CN104518956B - Instant message sends and receives system, terminal device and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

A terminal device includes: a message generating unit configured to generate an instant message according to a user command; and a communication unit configured to send the instant message to other terminal devices. The header of the instant message includes a field inserted with display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on the display screen.

Description

Instant message sending and receiving system, terminal device and control method thereof

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The applicant claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0118356 filed on October 4, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

technical field

The present disclosure relates to a terminal device enabling instant message transmission/reception between users and a method of controlling the same.

Background technique

In accordance with recent developments in electronic technology and communication networks, various devices and methods have been developed for communicating between users. Thus, in addition to wired telephony, users are able to communicate with each other via email, wireless telephony, instant messaging, Internet chat, and video calling.

Regarding the above communication methods, email services are limited in real-time communication due to the inherent uncertainty as to when or even whether a recipient will view his/her mail. Additionally, phone or video calls may be limited in time and place, for example, there may be restrictions on calling late at night or getting in touch with someone in the office. Internet chat is only available when chat participants visit the chat website. However, communication through the instant messaging service allows users to send/receive messages and communicate freely without time and place restrictions.

"Instant messaging service" means a service that enables real-time messaging/reception. When a sender sends an instant message, the message is instantly received by the recipient viewing the message, enabling real-time communication similar to an internet chat or a phone call. Furthermore, instant messaging services enable real-time transmission of data such as music, videos and photos. Due to this advantage, instant messaging services are being used more and more and are becoming more common than ever.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a terminal device includes: a message generating unit configured to generate an instant message according to a user command; and a communication unit configured to send the instant message to other terminal devices, wherein the header of the generated instant message includes field in which display identification information is inserted, the display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on the display screen.

Here, when the user inputs a cancel command for a previously sent instant message, the message generation unit may insert message cancellation information into the field.

In addition, the instant message may also include header information but not the content of the instant message.

Also, when the user inputs a restore command for the instant message to which the cancellation command has been input, the message generation unit may insert message display information into the field.

The terminal device may further include a storage unit including a non-transitory storage device configured to map the content of the instant message to the display identification information to store the content of the instant message and the display identification information.

Here, when the user inputs a cancellation command for a previously sent instant message, the storage unit may update the display identification information on the instant message to which the cancellation command is input with message cancellation information.

In addition, when the user inputs a resume command with respect to the instant message to which the cancel command was previously input, the storage unit may update the display identification information on the instant message to which the resume command is input with the message display information.

The terminal device may further include: a display unit configured to display the content of the stored instant message on the display screen according to the stored display identification information.

The storage unit may be configured to map the content of the instant message, the display identification information and the control authorization for the instant message to each other, so as to store the content of the instant message, the display identification information and the control authorization.

The terminal device further includes: a control unit configured to restrict the input of a cancel command or a restore command for the instant message according to the control authorization for the instant message.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling a terminal device includes: generating an instant message having a header including display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on a display screen; The terminal device sends the instant message.

The method may further include: displaying the content of the instant message on the display screen according to the display identification information; and deleting the displayed content of the instant message from the display screen when a cancel command for the instant message is input.

The method may further include displaying the content of the deleted instant message when a restore command for the instant message to which the cancellation command was previously entered has been input.

The method may further include: displaying the content of the instant message on the display screen according to the display identification information; when a cancellation command for the instant message is input, deleting the content of the instant message from the display screen, and displaying a request for cancellation of the instant message. an object indicated by the instant message; and deleting the object from the display screen when receiving response information indicating message cancellation from other terminal devices.

The method may further include: displaying the content of the instant message on the display screen according to the display identification information; and when a cancel command for the instant message is input, deleting the content of the instant message from the display screen, and displaying the canceled message. The object to which the instant message is indicated.

The method may further include: when at least one event occurs, restricting the input of the cancel command for the instant message, wherein the at least one event includes: a preset time elapses after the instant message is sent, and the user is in another terminal device. The preset time has elapsed after the users of % view the instant message.

The method may further include: displaying the instant message on the display screen according to the display identification information; and continuously changing at least one of the shape, color and transparency of the instant message displayed on the display screen until at least one of the plurality of events occurs. One, wherein the multiple events include: a preset time elapses after an instant message is sent, and a preset time elapses after users of other terminal devices view the instant message.

The method may further include: receiving an instant message having a header from other terminal devices, displaying that identification information is inserted in the header; and displaying the content of the instant message on a display screen according to the displaying identification information.

The method may further include: when a cancellation message for the received instant message is received from other terminal devices, deleting/removing the content of the instant message from the display screen.

The method may further include: when a recovery message for an instant message is input from another terminal device, wherein a cancellation message for the instant message has been received, displaying the content of the deleted instant message on the display screen.

The method may further include displaying an object indicating that the instant message has been canceled when a cancellation message for the received instant message is received from other terminal devices.

The method may further include: when receiving instant messages from other terminal devices, restricting input of user commands for at least one of copying, modifying, forwarding and deleting received instant messages until multiple events occur At least one of , wherein the multiple events include: a preset time elapses after an instant message is sent from another terminal device, and a preset time elapses after a user views the instant message.

The method may further include: continuously changing the display of at least one of the shape, color and transparency of the instant message displayed on the display screen until at least one event occurs, wherein the at least one event includes: A preset time elapses after an instant message is sent, and a preset time elapses after a user views the instant message.

The method may further include: receiving an instant message having a header from other terminal equipment, wherein display identification information is inserted into the header; and mapping the content of the received instant message to the display identification information phase to store the received instant message and the display identification information; and according to the stored display identification information, displaying the content of the stored instant message on the display screen.

The method may further include: when a cancellation message or a resume message for the received instant message is received from other terminal devices, updating the stored display identification with the display identification information inserted into the header of the cancellation message or the resume message. information.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an instant message sending/receiving system includes: a first terminal device configured to generate an instant message and send the instant message to a second terminal device, the instant message having a display identifier information header, the display identification information indicates to the second terminal device whether to display the instant message on the display screen; and the second terminal device is configured to receive the instant message from the first terminal device, according to the display identification The message displays the content of the instant message on a display screen.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit any aspect of the appended claims to the description shown herein, wherein the drawings include:

1 is a schematic diagram of an instant message sending/receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a specific method for controlling an instant message sending/receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram showing a specific structure of an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 6(a) and 6(b) are separate figures, in which the "Display ID" column 620 of Figure 6(a) shows information stored by a storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6(b) shows The updated display identification information is displayed.

7 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen for displaying an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a diagram illustrating a specific pop-up menu for receiving user commands for instant messages, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen in which instant messaging is canceled according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen with an instant message cancelled according to another embodiment of the present invention;

11(a) and 11(b) are diagrams illustrating specific display screens in the process of canceling an instant message according to another embodiment of the present invention;

12 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen for resuming an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention;

13 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen for resuming an instant message according to another embodiment of the present invention;

14 is a diagram illustrating information stored in a storage unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

15 is a diagram illustrating a specific display screen for displaying control authorization according to an embodiment of the present invention;

16 is a flowchart illustrating a specific method for controlling a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

17 is a flowchart illustrating a specific method for controlling a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of an instant message sending/receiving system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

19 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that any specific configurations or flow diagrams provided herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit the appended claims to the description shown and described.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an instant message sending/receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an instant message sending/receiving system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 connected to each other through a communication network. The plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 may be implemented as devices capable of sending instant messages over a communication network via wireless (or even wired) communication, eg, TVs, cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, laptop computers, desktop computers and tablet PCs. FIG. 1 shows a case where the first terminal device 100-1 is implemented as a smartphone and the second terminal device 100-2 is implemented as a TV.

The communication network means a wired/wireless Internet communication network that uses Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to connect networks around the world, and can include a mobile communication network 1010 for sending voice, images and data via mobile phones, including But by no means limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) scheme, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) scheme, Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication scheme, or Long Term Evolution (LTE) scheme.

The plurality of terminal devices 100-1, 100-2 can send/receive instant messages between each other through the communication network 1010, and can display the content of the instant messages on the display screen. The content of an instant message can include files in a variety of formats, such as images, videos, music and documents, and simple text. Files that are difficult to display directly on the display screen, such as videos, music or documents, can be displayed as links. For example, the display may also be image frames from a video.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 , the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 may display the content of the instant message according to the display identification information included in the header of the instant message. The display identification information indicates whether to display the instant message on the display screen, and may include message cancellation information and message display information. The disappearance cancellation message prevents instant messages from being displayed on the display screen, and the message display message allows instant messages to be displayed on the display screen.

The display of the sent instant messages can be canceled or restored according to a user command of the terminal device on the sending side of the sent instant message among the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2. When the user of the terminal device on the sending side inputs a command for canceling the display of the instant message, the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 may not delete the instant message itself, but may only hide the instant message from the display screen, so that the instant message is not deleted. The instant message is displayed. When the user of the terminal device on the sending side inputs a command for restoring the instant message, the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 may display the instant message on the display screen.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling an instant message sending/receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Each of the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2 in FIG. 2 can transmit and receive instant messages. However, for the sake of convenience, this description assumes that the first terminal device 100-1 is the transmission-side terminal device and the second terminal device 100-2 is the reception-side terminal device.

2, when the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1 receives the content of the instant message from the user (operation S201), the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1 displays the content of the instant message on the display screen (operation S202). Also, an instant message including the content is generated (operation S203). Thereafter, the instant message is sent to the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 (operation S204). Here, the header of the instant message may include display identification information. Although the transmission is shown as a peer to peer fashion between devices 100-1 and 100-2, skilled artisans will recognize that operation 204 and other transmission operations may be performed over a communications network.

When receiving the instant message from the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1, the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 identifies the display identification information included in the header of the instant message (operation S205). When the display identification information is the message display information, the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 displays the content of the instant message on the display screen (operation S206).

Here, for example, the user of the terminal device 100-1 on the transmission side may want to cancel the transmitted instant message due to mistakenly specifying the recipient. When the user cancels the sent instant message, the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1 receives a command for canceling the instant message from the user (operation S207). When receiving the cancellation command from the user, the transmission-side terminal device 100-1 deletes the display of the content of the instant message requesting cancellation from the display screen (operation S208). Next, a cancellation message of the instant message requesting cancellation is generated (operation S209), and the cancellation message is transmitted to the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 (operation S210). Here, the cancellation message has a header including message cancellation information, and the cancellation message may include only the header without including the content of the instant message. Skilled artisans will understand and appreciate that although the example uses a header, message cancellation information may also be located in other parts of the message, eg, a trailer.

When receiving the cancellation message from the transmission-side terminal device 100-1, the reception-side terminal device 100-2 recognizes the display identification information included in the header of the cancellation message (operation S211). Since the header of the cancellation message includes message cancellation information, the reception-side terminal device 100-2 deletes the content of the instant message requesting cancellation from the display screen (operation S212).

When the user of the transmission-side terminal device 100-1 resumes the canceled message, the transmission-side terminal device 100-1 receives a command for resuming the instant message from the user (operation S213). When receiving the resume command from the user, the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1 acquires the original message from the storage device, and displays the content of the instant message for which the resume is requested on the display screen (operation S214). Next, a recovery message of the instant message requesting recovery is generated (operation S215), and transmitted to the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 (operation S216). Here, the recovery message is a message whose header includes message display information, and the recovery message may include only the header without including the content of the instant message.

When receiving the resume message from the transmitting-side terminal device 100-1, the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 identifies the display identification information included in the header of the resume message (operation S217). Since the header of the resume message includes the message display information, the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 displays the content of the instant message requesting resume again on the display screen (operation S218).

Although it is described with reference to FIG. 2 that when the content of an instant message and a user command (eg, a cancel command or a resume command) are input, the content of the instant message is displayed on the display screen or the content of the instant message is deleted from the display screen After the content is displayed, the instant message is sent to other terminal devices. However, after the instant message is sent to other terminal devices, the content of the instant message may be displayed or deleted on the display screen.

The above-mentioned instant message sending/receiving system according to the embodiment of the present invention can cancel the instant message that has been sent to the terminal device on the receiving side. Furthermore, the user can obtain a net result as if the instant message was deleted by merely changing the indication of whether to display the instant message on the display screen without deleting the instant message itself. Also, since the instant message itself is not actually deleted, canceled instant messages can be recovered.

However, when the sender of the instant message cancels the message sent to the receiving-side terminal device 100-2 without any restriction, a problem of information protection for the receiver may arise. Therefore, when a preset event occurs after an instant message is sent, the sender's authorization to cancel and restore the instant message can be restricted. Additionally, when the sender has authority to cancel and restore instant messages, the recipient may be restricted from at least one of multiple authorizations to copy, modify, forward, and delete instant messages.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , the terminal device 100 includes a message generating unit 110 and a communication unit 120 . Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that the items shown in FIG. 3 include electrical circuits (eg, processors, microprocessors, or controllers configured to operate) and thus include statutory subject matter.

The message generating unit 110 generates an instant message according to a user command. Specifically, when the user inputs the content of the instant message, the message generating unit 110 generates the instant message including the content. The message generating unit 110 may generate an instant message in the form of a transmission packet so as to transmit the instant message through the communication network. The message generating unit 110 performs appropriate signal processing according to the content of the instant message, and packetizes the instant message, thereby generating the instant message in the form of transmission packets.

The transport packet-type instant message generated in the message generating unit 110 may be divided into at least a payload area including the content of the instant message and a header area including other information. Display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on the display screen may be inserted into the header of the instant message. The display identification information may include message cancellation information and message display information. The message cancellation information prevents the instant message from being displayed on the display screen, and the message display information allows the instant message to be displayed on the display screen. The structure of the instant message will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , the instant message may be divided into a header area 410 and a payload area 420 . The header 410 of the instant message includes various information for efficiently transmitting the data included in the payload area 420 . Specifically, the header 410 may include: a display identification field 411 into which display identification information indicating whether to display an instant message is inserted; and a message identification field 412 into which message identification information for identifying each instant message is inserted.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4 , the display identification field 411 may include message display information or message cancellation information as the display identification information. Since the instant message is generated in order to immediately transmit the contents of the message to users of other terminal devices, the display identification field 411 of the header of the initial generated and transmitted instant message may include message display information. Here, there may be a changeable default setting regarding whether to insert message display information or message cancellation information into a message that is initially generated and transmitted, wherein the default setting may be changed according to user settings.

Message identification field 412 may include message identification information. The message identification information represents unique identification information for distinguishing each instant message. The message identification information includes information used to designate a message sender and a message recipient through a mobile phone number, user account or terminal identifier, and information used to identify instant messages sent/received between the designated message sender and recipient. Information such as timestamp and message sending time.

When receiving a command for canceling or restoring an instant message from a user, the message generating unit 110 generates a corresponding canceling or restoring message for the instant message. The message cancellation information may be inserted into the header of the cancellation message as the display identification information, and the message display information may be inserted into the header of the recovery message as the display identification information.

The cancel message or the resume message is a message for changing the indication of whether to display the instant message in other terminal devices, and thus does not need to include the content of the instant message. Thus, each cancel message and resume message may include only the header, and not the content of the instant message (ie, the payload area). In other words, each cancel message and resume message may include only the header area 410 of FIG. 4 . Therefore, the transmission load that may occur during the sending of cancel and resume messages can be minimized.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , in addition to the message generating unit 110 and the communication unit 120 shown in FIG. Since the repeating elements of FIGS. 3 and 5 have the same operation, repeated descriptions of the repeating elements will not be repeated.

The communication unit 120 transmits the instant message generated in the message generating unit 10 to other devices. The communication unit 120 may send the instant message in a suitable manner according to the type of the communication network. The communication unit 120 may transmit the cancel message or the resume message generated in the message generation unit 110 to other terminal devices. Also, the communication unit 120 may receive instant messages, cancel messages, or resume messages from other terminal devices.

When an instant message is received from other terminal devices through the communication unit 120, the message processing unit 130 performs signal processing of the received instant message in order to output the content of the instant message. The message processing unit 130 may output the display identification information and the message identification information included in the header of the received instant message. Also, when receiving a cancel message or a resume message from other terminal devices, the message processing unit 130 may perform signal processing on the cancel message or resume message to output display identification information and message identification information.

The storage unit 140, which is a non-transitory memory, may be configured to map the content included in the sent/received instant message to the display identification information in order to store the content and the display identification information. Specifically, when the content of the instant message is input through the input unit 160, the storage unit 140 can be controlled to map the content of the instant message to the display identification information on the instant message, so as to store the content and the display identification information. In addition, the storage unit 140 can be controlled to map the content contained in the instant message received from other terminal devices to the display identification information on the instant message, so as to store the content and the display identification information. In addition, the storage unit 140 may be controlled to store and map the message identification information together with the content and display identification information of the instant message.

When a cancel command or a restore command for the stored instant message is entered through the input unit 160, the storage unit 140 may update the display identification information on the stored instant message with message cancellation information or message display information. In addition, when a cancellation message or a resume message is received from other terminal devices, the storage unit 140 may update the display identification information on the instant message with the message cancellation information or the message display information inserted into the header of the cancel message or resume message.

6(a) and 6(b) are diagrams illustrating information stored in a storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 6( a ), the storage unit 140 may map the content 610 of the instant message, the display identification information 620 and the message identification information 630 to each other, so as to store the instant message in the form of a mapping table. As shown in FIG. 6(a), the display identification information 620 may be stored as 'Yes' or 'No', where 'Yes' represents message display information and 'No' represents message cancellation information. The message identification information 630 may have a form for specifying the recipient, sender, and message, such as 'samsung_bkl_001'.

FIG. 6(b) shows a case where the display identification information 621 is updated in the mapping table. Referring to Fig. 6(b), it should be understood that when the user's cancel command is to be input, the display identification information 621 on the second message "How are you?" stored in the mapping table is updated from 'Yes' to 'No' '. Here, the message identification information 630 may be used to specify an instant message to be updated to display the identification information 620 . For example, when the user inputs a cancel command for the second instant message, the cancel command may include message identification information on the second instant message. The control unit 170 may compare the message identification information on the second instant message with the message identification information stored in the mapping table, so as to specify the second instant message.

Referring to FIG. 5 again, the display unit 150 displays the content of the instant message on the display screen. Specifically, the display unit 150 may display the content of the instant message according to the display identification information included in the header of the instant message. For example, when the displayed identification information is message display information, the instant message may be displayed, and when the displayed identification information is message cancellation information, the instant message may not be displayed.

When a cancel command for an instant message is input through the input unit 160 or a cancel message is received from other terminal devices through the communication unit 120, the display unit 150 may control the display screen so that the output of the content of the instant message is deleted from the display screen. Also, when a cancel command for an instant message is input through the input unit 160 or a cancel message is received from other terminal devices through the communication unit 120, the display unit 150 may display an object indicating the canceled instant message.

When a cancel command for an instant message is input through the input unit 160, the display unit 150 may display an object indicating a request to cancel the instant message, which may be graphic, text, or the like, on the display screen. Thereafter, when a cancellation message is sent to other terminal devices and a response message indicating message cancellation is received from other terminal devices, the object may be deleted from the display screen and/or the cancellation of the instant message may be displayed on the display screen the indicated object.

Also, when a restore command for the canceled message is input through the input unit 160 or a restore message for the canceled message is received from other terminal devices through the communication unit 120, the display unit 150 may display the deleted message again on the display screen .

The display unit 150 may display the content of the instant message on the display screen according to the display identification information stored in the storage unit 140 . When the display identification information stored in the storage unit 140 is updated, the content of the instant message may be deleted or displayed according to the updated information.

The process of displaying, canceling and resuming instant messages on the display screen will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 and 13 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for displaying an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When an instant message is sent/received between two terminal devices, the message may be displayed on the display screen as shown in FIG. 7 . As described above, the sent/received instant messages can be displayed on the display screen according to the display identification information on the messages. Referring now to FIG. 7 , a plurality of sent messages and a plurality of received messages are displayed on display screens 710 and 720 in the form of text bubbles. The left display screen 710 represents the display screen of the first terminal device among the two terminal devices that send/receive instant messages to each other, and the right display screen 720 represents the display screen of the second terminal device. As understood by those skilled in the art, the names of the terminals (first, second) may be reversed from what is shown and described. The sent message on the display screen 710 of the first terminal device corresponds to the received message on the display screen 720 of the second terminal device, and the received message on the display screen 710 of the first terminal device corresponds to The sent message on the display screen 720 of the second terminal device. The content of an instant message can be displayed in a text bubble. Sent and received messages may be aligned down or up on display screens 710 and 720 according to the time of transmission. Sent messages may be displayed on the right side of the display screens 710 and 720, received messages may be displayed on the left side of the display screens 710 and 720, or vice versa.

The user of the terminal device 100 may display, on such a display screen as shown in FIG. 7 , a pop-up menu for inputting a user command for a specific instant message, for example. A case where the user of the first device inputs a user command for displaying a popup menu with respect to the transmitted message 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 .

8 is a diagram illustrating a pop-up menu for receiving a user command for an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, on a plurality of messages displayed on the display screen 810 of the first terminal device, a pop-up menu 820 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 8, pop-up menu 820 provides options for a particular message, such as cancel, delete, copy, and forward. When a user command for displaying the popup menu 820 is input, the popup menu 820 may be popped up to be displayed on one or more of the plurality of messages displayed on the display screen. Pop-up menu 820 may include a tail indicating a particular instant message in order to distinguish the instant messages for which pop-up menu 820 is displayed. Referring now to FIG. 8, a trailer 830 is shown indicating a second message 840 sent. When the user selects the 'Cancel' option 850 on the pop-up menu 820, a cancel command for the second sent message may be entered. The case where the user selects the 'Cancel' option 850 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 .

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for canceling an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , a plurality of sent messages and a plurality of received messages are displayed on display screens 910 and 920 in the form of text bubbles. Compared to the display screen of FIG. 7 , the second sent message is deleted from the display screen 910 of the first terminal device and the second received message is deleted from the display screen 920 of the second terminal device.

When the user of the first terminal device inputs a cancel command for the second sent message, the first terminal device may generate a cancel message for the second sent message in order to send the cancel message to the second terminal device, and The second sent message can be deleted from the display screen 910 . When receiving a cancellation message for the second received message from the first terminal device, the second terminal device may delete the second received message from the display screen 920 . Therefore, the message can be deleted not only from the display screen of the first terminal device but also from the display screen of the second terminal device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for canceling an instant message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 10 , a plurality of sent messages and a plurality of received messages are displayed in the form of text bubbles on the display screens 1010 and 1020 of the respective first and second terminal devices. For example, compared to the display screen of FIG. 7, the second message sent on the display screen 1010 of the first terminal device and the second received message on the display screen 1020 of the second terminal device are respectively Changed to objects 1030 and 1040, which indicate that these messages are canceled messages.

When the user of the first terminal device inputs a cancel command for the second sent message, the first terminal device may generate a cancel message for the second sent message in order to send the cancel message to the second terminal device, and An object 1030 indicating that the second message of the first terminal has been cancelled may be displayed on the display screen 1010 . When a cancellation message for the second received message is received from the first terminal device, the second terminal device may display an object 1040 indicating that the second received message for the second terminal has been cancelled.

The objects 1030 and 1040 indicating the cancellation message may be displayed in various forms. For example, an object may be represented as text indicating cancellation of a message, eg, 'message cancelled' or 'cancellation'. Alternatively, the object may be represented using a specific figure or character. In addition, the transparency or background color of the object indicating the cancellation of the message can be changed, or a specific pattern can be inserted in the object, in other words, some type of visual change, so that the user notices the cancellation or reinstatement of a message or messages .

11(a) and 11(b) are diagrams illustrating a sequence of display screens for canceling an instant message according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 11a, object 1130 indicates that cancellation of the second sent message from the first terminal device is being requested, the cancellation request being displayed on the display screen 1110 of the first terminal device. When the user of the first terminal device inputs a cancellation request for the second sent message, an object indicating that the cancellation of the second sent message is being requested may be displayed as shown in FIG. 11( a ).

When a cancel command for the second sent message is input, the first terminal device may generate a cancel message for the second sent message in order to send the cancel message to the second terminal device. When receiving the cancellation message, the second terminal device may delete the second received message from the display screen as shown in Fig. 11(b) (wherein, "received 2" is no longer shown), or may delete the second received message as shown in Fig. 11(b) As shown at 10, an object indicating that the second received message has been cancelled is displayed. Furthermore, the second terminal device may send response information to the first terminal device indicating that the second received message has been cancelled. When receiving the response information from the second terminal device indicating that the second sent message has been cancelled, the first terminal device may delete the second sent message from the display screen 1140 as shown in FIG. 11(b) The display of the message, or an object indicating that the second sent message has been cancelled, may be displayed as previously shown in FIG. 10 .

Object 1130 indicating that cancellation of the instant message is being requested may be displayed in a variety of ways in addition to those shown and described herein. For example, an object may be represented as text indicating a cancelling message, eg, 'Cancellation is being requested' or 'Cancellation is in progress'. Alternatively, specific graphics or characters may be used to represent the objects. In addition, the transparency or background color of the object 1130 indicating that the cancellation request message is being requested may be changed, or a specific pattern may be inserted in the object. Other types of visual indicators may be displayed to indicate a request to cancel the instant message.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for resuming an instant message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12 , a plurality of canceled messages are displayed on the display screen 1210 . When a user cancels an instant message, the canceled message may be stored in a "storage box" of canceled messages as shown in FIG. 12 . In other words, the storage unit 140 may separately store information on the cancelled message. Cancelled messages can be arranged for display according to cancellation time or message delivery time.

A resume menu 1220 for resuming the message may be provided for each canceled message, eg, as shown in FIG. 12 . The user can use the restore menu to enter a restore command for a specific message. For example, when the user selects the resume menu for the second canceled message, the terminal device 100 may display the second canceled message again on the display screen, and may generate the resume message for the second canceled message to notify other The terminal device sends the recovery message. Skilled artisans will appreciate that the display of Figure 12 is not the only way in which a cancelled message recovery sheet can be configured. Also, there may not be a "Resume" button 1220, and a popup or prompt asking the user can be triggered simply by touching or tapping the "Canceled 1" or "Canceled 2" message for a predetermined period of time Whether you want to restore canceled messages.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for resuming an instant message according to another embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 13 shows a case where an object indicating that the message has been canceled is displayed on the display screen as shown in FIG. 10 . Referring now to FIG. 13, on the left side of the object 1320 on the display screen indicating that the message has been canceled, a restore menu 1330 for restoring the canceled message is displayed. According to an embodiment, when an instant message is canceled, the resume menu 1330 may be automatically displayed on the side of the object indicating that the message has been canceled, or the user may enter a user command for the object in order to generate the resume menu. The user can use the resume menu 1330 to enter a resume command for a particular message. For example, when the user selects the resume menu 1330, the terminal device 100 may display the canceled message again on the display screen, as shown in the display screen 710 of the first terminal in FIG. 7, and may generate a resume message for the canceled message, In order to send the recovery message to other terminal devices.

Referring to FIG. 5 again, the input unit 160 receives a user command for controlling the terminal device 100 from the user. Specifically, the input unit 160 may receive the content of the instant message from the user. The content of instant messages can include files in a variety of formats, such as images, videos, music, and documents, as well as simple text. Also, the input unit 160 may receive a cancel command or a resume command for the instant message from the user.

To this end, the input unit 160 may be implemented as at least one of the following: a touch screen or a touch panel operated by a touch input from a user; a keypad or a keyboard provided with various function keys, numeric keys, special keys and character keys; a remote control a mouse; a motion recognition sensor for recognizing user movements; and a speech recognition sensor for recognizing user speech. Voice activation is also another way for a terminal to receive input to cancel a particular message.

The input unit 160 may be implemented in various ways according to the type and characteristics of the terminal device 100 . For example, in the case where the terminal device 100 is implemented as a smartphone, the input unit 160 may be implemented as a touch screen and a voice recognition sensor. In the case where the terminal device 100 is implemented as a TV, the input unit 160 may be implemented as a remote controller, a motion recognition sensor, and a voice recognition sensor. In the case where the terminal device 100 is implemented as a laptop computer, the input unit 160 may be implemented as a keyboard and a touch panel. Various combinations of implementations of input units are possible.

The control unit 170 includes circuits such as a processor or a microprocessor configured to handle the overall operation of the terminal device 100 . More specifically, the control unit 170 may control each of the message processing unit 130, the storage unit 140, the display unit 150 and the input unit 160 to perform operations of canceling and restoring instant messages according to various embodiments of the present invention.

The control unit 170 may be configured to restrict authorization to cancel or restore instant messages sent to other terminal devices. More specifically, the control unit 170 may be configured to limit the input of a user command for canceling or resuming a sent instant message when at least one of a plurality of events occurs, wherein the plurality of events includes: A preset time elapses after other terminal devices send the instant message, and a preset time elapses after users of other terminal devices view the instant message. Here, a preset time (eg, 10 minutes) may be set by the user.

The header of an instant message may include information about the time the message was sent (or generated). The control unit 170 may be configured to use the information about the sending time of the instant message and the information about the current time to determine how much time has elapsed after the instant message was sent. When users of other terminal devices view the instant messages sent to them, the communication unit 120 may receive information about the time of viewing the instant messages from the other terminals. The control unit 170 may also be configured to use the information related to the viewing time of the instant message and the information related to the current time to determine how long has elapsed after the user of the other terminal viewed the instant message. If it is determined that the elapsed time is shorter than the preset time, the control unit 170 may allow authorization to cancel and restore instant messages. Otherwise, the control unit 170 may allow revocation and restoration of the authorization of the instant message.

The control unit 170 may be configured to restrict authorization to copy, modify, forward and delete instant messages received from other terminal devices. Specifically, the control unit 170 may restrict the authorization for copying, modifying, forwarding, and deleting the received instant message when at least one of various events occurs, wherein the multiple events include: sending an instant message from other terminal devices The preset time elapses after the message, and the preset time elapses after the user of the terminal device 100 views the instant message. Here, a preset time (eg, 10 minutes) may be set by the user.

The header of a received instant message may include information about the time the message was sent (or generated). The control unit 170 may be configured to use the information on the sending time of the received instant message and the information on the current time to determine how much time has elapsed after the instant message was sent. The control unit 170 may also be configured to use the information about the viewing time of the instant message and the information about the current time to determine how much time has elapsed after the user viewed the instant message. If it is determined that the elapsed time is shorter than the preset time, the control unit 170 may determine that the authorization for copying, modifying, forwarding and deleting the instant message is not allowed. Otherwise, the control unit 170 may determine to allow authorization for copying, modifying, forwarding, and deleting the instant message.

The storage unit 160, which is a non-transitory memory, may store the authorization to control the instant message. Operations related to controlling authorization of instant messages are described in more detail with reference to FIG. 14 .

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating information stored in a storage unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , the storage unit 140 may map the content 1410, the display identification information 1420, the message identification information 1430, and the control authorization 1440 for the instant message to each other, so as to store the instant message in the form of a mapping table, as a possible way of mapping the content . When the user of the terminal device 100 has authorization for instant messaging, the control authorization 1440 may be stored as 'Yes'. Otherwise, control authorization 1440 may be stored as 'No'.

The control unit 170 may be configured to check whether the control authorization for the instant message stored in the storage unit 140 is changed, so as to update the pre-stored control authorization to information related to the current control authorization if the control authorization is changed.

When a user command for an instant message is input, the control unit 170 may recognize the control authorization for the instant message stored on the storage unit 140, and may limit the control authorization for the instant message when the user of the terminal device 100 does not have the control authorization Input of a user command for the instant message. For example, when the user does not have control authorization for the instant message, the control unit 170 may prevent a menu for receiving a user command for the instant message from being displayed on the display screen. Alternatively, even if a user command for the instant message is input, the control unit 170 may display a message object indicating that there is no control authorization for the instant message (eg, 'you do not have the right to control the message'), without executing the communication with the user Action corresponding to the command. Specifically, the pop-up menu 820 of FIG. 8 from which the 'Cancel' option 850 was removed may be displayed, or the restore options 1220 and 1330 of FIGS. 12 and 13 may not be displayed when there is no authority to cancel or restore the instant message.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for displaying control authorization according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a star-shaped object 1530 is displayed on the display screens 1510 and 1520 of the first and second terminal devices. The control unit 170 may display an object indicating control authorization for the message, which is allowed. Objects that indicate control authorization may appear as text, characters, or graphics, or may appear using different colors or different levels of transparency of the message. Therefore, the user can intuitively understand whether the user has control authorization for a specific message. The star is just one of the arbitrary visual indicators that can be used.

Here, the control unit 170 may continuously change at least one of the shape, color and transparency of the instant message displayed on the display screen. For example, referring to FIG. 15 , a portion area 1540 displaying portions of the instant messages displayed on the screens 1510 and 1520 is marked with a different color. The control unit 170 may increase the area occupied by a specific color over time to visually represent the remaining time until the control authorization for each message is changed. Here, messages for which control authorization is allowed and messages for which control authorization is not allowed may be marked with different colors or other types of visual indications. Instead of changing the area occupied by a specific color, the control unit 170 may change the transparency level of each instant message over time to visually represent the remaining time until the control authorization is changed. Therefore, the user can intuitively understand the remaining time until the control authorization for a specific message is changed.

Hereinafter, methods for controlling a terminal device according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail. As described above, the terminal device 100 can send and receive instant messages, and can operate as a sending-side terminal device or a receiving-side terminal device according to the situation. That is, sending and receiving instant messages can occur simultaneously in a single terminal device. However, since the process of sending an instant message and the process of receiving an instant message are slightly different from each other, for convenience, the two processes are distinguished here. The same description about the terminal device 100 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 15 will be omitted.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 16 shows a situation in which the terminal device 100 sends an instant message.

Referring now to FIG. 16, the terminal device 100 generates an instant message (operation S1610). Specifically, when the content of the instant message is input from the user, the terminal device 100 may generate the instant message in the form of a transmission packet, which may be transmitted through the communication network. Display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on the display screen may be inserted into the header of the instant message. The structure of the instant message has already been described with reference to FIG. 4 , so the instant message will not be repeated.

The generated instant message is sent to other terminal devices (operation S1620).

When a user inputs a cancel command for an instant message sent to other terminal devices, a cancel message can be generated and sent to other terminal devices. The message cancellation information may be inserted into the header of the cancellation message as display identification information. The cancellation message may include only the header and not the content of the instant message.

When a recovery message for an instant message is input, the terminal device 100 may generate a recovery message, and may transmit the recovery message to other terminal devices. The message display information may be inserted into the header of the recovery message as display identification information. The recovery message may include only the header and not the content of the instant message.

The terminal device 100 may display the content of the instant message on the display screen. More specifically, the terminal device 100 may display the content of the instant message sent to other terminal devices on the display screen according to the display identification information. When the display identification information is message display information, the content of the instant message is displayed, or when the display identification information is message cancellation information, the content of the instant message is not displayed.

When the cancellation command for the instant message is input, the terminal device 100 may delete the display of the content of the instant message to which the cancellation command is input from the display screen. Furthermore, when a cancellation command for an instant message is input, the terminal device 100 may delete the display of the content of the instant message to which the cancellation command is input from the display screen, may display an object indicating that cancellation of the instant message is being requested, and when When other terminals receive the response message indicating message cancellation, they can delete the object indicating the request to cancel the instant message. When a cancel command for the instant message is input, the terminal device 100 may delete the content of the instant message to which the cancel command is input from the display screen, and may display an object indicating that the instant message has been canceled.

When the resume command for the instant message is input, the terminal device 100 may display again the content of the instant message to which the resume command is input on the display screen.

The processes of displaying, canceling, and restoring instant messages sent to other terminal devices have already been described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13, and thus these processes will be described in detail.

The terminal device 100 may store the sent instant message. More specifically, the content of the instant message and the display identification information can be mapped to each other for storage. Here, message identification information may also be mapped and stored. The terminal device 100 may use the stored display identification information to determine whether to display the content of the instant message on the display screen. When a user inputs a cancel command or a resume command for an instant message, the terminal device 100 may update the display identification information on the instant message to which the cancel command or resume command is input. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 6 and thus will not be described again.

The terminal device 100 may be configured to limit input of user commands for canceling or resuming the sent instant message when at least one of a plurality of events occurs, wherein the plurality of events includes: after sending the instant message The preset time has elapsed, and the preset time has elapsed after users of other terminal devices view the instant message. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 14, and therefore, the detailed description of the operation will not be repeated.

In addition, the terminal device 100 may continuously change the display of at least one of the shape, color, and transparency of the instant message displayed on the display screen until at least one event occurs, wherein the at least one event includes: sending the instant message A preset time elapses thereafter, and a preset time elapses after users of other terminal devices view the instant message. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 15 and thus will not be described again.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 shows a case where the terminal device 100 sends an instant message.

An instant message is received from other terminal devices (operation S1710). Display identification information indicating whether to display the instant message on the display screen may be included in the header of the instant message. The structure of the instant message has already been described with reference to FIG. 4 , so the instant message will not be repeated.

The content of the instant message may be displayed on the display screen according to the display identification information (operation S1720). For example, when the displayed identification information is message display information, the instant message may be displayed, and when the displayed identification information is message cancellation information, the instant message may not be displayed.

The terminal device 100 can map the content included in the received instant message to the display identification information included in the instant message, so as to store the content and the display identification information, and can display the display identification information on the display screen according to the stored display identification information. The content of the instant message. The message identification information may also be mapped and stored in the storage unit together with the content and display identification information of the instant message.

Also, when receiving a cancellation message or a resume message from another terminal device, the terminal device 100 may update the stored display identification information with the display identification information inserted into the header of the cancel message or resume message. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 6 and thus will not be described again.

When receiving a cancellation message from another terminal device, the terminal device 100 may delete the content of the instant message requesting cancellation from the display screen. Also, when receiving a cancellation message from another terminal device, the terminal device 100 may display an object indicating that the instant message has been cancelled. When receiving a recovery message for the canceled message from other terminal devices, the terminal device 100 may display the canceled message again on the display screen. The procedures for displaying, canceling, and restoring instant messages received from other terminal devices have been described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13, and thus these procedures will be described in detail.

Terminal 100 may be configured to restrict authorization to copy, modify, forward and delete instant messages received from other terminal devices. Specifically, the terminal device 100 may restrict the authorization to copy, modify, forward and delete received instant messages when at least one of a variety of events occurs, wherein the multiple events include: sending instant messages from other terminal devices The preset time elapses after the message, and the preset time elapses after the user of the terminal device 100 views the instant message. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 14 and thus will not be described again.

Also, the terminal device 100 may display continuous changes to at least one of the shape, color, and transparency of the instant message displayed on the display screen until at least one of a plurality of events occurs, wherein the plurality of events includes: The preset time elapses after the terminal device sends the instant message, and the preset time elapses after the user of the terminal device 100 views the instant message. This operation has already been described with reference to FIG. 15 and thus will not be described again.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, direct sending/receiving of instant messages between terminal devices according to an instant message sending/receiving system, terminal device and terminal device control method has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17 . However, according to another embodiment, the instant message can be sent from the terminal device on the sending side to the terminal device on the receiving side through a server, a network, a base station or even an access point. Hereinafter, the case of sending the instant message to the terminal through the server is described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 19 . For convenience, repeated descriptions will be omitted in order to highlight differences from the above descriptions of FIGS. 1 to 17 .

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of an instant message sending/receiving system according to another embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 18 shows a case where the same user uses the instant messaging service by using two terminal devices with one account.

Referring to FIG. 18 , an instant message sending/receiving system 2000 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of terminal devices 100 - 1 , 100 - 2 and 100 - 3 and a server 200 . Each of the terminal devices 100-1 to 100-3 and the server can be connected to each other through a communication network. The system of FIG. 18 is different from the system of FIG. 1 in that a plurality of terminal devices 100 - 1 to 100 - 3 transmit/receive instant messages to each other through the server 200 . The first user 300-1 is a user of the first terminal device 100-1, and the second user 300-2 is a user of the second and third terminal devices 100-2 and 100-3. The second user 300-2 can access two terminals using one account.

The server 200 stores instant messages sent/received between the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2. Specifically, the server 200 may store mapping information obtained by mapping the content of the instant message to the display identification information. Server 200 may also map and store message identification information. In addition, when a cancellation message or a resume message is received from the plurality of terminal devices 100-1 and 100-2, the server 200 may update the instant message with the message cancellation information or the message display information included in the header of the cancellation message or the resume message Display identification information on the message.

The server 200 may store the instant message mapping information for each user account. In other words, the server 200 may store mapping information of each of the first user 300-1 and the second user 300-2. To this end, the header of the instant message may include user account information for identifying the user account, and the server 200 may store the instant message for each user account using the user account information included in the instant message. When the second user 300-2 uses the second terminal device 100-2 to send or receive instant messages to or from the first user 300-2, then by using the third terminal device 100-3 with the same user account When accessing the server, the third terminal device 100-3 may request information about the previous instant message from the server 200, and may receive the information. Therefore, users can use instant messaging in multiple terminal devices through one account.

The configuration and structure of the terminal device 100 included in the instant message sending/receiving system according to another embodiment of the present invention are similar to those shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 . Therefore, the difference between the two will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 .

When generating the instant message, the message generating unit 110 may insert the user account information into the header of the instant message. To this end, the instant message may include fields in the header so that user account information may be inserted into the fields.

The communication unit 120 may transmit instant messages, cancel messages, and resume messages to the server 200 instead of other terminal devices, and may receive instant messages, cancel messages, and resume messages transmitted from other terminal devices through the server 200 .

When the user of the terminal device 100 logs in to the user account, the communication unit 120 may request the server 200 for mapping information on the user account, and may receive the mapping information from the server. When receiving the mapping information from the server 200 , the storage unit 140 may update the pre-stored mapping information with the mapping information received from the server 200 .

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 19 , the server 200 includes a communication unit 210 , a storage unit 220 and a control unit 230 .

The communication unit 210 may receive an instant message, a cancel message or a resume message from the first terminal in order to send the instant message, cancel message or resume message to the second terminal device. Display identification information for identifying whether to display the instant message may be inserted therein. User account information may be included in the header of the instant message.

The storage unit 220 can be controlled to map the content and display identification information of the instant message received from the terminal device 100 so as to store the content and display the identification information. In addition, the storage unit 220 may be controlled to map and store the message identification information or the information about the control authorization together with the content of the instant message and the display identification information. In addition, when receiving a cancel message or a resume message from the terminal device 100, the storage unit 220 may update the display identification information on the instant message with the message cancel information or message display information included in the header of the cancel message or resume message. The information stored in the storage unit is similar to the information described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 14 , and thus, a detailed description of the information stored in the storage unit will be omitted.

The control unit 230 controls the overall operation of the server 200 . Specifically, the control unit 230 may control the storage unit 220 to store the mapping information for each user account using the user account information inserted into the header of the instant message. When the terminal device 100 requests the mapping information about the user account, the control unit 230 may control the storage unit 220 to transmit the mapping information stored in the storage unit 220 to the terminal device 100 .

The above-described method for controlling a terminal device according to various embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as an executable program. The program can be stored in various types of recording media.

Although terms including ordinal numbers (eg, "first," "second," etc.) may be used to describe various components, these components are not limited by the above terms. The above terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component could be termed a second component, and similarly, a second component could be termed a first component, without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes a combination of items or one of the items.

The terminology used herein is used only to aid in understanding the descriptive description herein, and is not intended to limit the invention to the descriptive description herein. The singular forms used herein are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprising" or "having" and variations thereof as used in this specification are meant to include the features, quantities, steps, operations, components, elements, components or combinations thereof listed thereafter and their equivalents and additional items, but One or more different features, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements, components or combinations thereof are not excluded.

The above-described method according to the present disclosure may be implemented as hardware, firmware or as software or computer code stored on a non-transitory machine-readable medium such as CD ROM, RAM, floppy disk, hard disk or magneto-optical disk, or as a raw file downloaded on a network Computer code stored on a remote recording medium or non-transitory machine-readable medium and stored on a local non-transitory machine-readable medium enables the methods described herein to be loaded into hardware such as a general purpose computer, or a special purpose processor or programmable or Dedicated hardware such as ASIC or FPGA. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, a computer, processor, microprocessor controller, or programmable hardware includes circuits that may be integrated, and may include storage components such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, etc., which may store or receive software or computer Code, which software or computer code, when accessed and executed by a computer, processor or hardware, implements the processing methods described herein. Furthermore, it should be recognized that when a general purpose computer accesses code for performing the processes shown herein, the execution of the code converts the general purpose computer into a special purpose computer for performing the processes shown herein. Any functions and steps provided in the figures may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both, and any functions and steps may be performed, in whole or in part, by programming instructions of a computer. Elements in a claim should not be construed as defined in the sixth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112 unless the element is explicitly defined using the phrase "means for".

In addition, those skilled in the art understand and appreciate that a "controller," "processor," or "microprocessor" includes hardware in the claimed invention. In the broadest reasonable interpretation, the appended claims constitute statutory subject matter in compliance with 35 U.S.C. §101, and not software per se.

In accordance with statutory subject matter at 35 U.S.C. § 101, the terms "unit" or "module" as used herein are defined as incorporating hardware (eg, circuits, integrated circuits, processors, or microprocessors) configured for the particular desired function ) to constitute or operate, and these terms are not constituted by the software itself.

Specifically, the program codes for performing the above-described methods may be stored in various non-volatile recording media, such as flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), hard disk, removable disk, memory card, USB memory and CD-ROM.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, when a sender and receiver communicate with each other using instant messaging, an instant message that has been sent from the sender to the receiver can be canceled, and the canceled message can be restored.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and not restrictive. Numerous alternatives and equivalents are possible. Other additions, deletions or modifications are readily contemplated by the present disclosure and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. a kind of terminal device, comprising:

Message generating unit is configured to generate instant message according to user command；And

Communication unit is configured to send the instant message to other terminal devices,

Wherein the header of generated instant message includes field, and display identification information is inserted in the field, described aobvious Show that identification information indicates whether to show the instant message on the display screen, and

When user has input the mandatum cassatorium for the instant message being previously sent, message is cancelled information by message generating unit It is inserted into the field.

2. terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the instant message includes header without including instant message Content.

3. terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein have been entered mandatum cassatorium when user has input to be directed to When the recovery order of instant message, message is shown that information is inserted into the field by the message generating unit.

4. terminal device according to claim 1, further includes: storage unit is configured to the content map of instant message To display identification information, and store the content and display identification information of the instant message.

5. terminal device according to claim 4, further includes: display unit is configured to according to the display mark stored Information shows the content of stored instant message on the display screen.

6. terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the memory cell arrangements are by the content of instant message, show Show identification information and mapped onto one another to the control authorization of instant message, to store content, the display identification information of instant message It is authorized with control.

7. terminal device according to claim 6, further includes: control unit is configured to according to the control to instant message It authorizes to limit the mandatum cassatorium for the instant message or restore the input of order.

8. a kind of method for controlling terminal equipment, which comprises

The instant message with header is generated by message generating unit, the header includes display identification information, the display mark Know information to indicate whether to show the instant message on the display screen of display unit；And

The instant message is sent from communication unit to other terminal devices,

Wherein, when user has input the mandatum cassatorium for the instant message being previously sent, message generating unit takes message The information that disappears is inserted into field.

9. according to the method described in claim 8, further include:

Show the content of instant message on the display screen according to display identification information by display unit；

When having input the mandatum cassatorium for instant message, the content of instant message is deleted from display screen, and is shown to just Cancel the object that the instant message is indicated in request；And

When from other terminal devices receive to message cancel indicate response message when, from display screen deletion institute State object.

10. according to the method described in claim 8, further include:

Show the content of instant message on the display screen according to display identification information by display unit；And

When having input the mandatum cassatorium for instant message, the content of the instant message is deleted from display screen, and show To the object for having eliminated the instant message and being indicated.

11. according to method described in any one of claim 8 to 10 claim, further includes:

When at least one in multiple events occurs, limitation is directed to the input of the mandatum cassatorium of instant message, wherein described more A event includes: that have passed through preset time, and the user in other terminal devices after sending the instant message Check that the instant message have passed through preset time later.

12. according to the method described in claim 8, further include:

The instant message is shown on the display screen of display unit according to display identification information；And

The continuous vision for changing at least one of shape, color and transparency of instant message shown on display screen is aobvious Show, until at least one event occurs, wherein the event package includes: it have passed through preset time after sending instant message, with And it have passed through preset time after the user of other terminal devices checks the instant message.

13. according to the method described in claim 8, further include:

The instant message with header is received from other terminal devices, wherein display identification information is inserted into the header； And

According to the display identification information, the content of the instant message is shown on the display screen.

14. a kind of instant message transmitting/receiving system, comprising:

First terminal equipment is configured to generate instant message, and sends the instant message to second terminal equipment, described instant Message have include display identification information header, the display identification information indicate whether to show on the display screen described in i.e. When message；And

Second terminal equipment is configured to receive the instant message from first terminal equipment, and according to the display identification information The content of the instant message is shown on the display screen,

Wherein, when user has input the mandatum cassatorium for the instant message being previously sent, message generating unit takes message The information that disappears is inserted into field.