JP2003116165A - Presence information transmission method, presence information transmission mediation method, presence information transmission program and recording medium of the program, presence information transmission mediation program and recording medium of the program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] An object of the present invention is to provide a new presence information transmission technology that realizes communication without using words using a mobile terminal. An item of presence information is set, and a numerical value indicating, for example, strength of the item is input as presence information. Then, for example, the set item 15 is “fun ← →
"Sad" is indicated, and the set item 22 is "time ← → busy"
When, for example, 7 indicating that it is a little sad is input as the existence information of the item 15 and 2 indicating that it is free as the existence information of the item 22, The incoming / outgoing signal such as a ringtone assigned to the sender is modulated and output in such a manner that the associated long / short change is transposed down by a major second and the tempo associated with the item 22 is set to the up tempo. As described above, by embedding the presence information in the function for notifying the user of the arrival of the information, the presence information can be effectively exchanged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a presence information transmitting method for realizing communication without using words using a portable terminal, a presence information transmitting mediation method used for realizing the presence information transmitting method, and its presence information. The present invention relates to a presence information transmission program used for realizing a transmission method and a recording medium recording the program, and an existence information transmission mediating program used for realizing the presence information transmission mediating method and a recording medium recording the program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the real world, there are various communication modes. For example, in addition to conversation, it is thought that a feeling of connection between people is cultivated by the act of bowing when passing by a neighbor in the morning. The information exchanged here is defined as existence information.

In the following, the "presence information" used in this specification includes, in addition to the information about where the user is and where it is, information about the current state of the person, for example, the person. It also includes information such as the physical condition of the person and what kind of emotion the person currently has.

[0004] That is, the existence information is information such as where the character is literally, what kind of state the person is currently in, for example, the physical condition of the person and what kind of emotion the person currently has. Such information.

In the real world, the presence information is not only transmitted together with a conversation, but also transmitted by a method other than conversation. However, attempts to realize such non-verbal communication via networks have not been made so far.

Therefore, recently, a network communication method that does not use words has been studied.

[0007] For example, Oguro et al. Have proposed "Hito no Akari" and "Faint Pop" as light media for the purpose of communication, not for content (references 1 to 3).

[1] Tsuyoshi Oguro, Sen Yoshida, Kazuhiro Kuwahara: Proposal of Existence / State Communication System as Foundation of Shared Knowledge of Communities, IEICE Technical Committee, Vol.99, No.534, pp.1-8 (AI99-7
7), January, 2000. [2] Takeshi Ohguro, Kazuhiro Kuwabara, Tatsuo Owada
and Yoshinari Shirai: FaintPop: In Touch with the
Social Relationships, JSAI-Synsophy International W
orkshops on Social Intelligence Design, 2001. [3] Existence / state mutual communication method and device, and storage medium recording the program, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-251229. "Hitono Akari" is displayed on a computer screen,
By double-clicking on a sphere representing a person, it is possible to send color information to the person who double-clicked. In "FaintPop", several kinds of emotions can be transmitted to each other by picking up the face picture displayed on the FaintPop device.

It is considered that the use of such a system makes it possible to exchange presence information using a network and to realize a feeling of connection between people.

[0010]

These devices proposed in the prior art are always connected, and it is premised that an application or device for displaying presence information is in sight for a lot of time. I was there. Therefore, the proposed method used visual display.

However, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA has a very small screen for displaying the presence information and lacks expressive power. Also, since it is in the owner's bag or pocket for a lot of time, it is difficult to say that it is the situation that he always sees.

As described above, since the mobile terminal has characteristics different from those of the devices used for transmitting the presence information that have been proposed so far, it is considered that a new presence information transmission method for the mobile terminal is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new existence information transmission technique for realizing communication without using words using a mobile terminal.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a transmitting side portable terminal equipped with the present invention, which transmits user's presence information to another portable terminal, 2 is a receiving side portable terminal equipped with the present invention, One for receiving the presence information of the user transmitted from the transmitting side portable terminal 1, 3 is a presence information transmission server including the present invention, and the presence of the user from the transmitting side portable terminal 1 to the receiving side portable terminal 2. What supports information transmission, 4 is a database, which is referred to by the presence information transmission server 3 for transmission of user's presence information.

Here, each processing means for realizing each function of the transmitting side portable terminal 1, the receiving side portable terminal 2 and the presence information transmitting server 3 can be realized by a computer program, and this computer program is a semiconductor. It can be provided by recording in a recording medium such as a memory.

[1] Configuration for transmitting user's presence information by using the presence information transmitting server 3 When transmitting the user's presence information by using the presence information transmitting server 3, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 and the receiving side portable terminal The terminal 2 and the presence information transmission server 3 each have the following configurations.

(B) The transmitting side portable terminal 1 sets one or a plurality of items for the presence information to be transmitted, and registers the identifier information of the item in the presence information transmitting server 3, and a registration means. Input means for inputting the presence information of the user regarding the registered item of (1), and by transmitting the presence information input by the input means to the presence information transmission server 3 in a form in which the set item can be understood, the presence information transmission server 3 And a transmitting means for transmitting to another mobile terminal.

(B) The presence information transmitting server 3 registers the identifier information of one or more presence information items set by the portable terminal 1 on the transmitting side, and the portable terminal 1 on the transmitting side. From the user's identifier information,
The input means for inputting the user's presence information regarding the presence information item registered by the mobile terminal and the incoming signal indicated by the user's identifier information input by the input means are associated with the presence information input by the input means. Modulation means for modulating according to the presence information item, or for generating a signal used for the modulation, and an incoming signal modulated by the modulating means are transmitted to the receiving side mobile terminal 2 or for modulation generated by the modulating means. The transmitting means for transmitting the signal to the receiving-side portable terminal 2, the presence information input by the input means, and the identifier information of the presence information item associated with the presence information are provided to the receiving-side portable terminal 2.
And a transmitting means for transmitting to.

(C) The mobile terminal 2 on the receiving side receives the incoming signal modulated according to the presence information of the user and the presence information item associated therewith, which is transmitted from the presence information transmitting server 3, or the incoming signal. The receiving means for receiving the signal used for the modulation of and the incoming signal received by the receiving means is output, or the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information is output by using the modulating signal received by the receiving means. The presence information transmitting server 3 transmits the presence information transmission server 3 while correlating the output means for outputting the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information by modulating and outputting the one or more item identifier information. And a receiving means for receiving the presence information of the incoming user.

In the present invention thus configured, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 having a user ID of, for example, 001 selects, for example, 15,22 items from the list of presence information items presented by the presence information transmitting server 3. By selecting
An item for the presence information to be transmitted is set, and the identifier information of the item is registered in the presence information transmission server 3.

Upon receiving the registration of the presence information item, the presence information transmission server 3 sends the user I to the database 4.
It is registered that the user of D001 has set the presence information items of 15 and 22.

On the other hand, in the case where the presence information is transmitted from the user ID of 001 by previously registering the ringtone αα in association with the user ID of 001 in the database 4 on the receiving side portable terminal 2, For example, as an incoming call signal, information to ring a ringtone αα is registered.

From now on, in the database 4, for example,
The presence information items 15 and 2 are associated with the user ID 001.
2 and the ringtone αα will be registered.

After registering the existence information item in this way, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 having a user ID of 001
As the presence information of the user regarding the registered item, for example, enter a numerical value 7 or 2 indicating the strength or weakness of the item, and the presence information that is input is present together with the information (user ID) of the transmission source and the transmission destination. It transmits to the information transmission server 3.

At this time, in order for the presence information transmitting server 3 to know which item the presence information to be transmitted belongs to, the presence information is sent in a predetermined order (for example, the order of the smallest item number). The processing is performed so as to transmit side by side, or the processing is performed so as to transmit the existence information while corresponding to the item identifier information such as (15, 7) (22, 2).

From this, the presence information transmission server 3 can acquire the user's presence information regarding the presence information item set by the transmitting side portable terminal 1 in a form in which the set presence information item is known.

In response to the transmission of the presence information, the presence information transmission server 3 inputs the transmitted information, and receives the incoming signal indicated by the input user ID of the portable terminal 1 on the transmitting side.
Depending on the input presence information and the presence information item associated therewith, modulation is performed based on knowledge (composed of a table, program, etc.) prepared in advance, or a signal used for the modulation is generated. .

For example, when the pre-registered item 15 indicates “fun ← → sad” and the pre-registered item 22 indicates “leisure ← → busy”, for example, the presence information of the item 15 may be a little. When 7 indicating sadness is input and 2 indicating that it is free is input as the presence information of the item 22, for example, the length change associated with the item 15 is transposed down by 2 degrees and the item 22 is changed. Modulate the ringtone αα in a form that makes the tempo associated with
The signal used for the modulation is generated.

Then, the presence information transmission server 3 transmits the thus-modulated ringtone αα (when the ringtone signal other than the ringtone is used, the modulated ringtone signal) to the receiving side portable terminal 2. The modulation signal thus generated is transmitted to the reception side mobile terminal 2.

In response to the transmission of this incoming signal, the portable terminal 2 on the receiving side receives this incoming signal (for example, ringtone αα) modulated according to the presence information of the user and the presence information item associated therewith, By outputting it, the existence information of the sender is output.

Upon receiving the modulation transmission, the reception-side portable terminal 2 uses the modulation signal to modulate the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information.
While the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information is output, the presence information transmission server 3 transmits the presence information itself when the receiving-side mobile terminal 2 requests the presence information itself in addition to the transmission of the presence information by the incoming signal. Transmits the input presence information and the identifier information of the presence information item associated with the input presence information to the receiving-side portable terminal 2 in correspondence with each other.

Explaining in the above example, 7 inputted as the existence information of the item 15 and 2 inputted as the existence information of the item 22 are associated with the item identifier information,
It is transmitted to the receiving side mobile terminal 2 in the form of (15, 7) (22, 2).

In response to the transmission of the presence information, the receiving side portable terminal 2 receives the presence information of the user transmitted in correspondence with the item identifier information. Then, for example, by using the received user presence information and performing processing such as changing the size and color of the face photo of the other user, the presence of the sender in a form different from the incoming signal Output information.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize communication without using words using a mobile terminal.

When this processing configuration is adopted, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 does not register the presence information item in the presence information transmitting server 3 in advance, but what the presence information transmitting server 3 uses as the presence information item. There is a case where the presence information added with a special code capable of deciphering whether or not is used is input and transmitted to the presence information transmitting server 3.

When such presence information to which the special code is added is transmitted, the presence information transmission server 3 decodes the presence information to which the special code is added to correspond to the original presence information and it. Process so as to identify the existence information item to be attached.

For example, if the database 4 manages the original existence information and the information of the existence information item associated with the existence information associated with the special code, refer to the management information. By doing, for example,
It is specified that the presence information to which the special code of # 03 that has been transmitted has the item 11 and the item 16 and has the value of the item 11 of 1 and the value of the item 16 of 9 is present. Of.

By using the presence information to which such a special code is added, the portable terminal 1 on the transmitting side does not have to be aware of the presence information item registered in advance, and sends the contents of the presence information to the presence information transmitting server 3. Will be able to inform you.

When this processing configuration is adopted, the transmission side portable terminal 1 notifies the presence information transmission server 3 of the presence information, or the presence information transmission server 3 fails to transmit the presence information. Is received, the presence information transmitting server 3 is instructed to instruct how to handle the presence information that has not been transmitted.

In response to this instruction, the existence information transmission server 3
If the transmission of the presence information to the receiving side mobile terminal 2 fails, according to the instructed handling method,
For example, try to retransmit the untransmitted presence information for a fixed number of times at fixed time intervals, if the transmission still fails, delete the untransmitted presence information, or merge it with the next presence information and send it. Alternatively, the following presence information and an average value are obtained and transmitted.

When this processing configuration is adopted, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 transmits the presence information to the presence information transmitting server 3 and receives a notification from the presence information transmitting server 3 that the presence information is not browsed. At this time, processing is performed so as to instruct the presence information transmission server 3 how to handle presence information that has not been browsed.

In response to this, the existence information transmitting server 3
Regarding the presence information transmitted to the receiving side mobile terminal 2,
If there is no notification from the receiving side mobile terminal 2 that the browsing has been performed, the receiving side mobile terminal 2 is required to perform processing for the unbroken presence information according to the instructed handling method. Process to instruct execution.

In response to this instruction, the receiving side portable terminal 2
According to the instructed handling method, for example, the unviewed presence information and the next presence information are merged and output,
Processing such as taking the average value of the unviewed presence information and the next presence information and outputting it is performed.

In this way, according to the present invention described in [1], by using the presence information transmission server 3, it becomes possible to realize communication without using words using a mobile terminal.

[2] Configuration for directly transmitting user's presence information between mobile terminals without using the presence information transmission server 3 In the case of directly transmitting user's presence information between mobile terminals without using the presence information transmission server 3. In addition, the transmitting-side mobile terminal 1 and the receiving-side mobile terminal 2 have the following configurations, respectively.

(B) The transmitting side portable terminal 1 has a setting means for setting one or a plurality of items regarding the presence information to be transmitted, and an input means for inputting the user presence information regarding the items set by the setting means, And a transmitting means for transmitting the presence information of the user input by the input means to the receiving side mobile terminal 2 while corresponding to the identifier information of the item set by the setting means.

(B) The receiving side portable terminal 2 receives the user's presence information transmitted from the transmitting side portable terminal 1 while corresponding to the identifier information of one or a plurality of presence information items. And output means for modulating and outputting the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information in accordance with the presence information of the user received by the receiving means and the presence information item associated therewith.

In the present invention having such a configuration, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 having a user ID of, for example, 001 selects, for example, 15,22 items from the list of presence information items managed by the own portable terminal. By selecting, the item for the presence information to be transmitted is set.

After setting the presence information item in this way, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 having a user ID of 001
As the user presence information regarding the set item, for example, by inputting the numerical values 7 and 2 indicating the strength of the item, the source and destination information (user ID) together with the input presence information, It is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 on the receiving side in correspondence with the set item identifier information.

Explaining in the above example, 7 input as the existence information of the item 15 and 2 input as the existence information of the item 22 are associated with the item identifier information,
It is transmitted to the receiving side mobile terminal 2 in the form of (15, 7) (22, 2).

Upon reception of the information sent, the mobile terminal 2 on the receiving side receives the information sent, and then, from the incoming signal being managed, the mobile terminal 2 on the receiving side indicates the user ID of the mobile terminal 1 on the receiving side. An incoming signal (for example, ringtone αα) that is pointed out is extracted, and the extracted incoming signal is extracted according to the input presence information and the presence information item associated therewith.
Modulation is performed based on knowledge (composed of tables and programs) prepared in advance.

For example, item 15 is "fun ← → sad"
When the item 22 indicates “Leisure ← → Busy”, for example, the presence information 7 of the item 15 indicating that it is slightly sad is received, and the presence information of the item 22 indicates that it is leisure 2 In the case of receiving the item, for example, the long / short change associated with the item 15 is transposed down by 2 degrees and the item 22 is changed.
The ringtone αα is modulated in such a manner that the tempo associated with is set to the uptempo.

Then, the receiving side portable terminal 2 outputs the ringtone αα thus modulated (the modulated ringing signal when a signal other than the ringtone is used as the ringing signal), thereby the presence of the sender. Output information.

Here, in the case where the transmitting side portable terminal 1 directly transmits the user's presence information to the receiving side portable terminal 2, the receiving side portable terminal 2 receives the user's presence information itself. Therefore, for example, it can be used to perform a process of changing the size and color of the face photo of the other user and outputting the same.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize communication without using words using a mobile terminal.

When adopting this processing configuration, if the transmitting side portable terminal 1 fails to transmit the user presence information,
For the existence information transmission server 3, the information (user ID) of the transmission source and the transmission destination and the existence information (the existence information composed of the paired data with the item identifier information) of which the transmission has failed are designated. Request to send presence information.

Upon receipt of this request, the presence information transmission server 3 receives the transmission request by attempting to retransmit, for example, the untransmitted presence information at regular intervals, instead of the transmitting side mobile terminal 1. The presence information is processed so as to be transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 on the receiving side.

When this processing configuration is adopted, the transmitting side portable terminal 1 sends the receiving side portable terminal 2 no notification of the presence information browsing, and the receiving side portable terminal 2 receives the unread presence information. Process to instruct execution of the process according to the handling method for.

In response to this instruction, the receiving side portable terminal 2
According to the instructed handling method, for example, the unviewed presence information and the next presence information are merged and output,
Processing such as taking the average value of the unviewed presence information and the next presence information and outputting it is performed.

In this way, according to the present invention described in [2], it is possible to realize communication without using words using the mobile terminal without using the presence information transmission server 3.

In this way, the present invention proposes a communication means for presence information, which is specialized for mobile terminals, in order to solve the problems of the prior art.

In the present portable terminal, when receiving information, the user is notified of the arrival of information by a ring tone, a ring tone, a vibration, or the like. Therefore, the user often places the mobile terminal at a place where the ring tone, ringtone or vibration is always transmitted. From this, the user does not always see the screen of the mobile terminal, but always hears the sound and vibration of the mobile terminal,
It can be said that it is feeling.

Therefore, in the present invention, by embedding the presence information in the function of notifying the user of the arrival of information,
We propose a method to effectively exchange presence information. For example, by putting the presence information on the incoming melody of the mobile terminal, the presence information can be transmitted using the mobile terminal.

[0065]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments.

First, in the first and second embodiments, the basic system configuration and the basic operation for transmitting the existence information through the mobile terminal will be described. In the subsequent embodiments, the mobile terminal will be described. An example of suitable transmission of presence information will be described.

[1] Embodiment 1: Basic operation of presence information transmission using a mobile terminal This embodiment is composed of a plurality of mobile terminals and a server. A state in which the user A transmits the existence information to the user B will be described with reference to FIG.

When the user A sends the existence information to the user B, first, the application on the portable terminal of the user A transmits the existence information and the information of the source and the destination of the existence information to the server (see FIG. 2 a).

In response to this, the server attempts transmission to the application on the portable terminal on the user B side based on the received presence information and the information on the source and destination of the presence information (FIG. 2).

When the transmission is successful, the portable terminal on the user B side is output according to the existence information, and the fact that the transmission is successful is transmitted to the application on the user A side through the server ( Figure 2 → Yes).

On the other hand, when the connection between the server and the application on the mobile terminal on the user B side fails, the server stores the existence information and the information of the source and the destination of the existence information in the database (FIG. 2). Ka → u).

Then, the server again attempts to transmit the presence information to the application on the portable terminal on the side of the user B based on the presence information and the destination information of the presence information existing in the database after a certain time. (Figure 2 U → E → O). This trial is performed until the transmission is successful.

Further, the user B side can also confirm with the server whether or not there is present information addressed to itself (FIG. 2).

When this confirmation message is issued, the application on the mobile terminal on the user B side inquires of the server whether the existence information addressed to user B currently exists in the database (FIG. 2). .

In response to this, the server retrieves the presence information addressed to the user B from the database, and if there is, transmits the retrieved presence information to the application on the mobile terminal of the user B side. Yes (Fig. 2 U → E →
Oh). On the other hand, if it is not found, the fact that it is not found is transmitted to the application on the mobile terminal on the side of the user B (Fig. 2, U → E → O).

As described above, in this embodiment, the server is always used for transmitting the existence information. Therefore, the existence information can be processed on the server side.

For example, it is possible to perform processing such as merging a plurality of existing information, amplifying the existing information, and adding additional information to the existing information. It is also possible to select an output method suitable for the presence information on the server side based on the presence information and transmit it as output information to the destination of the user.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show an example of the operation flow in this embodiment. Here, FIG. 3 shows a flow of operations when the presence information is immediately transmitted, and FIG.
Shows a flow of operations when the transmission of the presence information fails and the transmission is succeeded by retrying the transmission at regular intervals.

[2] Second Embodiment: Case where Server is Securely Used According to the method of the first embodiment, the presence information is transmitted through the server. hand,
A method of directly transmitting the existence information is also conceivable.

The method of the present embodiment uses this transmission method, and in this case, the server uses it as a guarantee when the transmission of the existence information fails. A manner in which the user A transmits the presence information to the user B will be described with reference to FIG.

When the user A sends the presence information to the user B, first, the application on the mobile terminal on the user A side attempts to transmit the presence information to the application on the mobile terminal on the user B side ( Figure 5).

When this transmission is successful, the screen according to the presence information is displayed on the mobile terminal on the user B side, and the success of the transmission of the presence information is notified to the mobile terminal on the user A side. You will be notified (Fig. 5).

On the other hand, in the case of failure, the portable terminal of the user A sends the presence information, the source information of the presence information (user A), and the destination of the presence information (user B) to the server.
Attempt transmission of information (Fig. 5a).

In response to this, the server side registers the existence information and the information of the source and the destination of the existence information in the database (FIG. 5), and tries to transmit the existence information to the user B at regular intervals (FIG. 5). (Fig. 5 → →).

6 and 7 show an example of the flow of operation in this embodiment. Here, FIG. 6 shows a flow of operations when the presence information is immediately transmitted, and FIG.
Shows a flow of operations when the transmission of the presence information fails and the transmission of the presence information succeeds using the server.

In the present embodiment, by using the server for guarantee, the existence information can be transmitted by two kinds of routes (a route not via the server and a route via the server).
As a result, for example, the presence information can be transmitted even when the connection with the server cannot be established.

[3] Third Embodiment: Input / Output Method of Presence Information When a mobile terminal is used for transmitting presence information, it is portable and the input / output interface is poor. A method of inputting / outputting existing information is required.

First, a microphone, a button, and a touch panel, which are basic input interfaces of a mobile terminal, and a speaker, a liquid crystal screen, which are basic output interfaces,
We propose an input / output method of presence information using a vibrator (vibration).

(I) Input Method The method used in “Hitono Akari” or the like can be used on a portable terminal. For example, in “Hitono Akari”, although color information is mutually transmitted, it is possible to set a color using a touch panel or a numeric keypad.

In addition to the above, as a method of inputting the presence information, first, the characteristics of the voice (for example, loudness and frequency) can be used. In this case, in order to input the presence information, a method of explicitly speaking to the mobile terminal and a method of extracting the presence information from a record of conversation using the mobile terminal can be considered.

There is also a method of using exhalation instead of voice.
When exhalation is used, the presence information can be input silently, so that it can be input even in a place where utterance is prohibited, such as a movie theater. When inputting presence information by voice or exhalation, characteristics such as sound amplitude, frequency, and vocalization time are extracted from the voice or exhalation and used as presence information.

In addition, as a method of using the microphone of the portable terminal, there is a method of inputting the existence information by rubbing, scratching or hitting the microphone portion. Also in this case, basically, since it is sound information, the amplitude and frequency of the sound are used as the existence information. Also, the waveform of the sound information itself can be used as the existence information.

Next, an input method using a camera or a wheel, which is already built in some portable terminals, is proposed.

As a method using a camera, the frequency of an image obtained from the camera can be used as in the case of sound. Further, as a method using a wheel, the presence information can be input by the wheel using the above-mentioned ten keys.

Finally, a method of inputting / outputting existence information using a new input interface will be considered.

An input interface suitable for a mobile terminal includes a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. It is possible to use the pressure to hold the mobile phone and the temperature when the mobile phone is held as presence information. If an acceleration sensor is used, the acceleration when the mobile terminal is swung can be used as the presence information.
Further, if a bending sensor is used, it is possible to input presence information depending on the bending condition of the antenna of the mobile terminal.

(Ii) Output Method As an output method, when the frequency, amplitude, or waveform of the sound is sent as the existence information, first the speaker is used to output the sound according to its characteristics. Can be considered.

For example, a user is assigned in advance for each ringtone to a ringtone of the mobile terminal (a melody for notifying the user that an incoming call or mail has arrived for the mobile terminal). For example, if the sound frequency is sent from the user A as the presence information, the user A
The ringtone corresponding to is modulated to the sent frequency and sent. When the amplitude is sent, the ringtone output volume is made to correspond to the amplitude.

On the other hand, when the presence information input by the ten-key pad of the portable terminal is output using the speaker, the presence information corresponding to the ring tone assigned to the user is
Performs rhythm, tempo, pitch, and length change (modulation). For example, if there is a delicate favor, the key is transposed up a major second.

As an output method for the liquid crystal screen, transmission of presence information by color can be mentioned. In “Hitono Akari”, the user is represented as a sphere, but the user is also represented on the liquid crystal screen by a sphere, a photo of the other user, an icon, or the like.

When the frequency or amplitude of the sound is sent from the other party as presence information, the radius of the sphere is changed according to the amplitude information, or the color of the sphere is changed according to the frequency. Also, when a sound waveform is sent, an animation display is performed in which the size and color of the sphere are changed according to changes in the frequency and amplitude of the waveform. If it is possible to receive from only one party, it is possible to change the color or the like for the entire screen.

On the other hand, the presence information input by the numeric keypad of the portable terminal may be assigned to the color or size of the photograph or icon of the sphere or the other user, or the numerical information may be displayed in a graph.

As the output method by vibration, it is possible to assign the frequency and amplitude of sound to the frequency and magnitude of vibration, or to vibrate according to the waveform. Further, for the presence information input with the ten-key pad of the mobile terminal, a vibration method according to the presence information is defined, and vibration is performed according to the definition.

The presence information input / output methods described in the present embodiment can be used in combination. In particular, a method using a speaker or a vibration is effective as a method of notifying that the presence information has been transmitted. Therefore, for example, by using a speaker (ringtone) and a liquid crystal screen as an output method, the user can The presence information that you notice on the ringtone can be confirmed on the LCD screen.

[4] Fourth Embodiment: Input of Presence Information Using the Numeric Keypad A method of inputting using the ten keys of the mobile terminal will be described.

For example, the present existence information is represented by several digits. For each digit, express "like ← → dislike", "fun ← → boring", "leisure ← → busy", "school ← → home", "shirafu ← → drunk" etc. with numbers 0-9. For example, in the case of "like ← → dislike", 0 is not applicable, 1 to 9 means that the smaller the number, the better, and conversely the larger the number, the dislike.

If defined in this way, for example, 47
Using the five-digit number 121, I have a slight preference, I'm bored, I'm having a lot of time, and I'm not drunk when I leave school (where I get to school). Can be transmitted.

If the item of the presence information frequently used by the user is set in advance, the presence information can be transmitted only by inputting the address of the destination and the number of defined digits.

[5] Fifth Embodiment: Output of Presence Information Using Melody A method of converting the presence information sent to the melody (ringtone) and outputting the same will be described.

In the present embodiment, the presence information input by the ten-key shown in the fourth embodiment is used as the presence information sent, and the method of the first embodiment is used as the communication mode. It is possible to realize even if the format of the presence information sent is different.

It is assumed that user A sends presence information to user B. User A, from the upper digit as an item for inputting the presence information, "fun ← → sad",
Suppose you have selected the two digits "Leisure ← → Busy".

User A, with user B selected,
Enter the 2-digit presence information (eg 72). Then,
The presence information transmission application on the mobile terminal of the user A attempts to communicate with the server. When the connection with the server fails, the existence information and the destination information are stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal. On the other hand, if the communication is successful, the server tries to connect with the presence information transmission application on the mobile terminal of the user B based on the transmitted presence information and the information about the source and destination of the presence information. .

The presence information transmitting application on the portable terminal of the user A transmits the presence information when the connection with the presence information transmitting application on the portable terminal of the user B is successful.

In response to this, when the presence information transmitting application on the portable terminal on the user B side receives the presence information, it first checks whether or not the ringtone corresponding to the sender is defined in the local database. If defined, ring the corresponding ringtone to the sender.

At that time, based on the presence information sent,
Change and change the ringtone rhythm, tempo and pitch.
For example, the sent presence information is 72 (a little sad,
In the case of (leisure time), the ringtone is transposed down twice a little in response to a little sadness, and the tempo is increased to a higher tempo in response to the leisure time. At this time, when the user B notices the ringtone and looks at the screen of the mobile terminal, for example, the state in which the sphere representing the user A becomes bluish and gradually contracts is displayed by the presence information transmission application. .

The upper part of FIG. 8 shows an example of how to change or change the rhythm, tempo, and pitch of the ringtone according to the presence information.

On the other hand, the portable terminal of the user B is out of range,
When the power is off or on the user B's mobile device,
When the presence information transmission application has not started up, the server stores the presence information and the information of the destination and the sender of the presence information in the database and notifies the user A that the presence information could not be sent.

Then, the server periodically tries to communicate with the presence information transmitting application on the portable terminal of user B based on the information in the database. When the connection is successful, the presence information is transmitted to the presence information transmitting application on the mobile terminal of the user B.

The presence information transmission using the melody can be effectively transmitted by using it in combination with other transmission means. For example, by outputting the presence information to the screen of the mobile terminal, the presence information of the other party and the other party can be roughly sensed from the ringtone music that is heard and the degree of modulation, and the presence information can be displayed in detail on the screen of the mobile terminal. I can feel it.

[6] Sixth Embodiment: Server-Side Processing Server-side processing for holding information about allocation of users and ringtones and changing ringtones necessary for implementation of the fifth embodiment Can be done at.

The user can store the correspondence between the other user and the ringtone in the database on the server side.
For example, in the fourth embodiment, the user B can store the ringtone corresponding to the user A on the server side.

In this case, when the user A sends the presence information to the server, the server side changes or modifies the rhythm, tempo, or pitch of the ringtone corresponding to the user A according to the presence information sent from the user A. The generated code is generated and transmitted to the presence information transmission application on the user B side.
In response to this, the presence information transmitting application on the user B side reproduces the melody in accordance with the transmitted code.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation flow in this embodiment. Here, in the pre-processing shown in the figure,
A process of registering the assignment of the user and the ringtone to the server and also registering in the server what item to use as the presence information item, which will be described in a seventh embodiment below, is performed.

In the operation flow shown in FIG. 9, only the ringtone is described as the output of the presence information. However, for example, when the display is made by changing the color of the sphere on the screen, only the ringtone is displayed. Instead, it is also necessary to send the presence information (when the application on the receiving side performs the conversion from the presence information to the color) or the color information (when the color information is generated according to the presence information on the server side).

In the present embodiment, the ringtone code is sent from the server, but regarding the ringtones of the users who frequently exchange the presence information, the normal code is held on the portable terminal and the modulation code is transmitted. A method of sending from a server is also possible.

In this case, a method of manually setting whether to hold the mobile terminal or a method of automatically setting it depending on the frequency of communication with the other party is considered. In the case of automatic setting, the melody before modulation sent from the server is retained in the memory on the mobile terminal for a certain period of time, and the melody of the user who rarely exchanges presence information is deleted in order. A method can be considered.

In the fifth embodiment, the operation based on the first embodiment has been described, but the operation based on the second embodiment is also possible. In this case, since the presence information does not necessarily pass through the server, if the knowledge about the output of the sent presence information (for example, how to modulate the ringtone when a certain presence information is sent) is used, the mobile terminal of the user B side. When the above existence information transmission application does not have, the knowledge is downloaded from the server side each time.

[7] Seventh Embodiment 7: Selection of Items In the fifth embodiment, the items for the user to input the existence information are defined in advance by the server, and the items are identified for each of the items. There is an ID for doing.

When the user sets an item, he / she accesses the server and selects an item he / she wants to use from the items presented by the server. For example, in the fifth embodiment, the user A selects two items “fun ← → sad” and “leisure ← → busy” as items.

Identification IDs of, for example, 15 and 22 are attached to these items.
By managing the identification ID set by the user on the server side, when the presence information of several digits (for example, 72) is sent from the user, the existence information set by the user is changed from the identification ID set by the user. The server can know the contents. At this time, the identification ID of the item and the presence information may be set and notified to the server, such as (15, 7) and (22, 2).

On the other hand, the method of the fifth embodiment is similar to the method of the fifth embodiment.
In the case of using the above method, since the presence information is directly sent to the other party without passing through the server, it is necessary to transmit the identification ID together. For example, in the above example, 72 is sent as the existence information, but in reality, (15,7), (22,2)
As described above, it is necessary to send the item identification ID and the existence information as a set.

In this case, the knowledge of the identification ID (the transmitted identification I
How to present the presence information of D to the user)
If there is, the presence information is output to the user accordingly. On the other hand, when there is no knowledge of the identification ID, the server inquires about the processing method of the presence information corresponding to the identification ID, and outputs based on the inquiry result.

[8] Embodiment 8: Special code By providing the special code on the server side without considering the identification ID, the user can send the presence information to each other without being aware of the set identification ID. .

For example, the server side predefines a method of presenting presence information corresponding to numbers such as 4649 and 5963. When a special code is transmitted, for example, # is added to the beginning as a symbol representing the special code, # 4649 and # 5.
Send in the form of 963.

Also, in the presence information that is not usually set as an item, a frequently used code can be used by the user setting it in advance as a special code. For example, 1 of "I feel good ← → bad",
By setting 9 of “school ← → house” as the special code # 019, the user can use the special code to quickly send the presence information in which no item is set.

Further, in order to enable transmission of presence information which is not set as an item, it is possible to set while looking at the item. You can send the presence information by selecting some items you want to send while looking at the list of items and entering a numerical value (using the numeric keypad or slider).

This system is not suitable for the prompt transmission of presence information, but has a feature that it is possible to transmit presence information that is not normally set as an item.

The lower part of FIG. 8 shows an example of how to change or modulate the rhythm, tempo, and pitch of the ringtone according to the special chord.

[0139]

[9] Embodiment 9: Database Information managed by the databases prepared in Embodiments 5, 6, 7, and 8 can be roughly divided into user information and items.

As the user information, as shown in FIG. 10, the address of the user's portable terminal, the item defined by the user, the presence information transmitted by the user, and the user I of the transmission destination.
D, a user-defined special code, a user-defined ringtone assignment, and the like are registered.

On the other hand, as the item, an item identification ID, existence information, an output method (ringtone code changing method), a server-defined special code, and the like are registered.

In the database for managing ringtones, ringtone IDs, attribute information (title, creator, etc.), and ringtone data are registered.

[10] Embodiment 10: Transmission of Presence Information to Plural Users In Embodiments 1 and 2, the presence information was transmitted to a single user. Presence information can be transmitted to the user.

When the presence information is transmitted to a plurality of users, the presence information can be transmitted to the plurality of users by selecting the plurality of users on the screen of the mobile terminal.

[11] Embodiment 11: Method of transmitting presence information when not present When transmitting presence information, the timing of transmission of presence information may be important. For example, it may be inconvenient if we want to convey our existence now, but conversely we want to convey it later. In addition, there may be a case where the transmission interval or order of the presence information becomes a problem.

Therefore, we previously applied for a patent (Japanese Patent Application 2000
-251229), as one of the solutions, the existence information accumulated in the local disk is deteriorated with time. Moreover, in FaintPop, the trace of the transmitted information is displayed on the screen so that the exchange of the existing information can be seen.

In the present invention, the existence information is basically stored on the server side, but the existence information stored on the server side can be deteriorated by the same method.

The present invention further allows the user to specify the operation on the server side when the real-time presence information transmission fails.

For example, if it is not possible to convey the existence now if it cannot be conveyed later, the fact that the presence information just sent is not stored is transmitted to the server side. On the server side, the corresponding existence information is deleted from the database according to the request of this user.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the operation flow in this embodiment. As a method of handling untransmitted data of the existence information, a common process for untransmitted data that has failed to be transmitted once or more can be set in advance.

If the presence information may be sent at once, the presence information is merged. For example, when exhalation is blown to the mobile terminal, the average of the amplitudes of the waveforms in which exhalation is generated when the exhalation is added can be added and used as one presence information.

In the fifth embodiment, the presence information is input by the ten-key pad and is output as a modulated ringtone by the other party, but the presence information waiting to be sent to the same party is stored in the server. In such a case, a method is conceivable in which the presence information is added and then the transposition is performed, and the transposition is changed for each bar.

For example, "fun ← → sad", "free time ← →"
The presence information in which 72 is designated in the two items of "busy" is accumulated in the server, and the presence information in which 37 is designated in the two items of "fun ← → sad" and "like ← → hate" is newly added to the same opponent. Suppose it was sent to the server. In this case, this 2
Synthesizes the existence information of the times, "fun ← → sad", "leisure ←
527 about "busy" and "like ← → dislike"
It can be processed assuming that the existence information is obtained.

In this example, 5 which is the average value of 7 and 3 is given for the item of "fun ← → sad", but the presence information sent later is emphasized, for example, "7 * 0". .3
It is also possible to give + 3 * 0.7≈4 ″.

[12] Embodiment 12: Usage method of presence information By storing presence information transmitted by the user in the past in a database, information distribution considering the presence information transmitted by the user in the past, and user Collaborative filtering is performed using the presence information transmitted in the past, and it can be used for information exchange between users who have similar characteristics of the presence information.

Further, it can be used for marketing and the like by examining the tendency of the presence information to be transmitted.

[13] Embodiment 13: Random Transmission of Presence Information The server can arbitrarily send the presence information to the user who has transmitted the presence information through the server in the past.

[14] Embodiment 14: Confirmation of presence information browsing Even if the presence information is successfully transmitted to the mobile terminal of the other party, it is not known whether the other party will immediately see the presence information. For example, even if a melody for notifying an incoming call sounds, it cannot be seen if the user accidentally moves to another place with the mobile terminal left, or if the sound of the mobile terminal is cut off.

As one of the methods for judging whether or not the image is seen,
There is a method in which the presence information cannot be seen unless the button of the mobile terminal is pressed by the application.
When browsing, by transmitting the fact of browsing to the server side or the information sender side, it is possible to determine whether or not the user has browsed the presence information.

When not browsed, the unbrowsed existing information can be handled in the same manner as in the eleventh embodiment. In other words, by transmitting the handling method to the application on the information sender side, deletion of existing information that has not been browsed, deterioration of information that has not been browsed, information that has not been browsed, and information that has just been sent. It can be merged with information.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the operation flow in this embodiment. As a method of handling unviewed data of the existence information, common processing can be set in advance.

[15] Fifteenth embodiment: Presentation of history of presence information communication On the server, as a history of communication of presence information, the cumulative number of transmission destinations of transmitted messages and the transmission source of received messages are stored for each user. Record the cumulative number of times. The presence information transmission application requests the server to transmit the history information of the presence information (in this case, the cumulative number of transmission messages and reception messages for each communication partner).
The presence information transmission application that has received the history information from the server presents the communication history in a format that is intuitive and easy for the user to understand.

For example, a pie chart format as shown in Reference Document 4 below can be considered. Specifically, a fan-shaped area of the pie chart is assigned according to the ratio of the number of times of communication for each communication partner. Further, the area inside and outside the sector is painted in accordance with the ratio of the number of received messages and the number of transmitted messages in one sector.

By presenting the summary of the communication history to the user in such a format, it is expected to give feedback to the user's communication behavior (references 5 and 6).

Also, the presence information transmission application is
Issue a command to the server to reset the cumulative count. The server that has received the cumulative count reset command resets the communication history of the presence information of the corresponding user.

[4] Monfbertal Delgermer and Takeshi Oguro: Intuitive display of E-mail usage status-To improve awareness of communication behavior-, No. 1
Proceedings of the 60th National Convention of Japan (4), pp167-168, 2000. [5] Takeshi Ohguro: Towards Agents which are Sugge
stive of "Awarenessof Connecte dness", Trans.IEICE
(to appear), E84-D, No.8,2001. [6] Takeshi Ohguro: Towards the Agents which are S
uggestive of “Awareness of Connecte dness", Worksh
op on Software Agent and its Applications (SAA200
0), IEICE, pp207-214, 2000.

[0167]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It will be possible to realize communication without using words using a mobile terminal.

More specifically, according to the present invention, by substituting the existence information with a numeral, the existence information can be easily transmitted by a simple operation using the numeral.

According to the present invention, the presence information can be felt without looking at the screen of the portable terminal by converting the presence information into a melody and outputting the melody.

According to the present invention, the presence information can be processed by the information sender by accumulating the untransmitted and viewed / viewed presence information in the server, so that appropriate presence information can be transmitted. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an example of a flow of operations in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an example of a flow of operations in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an example of an operation flow in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an example of an operation flow according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an example of a ringing tone modulation method and an example of presence information to which a special code is added.

FIG. 9 is an example of an operation flow according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an example of information managed by a database.

FIG. 11 is an example of a flow of operations in the eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an example of the flow of operations in Embodiment 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Sending side mobile terminal 2 Receiving side mobile terminal 3 presence information transmission server 4 database

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takeshi Oguro             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Kaoru Funakoshi             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation F-term (reference) 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB21 DD17 DD51                       EE02 EE10 EE16 FF02 FF23                       FF25 FF31 HH11 HH22 KK15

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A presence information transmitting method for transmitting the presence information of a user who owns a mobile terminal to another mobile terminal, wherein one or more items of the presence information to be transmitted are set, and The process of registering the identifier information in the existence information transmission server, the process of inputting the user's existence information regarding the registered item, and the input existence information transmitted to the existence information transmission server in a form in which the set item is understood. And a step of transmitting the presence information to another mobile terminal via the presence information transmission server. 2. The presence information transmitting method according to claim 1, wherein in the inputting process, a special code is added so that the presence information transmitting server can decipher what is used as the item. A method of transmitting presence information characterized by inputting presence information. 3. The presence information transmitting method according to claim 1, wherein the presence information transmitting server handles the presence information that has not been transmitted or the presence information that has not been browsed, or A presence information transmitting method characterized by comprising a process of instructing both. 4. A presence information transmitting method for transmitting the presence information of a user who owns a mobile terminal to another mobile terminal, the step of setting one or more items of the presence information to be transmitted, and the setting described above. And a step of transmitting the input presence information to another mobile terminal while associating the presence information of the user regarding the entered item with the identifier information of the set item. Presence information transmission method. 5. The method for transmitting presence information according to claim 4, wherein when the mobile terminal to which the presence information is transmitted does not issue a viewing notification of the presence information,
A presence information transmitting method, comprising a step of instructing a method of handling presence information for which the viewing notification is not issued. 6. The presence information transmitting method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein when the transmission of the presence information fails in the transmitting process,
A presence information transmitting method, comprising a step of requesting the presence information transmitting server to transmit the presence information. 7. A presence information transmitting method for transmitting presence information of a user who owns another mobile terminal to a user who owns his / her own mobile terminal, wherein the presence information is associated with identifier information of one or more presence information items. The incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information is modulated according to the process of receiving the presence information of the user being transmitted and the received presence information and the items of the presence information associated with the received presence information. And a step of outputting the presence information. 8. A presence information transmitting method for transmitting presence information of a user who owns another mobile terminal to a user who owns his / her own mobile terminal, wherein the presence information of the user and items of the presence information associated therewith are provided. Process of receiving an incoming signal modulated and transmitted according to the above, or a signal used for modulating the incoming signal, and outputting the incoming signal of the received modulation, or using the received signal for modulation. And the step of outputting the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information by modulating and outputting the incoming signal assigned to the sender of the presence information. Transmission method. 9. The presence information transmitting method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of receiving user presence information transmitted in correspondence with one or a plurality of item identifier information. Presence information transmission method. 10. The method of transmitting presence information according to claim 7, wherein the source of the presence information instructs a method of handling the unviewed presence information. According to the present invention, a method for transmitting presence information, characterized by comprising a process for processing unexisting presence information. 11. A presence information transmission intermediary method used when transmitting the presence information of a user who owns a mobile terminal to another mobile terminal, the identifier information of the user being transmitted from the mobile terminal of the transmission source of the presence information. And a step of acquiring the presence information of the user relating to the presence information item set by the mobile terminal in a form in which the set presence information item is understood, and an incoming signal pointed to by the obtained identifier information of the user, The process of modulating according to the acquired presence information and the item of the presence information associated with it, or generating a signal used for the modulation, and the modulated incoming signal to the portable terminal of the destination of the presence information. Or the step of transmitting the generated modulation signal to the destination portable terminal, the presence information transmission mediation method. 12. The presence information transmission mediating method according to claim 11, wherein when the presence information to which the special code is added is acquired in the acquisition process, the presence information to which the special code is added is decoded. An existence information transmission mediating method, characterized by comprising a process of specifying the original existence information and the item of the existence information associated with the original existence information. 13. The presence information transmission mediating method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the presence information acquired and the identifier information of the item of the presence information associated with the obtained presence information are transmitted while the correspondence is provided. A mediation method for transmitting presence information, characterized by comprising the step of transmitting to the previous mobile terminal. 14. The presence information transmission mediating method according to claim 11, wherein when the transmission of the presence information fails, an untransmitted presence instructed by the portable terminal of the transmission source. An existence information transmission mediating method characterized by comprising a step of performing processing according to a method for handling information. 15. The presence information transmission mediating method according to claim 11, wherein the destination of the presence information is not notified from the destination of the presence information, the destination. The presence information transmission mediation method, which comprises the step of instructing the mobile terminal of step 1 to execute a process according to the handling method for the unviewed presence information instructed by the transmission source mobile terminal. 16. A presence information transmission program for causing a computer to execute the process used to implement the presence information transmission method according to claim 1. Description: 17. A presence information transmission mediating program for causing a computer to execute the process used to implement the presence information transmission mediating method according to claim 11. Description: 18. A recording medium of a presence information transmission program, which records a program for causing a computer to execute the process used to implement the presence information transmission method according to claim 1. Description: 19. A recording medium of an existence information transmission mediation program, which records a program for causing a computer to execute the process used for realizing the existence information transmission mediation method according to any one of claims 11 to 15.