the embodiment> As described above, the management device 10 according to the present embodiment acquires information about the operation history of the user U. The management device 10 estimates the work status of the user U based on the acquired information about the operation history. Then, based on the estimated work status of the user U, the management device 10 determines whether to change the status of the user U in the chat app that is running in association with the user U. This makes it possible to improve a situation in which the actual status of the user U does not match the status of the user U in the chat.

[0155] <Modification of the embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which, when the relevance information indicates that another application operated by the user U is not related to work, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that the work status of the user U will remain the same as the previous work status. Alternatively, when the relevance information indicates that another application operated by the user U is not related to work, the estimation unit 102 may estimate that the user U is not performing work. Therefore, in this case, the determination unit 103 may determine not to change the status when the previous status of the user U in the chat app is "Ready to talk," and may determine to change the status to "Ready to talk" when the previous status is "Ready to talk" or "Busy."

[0156] Some or all of the functions described in the above-described embodiments may be executed by another device or another device not shown in the drawings. For example, the terminal device 20 may include functional units corresponding to the acquisition unit 101, the estimation unit 102, the determination unit 103, the user information storage unit 151, the application-business relevance information storage unit 152, the operation-related information storage unit 153, etc. Then, the terminal device 20 may transmit information indicating the changed status to the management device 10, and the management device 10 may transmit information indicating the changed status to the terminal device 20.

[0157] The functional units described and illustrated in the above embodiments may be divided into multiple functional units, or two or more functional units may be integrated into one functional unit. Furthermore, the names of the functional units are merely examples and may be changed as appropriate.

[0158] The steps in the flowcharts described and illustrated in the above embodiments may be executed in a different order or in parallel, as appropriate.

[0159] Summary of Embodiment An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires information related to a user's operation history, an estimation unit that estimates a work status of the user based on the information related to the operation history, and a decision unit that determines whether to change the status of the user in an application that is executed in association with the user based on the estimated work status.

[0160] This allows a decision to be made as to whether or not to change the user's status based on the user's work status estimated based on information about the operation history, thereby improving the situation where the user's actual status does not match the user's status in the application.

[0161] In one example, the information about the operation history includes information about foreground or background execution of the application.

[0162] This makes it possible to estimate the user's work status using information about foreground execution in which an application may be operated, or information about background execution in which an application is not being operated.

[0163] In one example, the information about the operation history includes information about the operation history of an application different from the application.

[0164] This makes it possible to estimate the user's work status using information about the operation of other work-related applications such as a telephone application.

[0165] In one example, the estimation unit estimates the business status using association information indicating an association between the other application and the business.

[0166] This allows the user's work status to be estimated based on whether the user has operated an application related to or unrelated to the work, by referring to the relevance information.

[0167] In one example, if the relevance information indicates that the other application is not work-related, the decision unit decides not to change the user's status.

[0168] This allows the user's status to be maintained unchanged (for example, available for calls ("talk OK")) when the user is operating an application that is not related to work.

[0169] A method for determining whether a status change is necessary according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an information processing device acquiring information regarding a user's operation history, estimating the user's work status based on the information regarding the operation history, and determining whether to change the user's status in an application associated with the user and running based on the estimated work status.

[0170] This allows a decision to be made as to whether or not to change the user's status based on the user's work status estimated based on information about the operation history, thereby improving the situation where the user's actual status does not match the user's status in the application.

[0171] <Others> In the above-described embodiment, ROM and RAM are given as examples of storage device 11 and storage device 21, but other suitable storage media may also be used, such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks (e.g., compact disks, digital versatile disks, Blu-ray (registered trademark) disks), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives), CD-ROMs (Compact Disc-ROMs), registers, removable disks, hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic strips, databases, servers, and other suitable storage media.

[0172] In the above-described embodiments, the described information, signals, etc. may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0173] In the above-described embodiment, input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, a memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0174] In the above-described embodiment, the determination may be made by a value (0 or 1) represented using one bit, by a Boolean value (true or false), or by a comparison of a numerical value (e.g., a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0175] The order of the process procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. illustrated in the above-described embodiments may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0176] Each function illustrated in the above-described embodiments is realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) and these multiple devices. A functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.

[0177] The programs exemplified in the above-described embodiments should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., regardless of whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by other names.

[0178] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0179] In each of the foregoing embodiments, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0180] The information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information.

[0181] In the above-described embodiments, the management device 10 and the terminal device 20 may be mobile stations (MS). A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term. In the present disclosure, terms such as "mobile station," "user terminal," "user equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0182] In the above-described embodiments, the terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be a physical coupling or connection, a logical coupling or connection, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0183] In the above-described embodiments, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0184] The terms "determining" and "determining" as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining something that is considered a "determination," and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0185] In the above embodiments, when the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or," as used in this disclosure, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0186] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0187] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0188] The aspects / embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0189] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0190] 1 Status change necessity determination system 10 Management device 11 Storage device 12 Processing device 13 User interface (UI) device 14 Communication device 101 Acquisition unit 102 Estimation unit 103 Determination unit 151 User information storage unit 152 Application-business relevance information storage unit 153 Operation-related information storage unit 20, 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-K, ..., 20-N Terminal device 21 Storage device 22 Processing device 23 User interface (UI) device 24 Communication device 201 Determination unit 202 Report unit 203 Acquisition unit 204 Display control unit 251 Timer storage unit 252 Display unit

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a user's operation history; an estimation unit that estimates the user's work status based on the information regarding the operation history; and a decision unit that decides whether to change the user's status in an application that is being executed and associated with the user based on the estimated work status.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the operation history includes information relating to foreground or background execution of the application.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the information about the operation history includes information about the operation history of an application other than the application.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein the estimation unit estimates the business status using association information indicating an association between the other application and the business.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein when the relevance information indicates that the other application is not related to the business, the decision unit decides not to change the user's status.

6. A method for determining whether or not to change a status, in which an information processing device acquires information about a user's operation history, estimates the user's work status based on the information about the operation history, and determines whether or not to change the user's status in an application that is being executed in association with the user based on the estimated work status.

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