JP2024137139A - Communication Promotion System - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a communication promotion system that promotes sharing of schedules within families by facilitating frequent communication between those who own information terminals and those who do not.SOLUTION: A communication promotion system 1 that promotes communication between a plurality of members includes a cloud server 2 that retains information about the members, an information terminal T that can send and receive information to/from the cloud server 2 and is linked to a specific member included in the plurality of members, and an operation terminal B with a monitor that can send and receive information to/from the cloud server and is shared by the plurality of members. The information terminal and the operation terminal with the monitor are connected to the server via a communication network 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication promotion system that promotes communication between, for example, family members.

In recent years, mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones have become widespread, and some of these mobile terminal devices have a schedule management function. Using the schedule management function described above, such mobile terminal devices can notify the user that a pre-registered date and time has arrived by sending an email to the mobile terminal device from, for example, an information processing device or a mail server (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-133485 A

However, with the above-mentioned method, in a family, a parent who owns a mobile terminal device can manage his or her own schedule using the mobile terminal device, but has no way of managing the child's schedule. Also, small children may not own a mobile terminal device, and situations may arise in which not only are the children not managing their own schedules, but no one is managing them at all.

The present invention was made with an eye on these issues, and aims to enable family members to share schedules by having frequent communication between those who own information terminals and those who do not.

To achieve this objective, the present invention takes the following measures:

In other words, the communication promotion system of the present invention is a communication promotion system that promotes communication between multiple members, and is characterized in that it comprises a server that holds information about members, an information terminal that is capable of sending and receiving information between the server and that is linked to a specific member included in the multiple members, and a monitor-equipped operation terminal that is capable of sending and receiving information to the server and that is shared by at least two members included in the multiple members, and that the information terminal and the monitor-equipped operation terminal are connected to the server via a communication network.

In this way, multiple members can communicate frequently by using information terminals and monitor-equipped operation terminals.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal has identification information, and when the server receives information from the information terminal together with the identification information of the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits information to the monitor-equipped operation terminal identified based on the identification information, and communicates the information to members.

This makes it easy to send information from the information terminal to the monitor-equipped operation terminal via the server.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal can set a destination to which information is to be sent, and when the server receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits the information to the information terminal of the member set as the destination and notifies the member that the information has been sent.

In this way, the information terminal of the member set as the destination is notified that the information has been sent, allowing the member to confirm the information with certainty.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal can set a destination to which information is to be sent, and when the server receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits the information to the member information terminal that is not set as a destination, but does not notify the user that the information has been sent.

In this way, by sending information to the information terminal of a member who is not set as a destination, the information can be made known to members who are not set as destinations.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of transmitting confirmation information for the task information received from the information terminal to the server.

In this way, the monitor-equipped operation terminal can send confirmation information to the server in response to task information received from the information terminal, such as "read" information indicating that the task information has been confirmed, or "completed" information indicating that the task has been completed.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of recording voice and transmitting the recorded voice data to the server.

This allows you to send the recorded audio data to the server.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal has a camera and, when transmitting information to the server, can also transmit image data captured by the camera.

In this way, by sending image data captured by the camera to the server, it is easy to confirm who sent the information to the server.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of transmitting voice data or image data to the server by remote operation from the information terminal.

In this way, audio can be recorded and the audio data can be sent to the server by remote control from an information terminal located away from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, and image data captured by the camera can also be sent to the server.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, the information terminal or the server has an evaluation unit that counts the number of times information is received from the monitor-equipped operation terminal and performs an evaluation according to that number, and it is preferable that the information terminal notifies each of the members of the evaluation results from the evaluation unit.

In this way, children are evaluated according to the number of times they use the monitor-equipped operating device, which increases their motivation to use the switch device to communicate.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, the information terminal is capable of transmitting response information to information transmitted from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, and the information terminal or the server has an evaluation unit that counts the number of times response information has been transmitted to the monitor-equipped operation terminal and performs an evaluation according to the number of times, and it is preferable that the information terminal notifies each of the members of the evaluation results from the evaluation unit.

In this way, information sent from the monitor-equipped operation device to the information terminal is evaluated according to the number of "likes" received, which increases children's motivation to use the monitor-equipped operation device to communicate.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, the information terminal has a creation and editing function that creates a member display image representing each member for each member, and the creation and editing function preferably creates member display images using at least one of a photograph, a portrait, and a self-created character, and using text related to the member as part of the body in different colors as the base color.

In this way, you can easily distinguish between members by creating individual member display images that represent each member.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that when there are a plurality of information terminals capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server, and some of the plurality of information terminals are connected to the server via a communication network, and the remaining information terminals of the plurality of information terminals are not connected to the server via the communication network, the some of the information terminals display that the remaining information terminals are not connected to the server via the communication network.

In this way, when there are multiple information terminals, it is possible to identify which of the multiple information terminals are not connected to the cloud server via the communication network.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that there are multiple groups each made up of multiple members, and the server is capable of transmitting information about members of each group to the information terminals linked to members of different groups.

This way, information can be sent and received between members belonging to multiple groups.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that multiple groups can be assigned levels from the perspective of a specific member, and that information can be made public or private all at once by level.

This way, if you have multiple groups, you can set information to be public or private for each group all at once.

In the communication promotion system of the present invention, it is preferable that the information terminal notifies information about each member in a different color or sound depending on the importance or urgency of the information.

This way, you can easily understand the importance or urgency of information about members.

According to the present invention, multiple members can communicate frequently by using information terminals and switch terminals.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication facilitation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating devices owned by each of multiple members P1 to P5. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing members P1 to P5 each associated with a plurality of devices and messages. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a monitor-attached operation terminal B. FIG. 11 is an image displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a switch terminal C. 1 is a diagram showing a procedure in which information is transmitted from location transmission terminals A1 to A3 to mobile terminals T1 to T2. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure in which a message is transmitted from portable terminals T1-T2 to monitor-attached operation terminals B1-B2. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure for transmitting information from monitor-attached operation terminals B1-B2 to information terminals T1-T2. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a procedure in which information is transmitted from switch terminals C1 to C12 to information terminals T1 to T2. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when five people are registered as one family. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when selecting a member character and the background color of the member character. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when creating and editing a user's own character. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when a registered spot is set. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the range of a registered spot. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when information about one member of a family is displayed. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the location information of family members is displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the location information of family members is displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the location information of family members is displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the member's travel route is displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the member's movement route is not displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when setting the disclosure range of the member's location information. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the member's travel route and time spent at the registered spots are displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the travel route and means of transportation of the members are displayed on a map. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the member's signal transmitting terminal is displayed away from the member's character mark. This is an image displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the user's home is displayed in the center of the display screen Tp. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the number of devices present at a registered spot is displayed. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the general direction of a device that is outside the display screen Tp is displayed. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the history is displayed for each registered spot. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when one day's worth of information is displayed in chronological order. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the contents of "actions" are extracted from one day's worth of communication and displayed. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when one day's worth of information is displayed in chronological order. This is an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when audio is recorded using the information terminal T. 2 shows the evaluation items set in the communication promotion system 1. It shows the types of badges for each item. This is an image displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the number of badges given to items 1 to 12 is displayed. This is an image displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the evaluation results for items 1 to 12 are displayed. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication facilitation system 101 according to a modified example of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

The communication promotion system 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a cloud server 2, two information terminals T (T1-T2), three position transmission terminals A (A1-A3), six signal transmission terminals a (a1-a6), two monitor-equipped operation terminals B (B1-B2), and twelve switch terminals C (C1-C12). The information terminals T, position transmission terminal A, monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and switch terminals C are each connected to the cloud server 2 via a communication network 5, such as a LAN or the Internet. The position transmission terminal A and signal transmission terminal a constitute a position information acquisition mechanism P.

The communication promotion system 1 is used to promote communication between multiple members, but in this embodiment, we will explain the case where it is used to promote communication between a family consisting of, for example, two parents and three children.

As shown in Figure 2, in one family, two parents P1 and P2 each own one information terminal T. In contrast, three children P3, P4, and P5 do not own an information terminal T. Instead, children P3, P4, and P5 each own one location transmission terminal A, two terminal devices B, and four switch terminals C. One family owns two monitor-equipped operation terminals B.

For example, "child P3 owns location transmission terminal A" means that location transmission terminal A1 is registered (linked) as belonging to child P3 in the information terminals T of parents P1 and P2. In other words, when location transmission terminal A1 is registered as belonging to child P3, location transmission terminal A1 is used to transmit information about child P3.

The cloud server 2 is composed of a general personal computer including a CPU, memory, network interface, etc., or a workstation, which is a computer with higher performance than a general personal computer. The cloud server 2 has a memory unit 2a and an evaluation unit 2b. The evaluation unit 2b will be described later.

The storage unit 2a of the cloud server 2 holds information 3 relating to multiple family members. The information 3 relating to the members includes, for example, registration information 3a relating to multiple devices, information 3b relating to their location, and information 3c relating to their schedule. Information 3c relating to a member's schedule is, for example, information registered for "Yosuke" such as "Going to cram school at x o'clock." The storage unit 2a of the cloud server 2 also stores multiple different types of daily information. In this embodiment, the multiple different types of information include "schedule" information, "message" information, "things to do" information, and "action" information.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 2a of the cloud server 2 holds registration information 3a indicating to whom each device (information terminal T, location transmission terminal A, signal transmission terminal a, monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and switch terminal C) is registered. Note that the information terminal T can change the member to whom each device held in the cloud server 2 is registered.

In this embodiment, information terminal T1 is registered as belonging to parent P1 (Shota's dad), and information terminal T2 is registered as belonging to parent P2 (Sakie's mom). Location transmission terminal A1 is registered as belonging to child P3 (Chiaki), location transmission terminal A2 is registered as belonging to child P4 (Fumika), and location transmission terminal A3 is registered as belonging to child P5 (Yosuke).

Signal transmission terminals a1-a2 are registered as belonging to child P3 (Chiaki), signal transmission terminals a3-a4 are registered as belonging to child P4 (Fumika), and signal transmission terminals a5-a6 are registered as belonging to child P5 (Yosuke). Monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-b2 are registered as belonging to all family members. Switch terminals C1-C4 are registered as belonging to child P3 (Chiaki), switch terminals C5-C8 are registered as belonging to child P4 (Fumika), and switch terminals C9-C12 are registered as belonging to child P5 (Yosuke).

In addition, the message "I'm leaving/I'm back" is registered in switch terminals C1, C5, and C9, the message "I washed my hands" is registered in switch terminals C2, C6, and C10, the message "I fed my pet" is registered in switch terminals C3, C7, and C11, and the message "I finished my homework" is registered in switch terminals C4, C8, and C12. Note that information terminal T can change the message registered for each device stored in cloud server 2.

Information 3b relating to the location of each member may include, for example, information about the current location, whether or not the member is at a registered spot, and the time the member was last at a registered spot. Information 3b relating to the location is often based on location information sent to the cloud server 2 from information terminals T1, T2 and location transmission terminals A1 to A3.

Information 3c about each member's schedule may include, for example, information such as departure time, return time, destination, departure time, arrival time (school, cram school, company, supermarket, etc.), actions to take while out (physical education class, test, important meeting, social gathering, etc.), actions to take after returning home (snacks, homework, preparing dinner, preparing for the next day, etc.), and information about belongings that will be needed while out (lunch, water bottle, backpack, etc.). As this information is highly confidential, it is preferable to set it so that it is made public only to a limited group. Information 3c about the schedule is often based on information set by information terminals T1, T2 and sent to cloud server 2.

The information terminal T is an information and communication terminal owned by two parents in a family, and is configured to include a CPU, memory, a network interface, an input unit, etc., and is capable of implementing general information processing functions. The information terminal T has a memory unit Ta, a control unit Tb, a location information acquisition unit Tc, and a display screen Tp. Specific examples of the information terminal T include portable mobile terminals such as smartphones, tablet-type communication terminals, mobile phones, and notebook computers. In the following description, the information terminal T is assumed to be a smartphone, and the display screen Tp and input unit are configured with a touch panel.

The information terminal T can send and receive information to and from the cloud server 2 via Wi-Fi. The information terminal T has a location information acquisition unit Tc that includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) function, and can receive signals from GPS satellites, acquire the current location information (latitude, longitude) of the information terminal T, and transmit the current location information to the cloud server 2.

In addition, the information terminal T operates as part of the communication promotion system 1 by having specific application software installed. For example, the specific application software installed is application software for managing information about members.

The position transmission terminal A has a memory unit Aa, a control unit Ab, and a position information acquisition unit Ac. The position transmission terminal A has the position information acquisition unit Ac that includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) function, and can receive signals from GPS satellites, acquire the current position information (latitude, longitude) of the position transmission terminal A, and transmit the current position information to the cloud server 2 via Wi-Fi. The position transmission terminal A has identification information AZ (such as a MAC address) that is unique to each device. The position transmission terminal A is a portable mobile terminal.

The signal emitting terminal a is a small signal transmitter that can be attached to or stored in a child's belongings, such as a bag. The signal emitting terminal a has a memory unit aa, a control unit ab, and a signal emitting unit ac. The signal emitting terminal a wirelessly emits a signal, for example, once every few seconds, within a radius of several meters to several tens of meters. The signal emitted from the signal emitting terminal a is transmitted to the information terminal T and the position transmitting terminal A via Bluetooth. The signal emitting terminal a is a portable mobile terminal.

When signal transmitting terminal a is within a detectable range, information terminal T and position transmitting terminal A can receive the signal transmitted from signal transmitting terminal a. By receiving the signal transmitted from signal transmitting terminal a, information terminal T detects that signal transmitting terminal a is in the vicinity of information terminal T. Similarly, by receiving the signal transmitted from signal transmitting terminal a, position transmitting terminal A detects that signal transmitting terminal a is in the vicinity of position transmitting terminal A.

In this embodiment, the information terminal T and the position transmission terminal A can receive a signal output from the signal transmission terminal a within a predetermined range (e.g., a radius of several tens of meters) from the signal transmission terminal a. For example, a BLE tag that transmits a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacon signal can be used as the signal transmission terminal a.

The information terminal T and the location transmission terminal A receive signals transmitted from a signal transmitter that transmits a signal in the same frequency band as the signal transmission terminal a, not limited to the signal transmission terminal a included in the communication promotion system 1 (signal transmission terminal a registered as belonging to a family member), if such a signal transmitter is present within a predetermined range (e.g., a radius of several tens of meters).

Therefore, from among all the signal transmitters from which the information terminal T and the position transmission terminal A receive signals, they identify only the signal transmitter a registered in the same family (group) as the information terminal T and the position transmission terminal A, that is, only the signal transmission terminal a included in the communication promotion system 1, and transmit only information related to that signal transmission terminal a to the cloud server 2.

In this way, the location transmission terminal A identifies whether the signal of the signal transmission terminal that it received is capable of transmitting the detection information, and when transmitting its own location information to the cloud server 2, it also transmits information indicating that it has detected the signal transmission terminal a that has been identified as capable of transmitting. In this embodiment, only signal transmitters a registered in the same family (group) as the location transmission terminal A are identified as capable of transmitting.

The detection of the signal transmitting terminal a is performed through the identification information aZ (such as a MAC address) unique to each device, and the identification information aZ of the signal transmitting terminal a that needs to be detected (for example, the signal transmitting terminal a owned by a family member) is preregistered in the location transmitting terminal A.

The location transmission terminal A transmits the current location information acquired at a predetermined timing (e.g., once every few seconds) to the cloud server 2. At that time, the location transmission terminal A transmits identification information AZ (such as a MAC address) by which it can identify itself to the cloud server 2. In addition, when the location transmission terminal A receives a signal transmitted from a signal transmission terminal a registered as a family member, it transmits the identification information aZ of the signal transmission terminal a that received the signal to the cloud server 2.

The location transmission terminal A may have an operation unit (not shown), and when the operation unit is operated, the acquired current location information may be transmitted to the cloud server 2.

Therefore, cloud server 2 can identify the location of location transmission terminal A based on identification information AZ received from location transmission terminal A. Therefore, if children T3, T4, and T5 each carry location transmission terminal A when they go out, cloud server 2 can identify where children T3, T4, and T5 are currently located.

Based on the identification information AZ of the location transmission terminal A, the cloud server 2 identifies which child the location transmission terminal A is registered as, and transmits this as the location information of the identified child to the information terminal T. Note that by setting the cloud server 2 using the information terminal T, it is also possible to transmit information on the identified child from the cloud server 2 to the monitor-equipped operation terminal B.

The cloud server 2 can also identify the location of the signal transmitting terminal a based on the identification information aZ of the signal transmitting terminal a received from the location transmitting terminal A. That is, the cloud server 2 can determine whether the signal transmitting terminal a is in the vicinity of the location transmitting terminal A based on the identification information AZ of the location transmitting terminal A received from the location transmitting terminal A and the identification information aZ of the signal transmitting terminal a. Therefore, it can determine whether the three children T3, T4, and T5 are carrying a bag or the like containing the signal transmitting terminal a when they go out.

The monitor-equipped operation terminal B is a communication terminal device shared by one family and includes a CPU, memory, a network interface, an input unit, etc. The monitor-equipped operation terminal B has a memory unit Ba, a control unit Bb, and a display 10. In the following explanation, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B is assumed to have a display 10 and an input unit configured as a touch panel. The monitor-equipped operation terminal B has identification information BZ (such as a MAC address) unique to each device.

The two monitor-equipped operation terminals B are used, for example, installed on a wall indoors or on a desk. The monitor-equipped operation terminals B are connected to a USB charger via a USB cable and are used in a stationary state at the installation location.

As shown in FIG. 4, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B is a communication terminal device having a display 10. On the front of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B, as shown in FIG. 4(a), there are provided the display 10, a camera 11 arranged above the display 10, and a microphone 12 arranged below the display 10. The camera 11 takes a picture of the sender's face to create image data in order to show who is sending when, for example, children send a message or voice data. The microphone 12 receives the voice when, for example, children send voice data.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), the top surface of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B is provided with a home button 13 that is operated to display a list of family members, a record button 14 that is operated to record audio, and a message button 15 that is operated to display a list of actions for that day. As shown in FIG. 4(c), the back surface of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B is provided with a speaker 16 and a USB port 18.

The monitor-equipped operation terminal B operates as part of the communication promotion system 1 by installing specific application software. The monitor-equipped operation terminal B can transmit recorded voice data and image data captured by the camera 11 to the cloud server 2 by remote control from an information terminal T located at a distance.

Figures 5(a) to 5(c) show images displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B.

Figure 5(a) shows an image displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operating terminal B when the home button 13 is operated. On the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operating terminal B, similar to the image (Figure 11) of a list of family members P1 to P5 displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T described later, the parents P1 to P2 and children P3 to P5, who are the group members of one family, are displayed divided into vertically long rectangular display areas 10a to 10e, respectively, and the registered family members P1 to P5 are displayed in a list. In Figure 5(a), the current locations of the family members P1 to P5 are displayed at the bottom of the display areas 10a to 10e for the family members P1 to P5, and the number of received messages is displayed at the top of the display areas 10a to 10e.

Figure 5 (b) shows an image that is displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B when the recording button 14 is operated. An image for recording a voice message is displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B.

Figure 5(c) is an image displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B when the message button 15 is operated. A list of actions for that day is displayed on the display 10 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B. In Figure 5(c), for example, the time when "Chiaki" pressed the switch terminal C1 on which the message "I'm back" is registered, and the time when "Yosuke" left school as detected by the location transmission terminal A3 are displayed.

The switch terminal (button device) C has a memory unit Ca, a control unit Cb, and an operation button 30. The switch terminal C has identification information CZ (such as a MAC address) that is unique to each device. The switch terminal C is capable of transmitting the identification information CZ to the cloud server 2, but is configured not to receive information from the cloud server 2. The switch terminal C does not have a display unit for displaying information. The signal from the switch terminal C is either an on signal when the operation button 30 is operated, or an off signal when the operation button 30 is not operated. The signal from the switch terminal C is transmitted to the cloud server 2 via Wi-Fi via a home router terminal.

As shown in FIG. 6(a1), the switch terminal C has an operation button 30, which is an operation part, and a plate 35, which is a decorative part attached to the back side of the operation button 30. The switch terminal C of this embodiment is operated simply by pressing the operation button 30, and is configured so that it can be operated simply and inexpensively, and so that even children will not make a mistake. The switch terminal C is used while installed on a wall or a desk indoors, for example.

The operation button 30 includes a fixed part 31 arranged on the back side and a movable part 32 arranged on the front side. The fixed part 31 is a part that is installed and fixed on a wall surface indoors, for example. The movable part 32 is configured to be able to move forward and backward with respect to the fixed part 31. Note that a spring (not shown) is arranged between the fixed part 31 and the movable part 32. Therefore, when an operation is performed on the operation button 30, if a force acts on the movable part 32 in a direction toward the fixed part 31, the movable part 32 moves toward the fixed part 31, but when the force is no longer acting, the movable part 32 moves in a direction away from the fixed part 31 and returns to its original state.

A ring-shaped protrusion 33 that protrudes radially outward is formed at the tip of the fixed portion 31. Four locking portions 34 are provided on the fixed portion 31 on the back side of the ring-shaped protrusion 33. The locking portions 34 have a narrow width and extend linearly in a direction perpendicular to the ring-shaped protrusion 33. The four locking portions 34 are arranged at 90 degree intervals around the circumference of the fixed portion 31.

The plate 35 is a plate-like member that is larger than the operation button 30 in a plan view. The plate 35 has an opening 36 for mounting on the back side of the operation button 30. The opening 36 is substantially circular, and its size is smaller than the outer diameter of the annular protrusion 33 of the operation button 30. Therefore, when the back portion of the operation button 30 is inserted into the opening 36 of the plate 35, the annular protrusion 33 comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the opening 36 of the plate 35 along its entire circumference.

The size of the opening 36 of the plate 35 is smaller than the size of a circle passing through the tips of the outer periphery of the four locking portions 34 formed on the operation button 30. Therefore, when the annular protrusion 33 is in contact with the periphery of the opening 36 of the plate 35, the tips of the four locking portions 34 press the periphery of the opening 36 of the plate 35 radially outward. This fixes the plate 35 to the operation button 30 so that it will not come off.

When the plate 35 is attached to the operation button 30, as shown in FIG. 6(a2), the plate 35 is positioned on the back side of the operation button 30. At that time, as described above, since the plate 35 is larger than the operation button 30, the outer periphery of the plate 35 is positioned outside the operation button 30. In this way, since the plate 35 is positioned so as to extend outward beyond the outer periphery of the operation button 30, the visibility of the switch terminal C is improved.

As described above, the switch terminal C shown in FIG. 6(a2) is one in which the message "I washed my hands" has been registered in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2. Therefore, the outer shape of the plate 35 is configured in the shape of a "hand." This makes it easy to know that this switch terminal C is the switch terminal C in which the message "I washed my hands" has been registered. Also, stickers of various shapes can be attached to the surface of the operation button 30 to create, for example, a face design.

Figure 6 (b1) shows a plate 35 used for a switch terminal C in which the message "You have fed your pet" is registered in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2. When the plate 35 is attached to the operation button 30, the plate 35 is placed on the back side of the operation button 30, as shown in Figure 6 (b2). The outer shape of the plate 35 is configured in the shape of a "rabbit", making it easy to know that this switch terminal C is the switch terminal C in which the message "You have fed your pet" is registered.

Figure 6 (c1) shows a plate 35 used for a switch terminal C in which the message "Homework is done" is registered in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2. When the plate 35 is attached to the operation button 30, the plate 35 is placed on the back side of the operation button 30, as shown in Figure 6 (c2). The outer shape of the plate 35 is configured in the shape of a "pencil," making it easy to know that this switch terminal C is the switch terminal C in which the message "Homework is done" is registered.

In this way, by making the outer shape of the plate 35 a shape that is related to the message registered in the switch terminal C, children can easily understand the message registered in the switch terminal C when they look at the switch terminal C.

The switch terminal C is installed in a location related to the message associated with it, and the operation button 30 is operated when an action related to the message is performed. For example, the switch terminal C in which the message "I washed my hands" is registered is installed on a sink.

When the operation button 30 is operated, the switch terminal C transmits identification information CZ for identifying itself to the cloud server 2. In this case, the cloud server 2 determines which child the switch terminal C is registered as based on the identification information CZ received from the switch terminal C, and transmits this information to the information terminal T as information on the identified child. Note that by setting this information on the cloud server 2 using the information terminal T, it is also possible to transmit this information from the cloud server 2 to the monitor-equipped operation terminal B as information on the identified child.

The procedure for transmitting information from location transmission terminals A1 to A3 to mobile terminals T1 and T2 is explained with reference to FIG. 7.

First, in order for location transmission terminal A to periodically transmit its location information AN to cloud server 2, in step S1, location transmission terminal A repeatedly determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. If location transmission terminal A determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed, it repeats the process of step S1. If location transmission terminal A determines that the predetermined time has elapsed, it proceeds to step S2. In step S2, location transmission terminal A acquires its location information AN. Subsequently, in step S3, location transmission terminal A determines whether or not it has received a signal transmitted from a signal transmission device in its vicinity. If location transmission terminal A determines that it has received a signal transmitted from a signal transmission device, it proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, location transmission terminal A determines whether signal transmission device a that received the signal is registered as a family member. Note that location transmission terminal A determines that signal transmission device a is registered as a family member if the identification information transmitted by the signal transmission device that received the signal matches the identification information aZ of signal transmission device a that is registered as a family member.

If it is determined that the signal transmission device that received the signal from the position transmission terminal A is registered as a family member, in step S5, when transmitting the identification information AZ that identifies itself and the position information AN to the cloud server 2, the position transmission terminal A also transmits the identification information aZ of the signal transmission terminal a that is registered as a family member to the cloud server 2. Then, proceed to step S7.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that location transmission terminal A has not received a signal transmitted from a signal transmission device, and if it is determined in step S4 that the signal transmission device from which location transmission terminal A received a signal is not registered as a family member, then in step S6 location transmission terminal A transmits identification information AZ and location information AN that identify itself to cloud server 2. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the cloud server 2 identifies the location transmission terminal A based on the received identification information AZ of the location transmission terminal A and the member-related information 3 (information shown in FIG. 3) stored in the cloud server 2. Then, in step S8, the cloud server 2 identifies which child the identified location transmission terminal A is registered as based on the member-related information 3 (information shown in FIG. 3) stored in the cloud server 2.

Then, in step S9, the cloud server 2 determines whether or not it has received the detection information of the family member's signal transmission device a. If the cloud server 2 determines that it has received the detection information of the family member's signal transmission device a, in step S10, the cloud server 2 transmits the location information AN of the location transmission terminal A and the detection information of the family member's signal transmission device a as information on the owner of the location transmission terminal A to the mobile terminal T registered as the family member's.

In contrast, if the cloud server 2 determines that it has not received detection information from a family member's signal transmission device a, in step S11, the cloud server 2 transmits the location information AN of the location transmission terminal A as information on the owner of the location transmission terminal A to the mobile terminal T registered as a family member.

In step S12, the information terminal T displays the location information AN of the location transmission terminal A on the display screen Tp. At that time, if the information terminal T is receiving detection information from a family member's signal transmission device a, it also displays the detection information from that signal transmission device a on the display screen Tp.

The procedure for sending a message M from information terminals T1 and T2 to monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 is described below with reference to FIG. 8.

First, in step S101, the information terminals T and T2 determine whether or not a message to be sent to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 has been input. If it is determined that a message to be sent to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 has not been input by the information terminals T and T2, the process of step S101 is repeated. If it is determined that a message to be sent to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 has been input by the information terminals T and T2, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, the information terminals T and T2 determine whether the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 have been set as the transmission destination. It is possible to set both the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 as the transmission destination, or to set only one of the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 as the transmission destination.

If it is determined that the information terminals T and T2 have not set the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 as the transmission destination, the process of step S102 is repeated. If it is determined that the information terminals T and T2 have set the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 as the transmission destination, the process proceeds to step S103.

In step S103, the information terminals T1 and T2 transmit the input message M to the cloud server 2 together with the identification information BZ of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B that is set as the transmission destination.

In step S104, the cloud server 2 identifies the monitor-equipped operation terminal B based on the received identification information BZ of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B. Then, in step S105, the cloud server 2 transmits the message M received from the information terminals T1 and T2 to the identified monitor-equipped operation terminal B.

In step S106, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 display the received message M on the display 10. Note that the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 and B2 may not display the received message M on the display 10, but may instead display content indicating that the message M has been received.

Specific examples of messages sent from information terminals T1, T2 to monitor-equipped operation terminals B1, B2 include "things to do" (tasks, assigned work) sent to children. "Things to do" for children include "Have you finished your homework?", "Have you fed your pet?", etc. Information terminal T can also send "like" response information in response to information sent from monitor-equipped operation terminal B (e.g., voice data, image data, etc.).

The procedure for sending a message from the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 to the information terminals T1 and T2 will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Here, the procedure for sending a message from the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 to the information terminals T1 and T2 will be described.

First, in step S201, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 judges whether task completion information TN indicating completion of the "to do" received from the information terminals T1 and T2 has been created. The task completion information TN indicating completion of the "to do" may be task confirmation information TN indicating confirmation of the "to do". The monitor-attached operation terminal B1 judges that task completion information TN has been created when the child operates the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 to input task completion information TN indicating completion of the "to do". If it is judged that task completion information TN has been created by the monitor-attached operation terminal B1, in step S202, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 saves the created task completion information TN and proceeds to step S203. If it is judged that task completion information TN has not been created by the monitor-attached operation terminal B1, proceeds to step S203.

In step S203, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines whether or not voice data D1 has been created. If the children operate the recording button 14 to record voice, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that voice data D1 has been created. If it is determined that voice data D1 has been created by the monitor-attached operation terminal B1, in step S204, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 saves the created voice data D1 and proceeds to step S205. If it is determined that voice data D1 has not been created by the monitor-attached operation terminal B1, proceeds to step S205.

In step S205, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines whether image data D2 has been created. If the children have taken a picture of the sender's face with the camera 11, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that image data D2 has been created. If the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that image data D2 has been created, in step S206, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 saves the created image data D2 and proceeds to step S207. If the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that image data D2 has not been created, the process proceeds to step S207.

In step S207, the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines whether there is at least one of the task completion information TN (task confirmation information TN), the voice data D1, and the image data D2 to be sent to the cloud server 2. If the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that there is no information to be sent to the cloud server 2, the process returns to step S201. If the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 determines that there is information to be sent to the cloud server 2, the process proceeds to step S208.

In step S208, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 sets either the information terminal T1 or T2 as the destination. Here, a case where the information terminal T1 is set as the destination is described. Then, in step S209, at least one of the task completion information TN (task confirmation information TN), the audio data D1, and the image data D2 is transmitted to the cloud server 2.

In step S210, the cloud server 2 transmits the information to the information terminal T1 set as the destination, and also transmits a push notification indicating that the information has been transmitted. The cloud server 2 also transmits the information to the information terminal T2 that is not set as the destination. At that time, the cloud server 2 does not transmit a push notification indicating that the information has been transmitted to the information terminal T2.

In step S211, the information terminal T1 that has been set as the destination displays the received information and the push notification on the display screen Tp. Meanwhile, the information terminal T2 that has not been set as the destination displays the received information on the display screen Tp, but does not display the push notification on the display screen Tp.

Specific examples of messages being sent from the monitor-equipped operation terminal B to the information terminal T include sending "read" information when the "to-do" sent by the parent has been confirmed, and sending "completed" information when the "to-do" sent by the parent has been completed. At that time, for example, the sender's face can be photographed by the camera 11 of the monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and the captured image data can be sent together, making it easy to know who sent the message.

The procedure for transmitting information from switch terminal C to information terminal T is explained with reference to FIG. 10.

First, in step S301, the switch terminal C repeatedly determines whether or not a button operation has been performed on the operation button 30. If the switch terminal C determines that no button operation has been performed on the operation button 30, the process of step S301 is repeated. If the switch terminal C determines that a button operation has been performed on the operation button 30, in step S302, the switch terminal C on which the button operation has been performed transmits identification information CZ that identifies the switch terminal C to the cloud server 2.

In step S303, the cloud server 2 identifies the switch terminal C (C1 to C12) based on the identification information CZ of the switch terminal C and the member-related information 3 (information shown in FIG. 3) stored in the cloud server 2. Then, in step S304, the cloud server 2 identifies the child to whom the identified switch terminal C is registered based on the member-related information 3 (information shown in FIG. 3) stored in the cloud server 2.

Furthermore, in step S305, the cloud server 2 identifies the message registered in the identified switch terminal C (C1 to C12) based on the member-related information 3 (the information shown in FIG. 3) stored in the cloud server 2. Then, in step S306, the cloud server 2 transmits the identified child's information and the message registered in the switch terminal C (C1 to C12) to the mobile terminal T.

In step S307, the mobile terminal T displays the message registered in the identified switch terminal C (C1 to C12) on the display screen Tp as information about the identified child.

Figure 11 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of an information terminal T when five people are registered as one family. Note that the list display in Figure 11 shows an image displayed on the information terminal T1 of "Shota Papa."

Specifically, "Shota's dad" and "Sakie's mom" are registered as parents P1 and P2, and "Chiaki," "Fumika," and "Yosuke" are registered as children P3 to P5.

The parents P1-P2 and children P3-P5 who are the group members of one family are displayed in separate vertically long rectangular display areas 51a-51e, respectively, and the registered family members P1-P5 are displayed in a list. Each group member P1-P5 can be displayed using a photograph, portrait, or a self-made character. Therefore, the information terminal T also has a function for creating and editing photographs, portraits, and self-made characters, and in FIG. 11, self-made characters are used as the member display images for each group member P1-P5.

Figure 12 shows an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when selecting a member character and the background color of the member character.

Different colors can be registered for each member as the color of the member character (member display image) and the background color of the member character. These colors can be selected from 12 colors, and different members cannot select the same color. Therefore, by selecting a different color for each member, multiple member characters can be easily distinguished. Therefore, in the display areas 51a to 51e of each member P1 to P5 in Figure 11 described above, the member characters and the background colors of the member characters are displayed in different colors.

Figure 13 shows an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when creating and editing a custom character.

First, select the "body" of your own character as shown in Figure 13(a). In this embodiment, we will explain how to create a character by selecting the first letter (hiragana) of a member's name. Next, select parts from multiple pre-prepared parts in the order of "face," "head accessories," "body accessories," and "shoes" as shown in Figures 13(b) to 13(e) to create the character.

Therefore, in the family list display in FIG. 11 described above, for example, taking the display area 51a for "Shota Papa," the torso is displayed as an initial or alphabet as a member character (member display image) 52a representing "Shota Papa." In FIG. 11, the first letter of "shi," which is "Shota Papa," is used. The member character is created by combining the face, eyes, nose, mouth, and other facial parts with the torso. Symbols other than letters can also be used in combination with the member character 52a.

In this way, member character 52a of "Shota Papa" is created by selecting the parts "face", "body accessory", "head accessory", and "shoes" in that order for the torso which is the character "shi". As shown in FIG. 13, many types of "face", "head accessory", "body accessory", and "shoes" parts are available, so even if there is another member whose first character begins with "shi" like "Shota Papa", a different combination of parts "face", "body accessory", "head accessory", and "shoes" are selected for the torso which is the character "shi", an easily identifiable member character can be created.

Below the member character 52a of "Shota Papa," the word "Shota Papa" 53a, which is the nickname of the registered user, is written, and above the member character 52a, a notification 54a is displayed indicating that an email has been received.

A spot icon 55a can be displayed on the back of the member character 52a of "Shota Papa." As shown in FIG. 14, in the information terminal T, icons indicating multiple locations are prepared in advance as spot icons indicating registered spots, and one or multiple registered spots can be set from among them. In FIG. 14, for example, a spot icon 61 indicating "company," a spot icon 62 indicating "school," and a spot icon 63 indicating "preparation" are shown.

In this embodiment, many registered spots are preset for a family of five, and the set registered spots include "Dad's company," "Mom's company," "School," and "Preparation." Therefore, when members P1 to P5 are in one of the many registered spots, an icon indicating that registered spot is displayed behind the member character as a spot icon.

When "Dad's Company" is set as a registered spot on information terminal T, a circular range of a specified radius centered on "Dad's Company" is set. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the "Public Range of Spot" display area 64 is set to "30 m" as the specified radius. In other words, when "Dad's Company" is set as a registered spot, a range of 30 m radius centered on "Dad's Company" is set as the registered spot. Note that on information terminal T, the numerical value displayed in the "Public Range of Spot" display area 64 can be set to any of 10 m, 30 m, 50 m, or 100 m. By changing this numerical value, the size of the range of the registered spot can be changed.

In the list display of FIG. 11, "Shota Dad" is currently in "Dad's Company," one of the registered spots, so the spot icon 55a of the building representing "Dad's Company" is displayed behind the member character 52a representing "Shota Dad." When "Shota Dad" is currently in "Dad's Company," one of the registered spots, this means that he is within a circular range with a radius of 30 m centered on "Dad's Company," as shown in FIG. 15.

The bottom row 56a of the display area 51a for "Shota Dad" displays "Dad's Company 1 hour ago." This display means that "Shota Dad" was at "Dad's Company," which is a registered spot, 1 hour before the current time displayed at the top of the display screen Tp.

In addition, if "Shota Papa" moves outside the circular range with a radius of 30 m centered on "Papa's Company", the spot icon 55a of "Papa's Company" will no longer be displayed on the back 52a of "Shota Papa's" member character 52a.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, "IN/OUT" is set in the display area 65 for "timing of push notification." Therefore, when members P1 to P5 enter the range of any of the multiple registered spots, and when they leave the range of any of the multiple registered spots, notifications indicating "who entered which registered spot" and "who left which registered spot" are sent to the information terminals T (T1 and T2) and displayed on the display screen Tp.

The display of this spot icon and the time when the person was most recently at the registered spot also applies to "Sakie Mama," "Chiaki," "Fumika," and "Yosuke" in addition to "Shota Dad."

In the list display of FIG. 11, "Sakie Mama" is at "Mama's Company," one of the registered spots, so the spot icon 55b of the building representing "Mama's Company" is displayed behind the member character 52b representing "Sakie Mama." Additionally, the bottom row 56b of the display area for "Sakie Mama" displays "Mama's Company 3 hours ago." This display shows the time when "Sakie Mama" left "Mama's Company," the most recent registered spot where she was. In other words, this means that "Sakie Mama" was at the registered spot "Mama's Company" 3 hours ago from the current time.

The mark 56b1 displayed at the left end of the bottom row 56b of the display area 51b for "Sakie Mama" has a "diagonal line" drawn on it. This "diagonal line" signifies that "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 is not currently connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5. Therefore, the location information of "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 is not currently being transmitted from "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 to the cloud server 2. Therefore, although the current location of "Sakie Mama" is not displayed in the list display of FIG. 11, it can be seen that "Sakie Mama" was at "Mama's Office" 3 hours ago.

In the list display in Figure 11, because "Chiaki" is not currently at any of the many registered spots, no spot icon indicating any of the registered spots is displayed behind member character 52c. Additionally, the bottom row 56c of "Chiaki"'s display area 51c displays "School 1 hour ago." This display indicates the time when "Chiaki" left "School," the most recent registered spot where she was. In other words, this means that "Chiaki" was at "School," one of the registered spots, 1 hour ago from now.

In the list display in Figure 11, "Fumika" is not at any of the four registered spots, so no spot icon indicating any of the registered spots is displayed behind member character 52d. Also, the bottom row 56d of "Fumika's" display area 51d displays "Preparation 1 hour ago." This display indicates the time when "Fumika" left "Preparation," the most recent registered spot where she was. In other words, this means that "Fumika" was at "Preparation," one of the registered spots, 1 hour ago from now.

In the list display in Figure 11, since "Yosuke" is not at any of the four registered spots, no spot icon indicating any of the registered spots is displayed behind member character 52e. Additionally, the bottom row 56e of "Yosuke's" display area 51e displays "School 1 hour ago." This display indicates the time when "Yosuke" left "School," the most recent registered spot where he was. In other words, this means that "Yosuke" was at "School," one of the registered spots, 1 hour ago from now.

The information terminal T of this embodiment is an information terminal in which application software for managing information about members P1 to P5 is installed, and includes a memory unit Ta that stores information about multiple members P1 to P5 included in one family (group), and a control unit Tb that controls the content displayed on the display screen Tp. When the application software is started, the control unit Tb displays a list of family members P1 to P5 in FIG. 11 on the display screen Tp as information about the locations of multiple members P1 to P5. By looking at the family list display in FIG. 11, it is easy to know whether family members P1 to P5 are each at a registered spot. Therefore, the current location of each member P1 to P5 can be immediately known.

In the list display of FIG. 11, when you tap on any of the bottom rows 56a-56e of the display areas 51a-51e of each member on the display screen Tp, the screen will switch to one that displays the location information of members P1-P5 on a map, as described below.

Figure 16 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when information about one member of a family is displayed.

In the family list display of FIG. 11, when the display area of one member is tapped, a screen is displayed showing information about that member. FIG. 16 illustrates a case in which information about "Sakie Mama" is displayed when the display area 51b for "Sakie Mama" is tapped in the family list display of FIG. 11.

In FIG. 16, below the area 80 displaying the member character 52b of "Sakie Mama", there is an area 81 displaying the registered spot where "Sakie Mama" was most recently, and an area 82 displaying her current status. The area 81 in FIG. 16 displays "Mama's Company", which is the registered spot where "Sakie Mama" was most recently, and the area 82 displays that her current status is "busy". The display in area 82 can be switched between a "busy" status and a "free" (not busy) status. The current status displayed in area 82 can be switched by operating the information terminal T2 owned by "Sakie Mama". For example, if a member is busy, in the family list display in FIG. 11, the member character is switched to a sweaty status to indicate that she is busy.

Below areas 81 and 82 is area 83 which displays the number of "hellos" and "messages". The number of "hellos" indicates the number of times the communication promotion system 1 has been used. That is, in the case of "Sakie Mama", points are given each time, for example, information is received from location transmission terminal A, a message is sent from information terminal T2 to monitor-equipped operation terminal B, or information is received from switch terminal C. Therefore, a system has been created which gives points according to the amount of activity in communicating using other devices. The number of "messages" indicates the total number of times messages have been sent and received to and from information terminal T1 owned by "Shota Papa", and the number of times messages have been sent and received to and from monitor-equipped operation terminal B.

Below area 83 is area 84, which displays information about other devices managed by "Sakie Mama." In area 84, tapping area 84a corresponding to location transmission terminal A, area 84b corresponding to switch terminal C, area 84c corresponding to monitor-equipped operation terminal B, or area 84d corresponding to signal transmission terminal a will switch to a screen that displays the action history of each device.

The image displayed on the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 16(a) and the image displayed on the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 16(b) are continuous images in the vertical direction, and the image in FIG. 16(b) can be displayed by scrolling the image upward on the display screen Tp in FIG. 16(a).

Figures 17 to 19 show images that are displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the location information of family members is displayed on a map.

Information terminal T can display location information of family members at three zoom levels, SML. Figure 17 shows the zoom level "L", Figure 18 shows the zoom level "M", and Figure 19 shows the zoom level "S". This allows parents who own information terminal T to share location information of their children. Note that icons of pre-set registered spots and device icons are displayed on the map, and the design of these icons may be changed according to the SML zoom level.

In Fig. 17, the location information of the family is displayed on a map with a smaller scale. In Fig. 18, the location information of the family is displayed on a map with a larger scale than Fig. 17, and in Fig. 19, the location information of the family is displayed on a map with a larger scale than Fig. 18.

Figure 17 shows an image in which 11 people are registered as one family. In Figure 17, the current location P2A of "Sakie Mama" is displayed, along with the current locations PA of the other members. In Figure 17, the current locations of multiple members in a single family who are close to each other are displayed together.

In this way, in FIG. 17, the map is displayed at an appropriate scale so that the current locations of the 11 people registered as one family are displayed simultaneously on the display screen Tp. Therefore, even if the 11 members are in far-away locations, their current locations can be confirmed on a single screen. When displaying the location information of multiple members on the map, it is possible to switch between "display all" and "display by user."

In the communication promotion system 1, group attributes can be registered for multiple members, and the information terminal T can display its own location information and the location information of the location transmission terminal A on a map displayed on the display screen Tp at a scale that allows the location information of all members registered as the same group to be visible.

As mentioned above, in the list display of FIG. 11, when the bottom row 56a-56e of the display area 51a-51e of each of the members P1-P5 on the display screen Tp is tapped, the screen switches to one in which the location information of each of the members P1-P5 is displayed on a map, and the scale of the map displayed at that time can be set to an appropriate scale so that the whole family can be displayed.

In FIG. 18, the current positions of "Sakie Mama" P2A, "Chiaki" P3A and "Yosuke" P5A are displayed, along with the current positions PA of multiple other members. In FIG. 17, the current positions of multiple members in a single family who are close to each other are displayed together.

In Figure 19, the current location P2A of "Sakie Mama" and the current location P5A of "Yosuke" are displayed. As shown in Figure 19, when displaying the location information of family members on a large-scale map, only the location information of some of the family members who are close by is displayed, and the number of people displayed at the same time is often relatively small.

Figure 20 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when a member's travel route is displayed on a map.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20, Yosuke's movement route is displayed on a map based on the location information received from the location transmission terminal A3 carried by Yosuke. The movement route from when Yosuke departs (OUT) from registered spot N1 to when he arrives at registered spot N2 is displayed on the map. The time t1 when Yosuke departs (OUT) from registered spot N1 is displayed. In addition, the movement route from when Yosuke departs (OUT) from registered spot N2 to when he moves toward registered spot N3 is displayed on the map. The time t2 when Yosuke departs (OUT) from registered spot N2 is displayed. In addition, it is displayed that Yosuke is currently on the route from registered spot N2 to registered spot N3. Since Yosuke carries a signal transmission terminal a, a diagram of the "signal transmission terminal" is displayed above Yosuke's character mark.

For example, if a schedule such as "Go to cram school at XX o'clock" is stored as the schedule for "Yosuke" in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2, when the cloud server 2 determines that "Yosuke" has arrived at the cram school at XX o'clock based on the location information received from the location transmission terminal A3 carried by "Yosuke," it may transmit a message stating "Yosuke has arrived at cram school" to the information terminals T1 to T2 at XX o'clock.

In other words, the cloud server 2 may compare the location information of the location transmission terminal A3 possessed by "Yosuke" with information related to the location information recorded as "Yosuke's" schedule linked to the location transmission terminal A3 to determine whether there is a problem, and transmit the determination result to the information terminals T1 to T2.

If a schedule such as "Go to cram school at XX o'clock" is stored as the schedule for "Yosuke" in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2, when it is determined that "Yosuke" has not arrived at the cram school at XX o'clock, a message stating "Yosuke has not arrived at the cram school" may be transmitted to the information terminals T1 to T2 at XX o'clock.

In addition, if a schedule such as "Go to cram school at XX o'clock" is stored as the schedule for "Yosuke" in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2, a message saying "Cram school in 30 minutes" may be sent to the information terminals T1 to T2 30 minutes before XX o'clock.

In this way, the location information of the location transmission terminal A3 may be compared with information about the location information recorded as the schedule of the member linked to the location transmission terminal A3 to determine whether there is a problem, and the determination result may be transmitted to the information terminals T1 to T2.

In addition, in FIG. 20, to show that "Yosuke" is carrying signal transmitting terminal a, a diagram of a "signal transmitting terminal" is displayed above the character mark of "Yosuke." Therefore, if "Yosuke" carries signal transmitting terminal a in his cram school bag, for example, it is clear that he is carrying the cram school bag that contains signal transmitting terminal a.

As described above, if the schedule "Go to cram school at XX o'clock" is stored as "Yosuke's" schedule in the memory unit 2a of the cloud server 2, when the cloud server 2 determines that "Yosuke" has arrived at the cram school at XX o'clock based on the location information received from the location transmission terminal A3 carried by "Yosuke", it may transmit a message saying "Yosuke has arrived at the cram school" to the information terminals T1 to T2 at XX o'clock. If "Yosuke" is carrying a cram school bag containing the signal transmission terminal a at that time, it may transmit a message saying "Yosuke has arrived at the cram school, remembering to carry his cram school bag" to the information terminals T1 to T2 at XX o'clock.

In the communication promotion system 1, the position information of the members is detected by the position transmission terminal A and transmitted to the information terminals T1 to T2, so that the information terminals T1 to T2 can know who is where and at what time. Furthermore, the position information of the members' belongings is detected by the signal transmission terminal a and transmitted to the information terminals T1 to T2, so that the information terminals T1 to T2 can know who is where and at what time, what they are carrying, and where they are.

Figure 21 shows an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the member's travel route is not displayed on a map.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21, based on the location information acquired by information terminal T2 carried by "Sakie Mama," it is displayed on the map that "Sakie Mama" has departed (OUT) from registered spot N1, passed through registered spot N2, and arrived at registered spot N3. The time t1 when "Sakie Mama" departed (OUT) from registered spot N1 is displayed, the time t2 when she departed (OUT) from registered spot N2 is displayed, and the time t3 when she arrived (IN) at registered spot N3 is displayed. It is also displayed that "Sakie Mama" is currently at registered spot N3. Note that because "Sakie Mama" does not carry signal emitting terminal a, no image of a "signal emitting terminal" is displayed above "Sakie Mama's" character mark.

Figure 22 shows an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when setting the disclosure range of member location information.

The disclosure range of Yosuke's location information is set to "all route information" as shown in Figure 22 (a). Therefore, the route that Yosuke took from departing (OUT) from registered spot N1 to arriving at registered spot N2, the time t1 when Yosuke took off from registered spot N1, the route that Yosuke took from departing (OUT) from registered spot N2 to moving toward registered spot N3, and the time t2 when Yosuke took off from registered spot N2 are all displayed.

In contrast, the disclosure range of "Sakie Mama"'s location information is set to "Spot IN/OUT only," as shown in FIG. 22(b). Therefore, the time t1 when "Sakie Mama" departs (OUT) from registered spot N1, the time t2 when "Sakie Mama" departs (OUT) from registered spot N2, and the time t3 when "Sakie Mama" arrives (IN) at registered spot N3 are displayed, but the travel route "Sakie Mama" took from departs (OUT) from registered spot N1 to arrive at registered spot N2, and the travel route "Sakie Mama" took from departs (OUT) from registered spot N2 to arrive at registered spot N3 are not displayed.

In this way, route display can be selected at a privacy level that suits each member. For example, parents can set it to display only the times when they entered and left registered spots, while children can set it to display the entire route.

As shown in Figures 22(a) and 22(b), if the disclosure range of a member's location information is set to "private," the route traveled between registered spots, the time of departure (OUT) from a registered spot, and the time of arrival (IN) at a registered spot will no longer be displayed.

Figure 23 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when a member's travel route and time spent at registered spots are displayed on a map.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, Yosuke's travel route and time spent at registered spots are displayed on a map based on the location information received from location transmission terminal A carried by Yosuke. In FIG. 23, Yosuke's travel route is displayed in the same way as in FIG. 20, and the time spent Nt1 that Yosuke spent at registered spot N1 is displayed, and the time spent Nt2 that Yosuke spent at registered spot N2 is displayed.

Figure 24 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when a member's travel route and means of transportation are displayed on a map.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 24, Yosuke's travel route and means of transportation are displayed on a map based on the location information received from location transmission terminal A carried by Yosuke. The travel speed is calculated from the travel route taken by Yosuke from registered spot N1 to registered spot N2 and the time required to travel from registered spot N1 to registered spot N2, and the means of transportation (such as a train) is inferred and displayed based on the travel speed. In FIG. 24, the means of transportation is inferred to be "bicycle," and a "bicycle" mark N12 is displayed on the travel route from registered spot N1 to registered spot N2.

Figure 25 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when a member's signal transmission terminal is displayed away from the member's character mark.

Figure 25 shows the current location of "Sakie Mama" P2A, the current location of "Yosuke" P5A, and the current location of "Chiaki" P3A. Because a diagram of a "signal transmission terminal" is displayed above "Sakie Mama"'s character mark, it can be seen that "Sakie Mama" is carrying her own signal transmission terminal a. Similarly, because a diagram of a "signal transmission terminal" is displayed above "Yosuke"'s character mark, it can be seen that "Yosuke" is carrying his own signal transmission terminal.

Because there is no diagram of a "signal transmitting terminal" displayed above "Chiaki's" character mark, we can see that "Chiaki" does not have her own signal transmitting terminal a. "Chiaki's" signal transmitting terminal a (a signal transmitting terminal displayed in the same color as "Chiaki's" character mark) is displayed away from "Chiaki's" character mark.

"Fumika's" current location is not displayed on the map, and "Fumika's" signal transmission terminal a (a signal transmission terminal of the same color as "Fumika's" character mark) is displayed at her home. Therefore, it is clear that "Fumika" has gone out and left her own signal transmission terminal at home.

In this way, in FIG. 25, to show that "Yosuke" is carrying signal transmission terminal a, a diagram of a "signal transmission terminal" is displayed above "Yosuke's" character mark. Therefore, if "Yosuke" is carrying signal transmission terminal a in his bag, for example, it is clear that he is carrying a bag that contains signal transmission terminal a.

In contrast, there is no image of a "signal transmitting terminal" above "Chiaki's" character mark, and "Chiaki's" signal transmitting terminal" is displayed at a position away from "Chiaki's" character mark. Therefore, if "Chiaki" has, for example, signal transmitting terminal a stored in her bag, it is clear that she is not carrying the bag that contains signal transmitting terminal a, but has left the bag somewhere.

As described above, signal transmitting terminal a transmits a signal, and when it is in the vicinity of "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2, "Yosuke's" position transmitting terminal A, and "Chiaki's" position transmitting terminal A, the position information of signal transmitting terminal a is displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T. In this regard, in FIG. 25, "Chiaki's" signal transmitting terminal and "Fumika's" signal transmitting terminal are displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T, even though they are not in the vicinity of "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2, "Yosuke's" position transmitting terminal A, and "Chiaki's" position transmitting terminal A.

In this way, the location information of signal emitting terminal a may be displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T even if it is not in the vicinity of information terminal T and location emitting terminal A. For example, even if "Chiaki" has left her bag containing her own signal emitting terminal a somewhere, in order to know the current location of "Chiaki's" signal emitting terminal a, FIG. 25 shows the location of "Chiaki's" signal emitting terminal a when the signal transmitted from signal emitting terminal a was most recently received by information terminal T and location emitting terminal A (when the signal transmitted from signal emitting terminal a was no longer received). Therefore, since the current location of the bag containing her own signal emitting terminal is known, "Chiaki" can easily find her forgotten bag.

Fumika's signal transmission terminal a is displayed at her home, so if, for example, Fumika has her signal transmission terminal a in her bag, it is clear that the current location of the bag is her home.

Figure 26 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the user's home is displayed in the center of the display screen Tp.

In FIG. 25, a house button 85 is displayed, and when the house button 85 is tapped, the user's home is displayed in the center of the display screen Tp, as shown in FIG. 26.

Figure 27 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T when the number of devices present at a registered spot is displayed.

Four devices are displayed together at registered spot N4, and it can be seen that four devices are present. Similarly, eight devices are displayed together at registered spot N5, and it can be seen that eight devices are present. In this case, the devices are displayed in the same color as the member's character mark, so it is easy to see who the device belongs to. Also, a picture of a "signal transmitting terminal" is displayed above "Yosuke's" character mark, and "Yosuke" has one "signal transmitting terminal," while a picture of a "signal transmitting terminal" and the number "3" are displayed above "Sakie Mama's" character mark, and it can be seen that "Sakie Mama" has three "signal transmitting terminals." In this way, it is possible to display the number of devices present at a registered spot and the number of devices that members are carrying around with them.

Figure 28 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the general direction of a device outside the display screen Tp is displayed.

In the display area 86 at the left end of the display screen Tp in FIG. 28, a left-facing arrow for "Yosuke" and a left-facing arrow for "Chiaki" are displayed. This makes it clear that devices for "Yosuke" and "Chiaki" are present when the map displayed on the display screen Tp is scrolled leftward.

Figure 29 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when history is displayed for each registered spot.

For example, by displaying the action history for one's home as shown in FIG. 29, one can check, in chronological order, what time "Yosuke" returned home carrying his "school bag" containing his signal transmission terminal a, and what time "Shota's dad" returned home carrying the "bag" containing his information terminal T1 and the "car keys." Note that when one of the registered spots set up in advance is selected, not limited to one's home, the action history for that registered spot is displayed.

Figure 30 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when one day's worth of communication is displayed in chronological order.

As described above, the storage unit 2a of the cloud server 2 contains multiple different types of information about daily communication, including "schedule" information, "message" information, "things to do" information, and "action" information. In FIG. 30, "all" information about communication for one day (all different types of information) is displayed in the display area e0 at the top of the display screen Tp. On the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 30, "schedule" content E1, "message" content E2, "action" content E3, "things to do" content E4, and "action" content E5 are displayed in chronological order from top to bottom.

The "Plan" content E1 indicates that the plan "Drop off to nursery school" is registered at "10:00" in Shota's Dad's schedule.

The "Message" content E2 indicates that "Chiaki" confirmed the message from "Sakie Mama" on the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 at "15:00".

The "action" content E3 indicates that "Chiaki" pressed the operation button 30 of the switch terminal C1 linked to the message "I did my homework" at "17:00".

The "To do" content E4 indicates that "piano practice" is registered as a "to do" for "Fumika" at "17:30". In FIG. 30, since no check mark is displayed inside the circle E4a listed in the "To do" content E4, this indicates that "Fumika" has not yet completed the "to do" of "piano practice".

The "action" content E5 indicates that, based on Shota's Dad's information terminal T1, Shota's Dad's location information was updated to "Left the car" at "18:00".

In addition, on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T, a horizontal line E6 indicating the time "19:30" is displayed below the content E5 of "Action," indicating that the current time is "19:30." This is also true for Figures 31 and 32.

Figure 31 shows an image that is displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the contents of "actions" are extracted and displayed from one day's worth of communication.

In FIG. 30, to the right of the "All" display area e0 at the top of the display screen Tp are display areas e1 to e4 for "Messages," "To-do," "Schedule," and "Actions."

For example, when the "action" display area e4 is tapped, only the "action" content is extracted and displayed from one day's worth of communication, as shown in FIG. 31. On the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 31, the "action" content E3 and the "action" content E5 are displayed in chronological order. Below all the "action" displays, the contents of "plans" and "things to do" with no set time are displayed. On the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 31, the contents of two "plans" E10 and E11 as "plans for today" and the "things to do" content E12 are displayed below the display of the "action" contents E3 and E5.

Figure 32 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when one day's worth of communication is displayed in chronological order.

In FIG. 32, "all" communications for one day are displayed in the display area e0 at the top of the display screen Tp. On the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 32, "Message" contents E101, "Message" contents E102, and "To do" contents E103 are displayed in chronological order from top to bottom.

The "Message" content E101 indicates information indicating that "Chiaki" confirmed the message on the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 when voice data was sent from "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 to the monitor-attached operation terminal B1. At that time, "Chiaki" took a facial photograph on the monitor-attached operation terminal B1 and sent the image data together with the voice data, so "Chiaki's" facial photograph E101a is displayed. The voice data of the "Message" content E101 is played by tapping the display area E101b.

The "Message" content E102 shows information indicating that "Chiaki" has sent voice data from the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 to "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2. At that time, "Chiaki" took a face photo with the monitor-equipped operation terminal B1 and sent the image data together with the voice data, so "Chiaki's" face photo E102a is displayed. The voice data of the "Message" content E102 is played by tapping the display area E102b.

The "To do" content E103 indicates that "Go shopping" is registered as a "To do" for "Sakie Mama" at "19:00". In FIG. 32, a check mark E103b is displayed inside a circle mark E103a written near the "To do" content E103, indicating that "Sakie Mama" has completed the "To do" of "Go shopping".

Figure 33 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when recording audio using information terminal T.

The information terminal T can record voice and transmit the voice data to the monitor-equipped operation terminal B. When recording voice, the voice can be recorded while the record button 85 shown in FIG. 33(a) is pressed. During recording, a progress bar is displayed on the outer edge of the record button 85 as shown in FIG. 33(b), indicating the remaining time. The time to post the voice data can also be set as shown in FIG. 33(c). The time to post the message can also be set.

Figure 34 shows the evaluation items set in the communication promotion system 1.

In order for children to frequently use the communication promotion system 1 to communicate with their parents, the system is provided with an evaluation means for praising children when they use the communication promotion system a lot, which will increase the children's motivation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cloud server 2 has an evaluation unit 2b. The evaluation unit 2b evaluates items 1 to 12 shown in FIG. 34 based on the transmission and reception of information between the information terminal T and the location transmission terminal A, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and the switch terminal C.

Items 1 to 12 are set on various evaluation scales, allowing children to be praised in a variety of situations. Items 1 to 12 are rated on a multiple-level scale.

(1) Item 1 contains information related to all devices (location transmission terminal A, monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and switch terminal C).

(Regarding item 1)
The information terminal T notifies each member of an evaluation according to the number of "Hello" messages based on the number of "Hello" messages of each member. The number of "Hello" messages is the number of times information is sent and received between all devices. Item 1 is an item that evaluates the number of communications regardless of the type of device.

(2) Items 6, 7, and 9 are related to location transmission terminal A.

(Regarding item 6)
Based on the location information received from each location transmission terminal A, the information terminal T tallies up the distance traveled by each location transmission terminal A and notifies an evaluation according to the distance traveled of each member registered as the owner of the location transmission terminal A. Item 6 is an item that evaluates a member for having traveled a long distance.

(Regarding item 7)
The information terminal T tally up the location information received from each location transmission terminal A and the distance traveled by the signal transmission terminal a of the owner of each location transmission terminal A together, and notifies an evaluation according to the distance traveled for each member registered as the owner of the location transmission terminal A. Item 7 is an item that evaluates a member's long distance traveled while remembering to carry his/her belongings.

(Regarding item 9)
The information terminal T compares the location information received from each location transmission terminal A with the schedule information of the owner, tallies the number of times the location information of each location transmission terminal matches the schedule information, and notifies an evaluation according to the number of times for each member registered as the owner of the location transmission terminal A. Item 9 is an item for evaluating the number of times a member's movement matches his/her own schedule. For example, if a schedule of "Go to cram school at x o'clock" is registered for "Yosuke," when "Yosuke" reaches the location of the cram school at x o'clock, it is determined that "Yosuke's" movement matches his/her own schedule.

(3) The contents related to monitor-equipped operation terminal B include items 2 to 5 and 12.

(Regarding item 2)
The information terminal T counts the number of times messages have been sent and received with the monitor-attached operation terminal B, and notifies each member of an evaluation according to the number of times. Item 2 is an item for evaluating the number of times communication using the monitor-attached operation terminal B is frequent.

(Regarding item 3)
The information terminal T counts up the number of times the "Things to do" registered in the monitor-attached operation terminal B is checked, and notifies each member of an evaluation according to the number of times. Item 2 is an item for evaluating the number of times the "Things to do" is checked using the monitor-attached operation terminal B.

(Regarding item 4)
The information terminal T counts the number of times that the "to-do" assigned to the whole family registered in the monitor-attached operation terminal B is checked, and notifies each member of an evaluation according to the number of times. Item 4 is an item for evaluating the number of times that the monitor-attached operation terminal B is used to transmit the completion of the "to-do" assigned to the whole family.

(Regarding item 12)
The information terminal T can transmit response information to information transmitted from the monitor-attached operation terminal B, and counts the number of times response information has been transmitted to each monitor-attached operation terminal B, and reports an evaluation according to the number of times for each monitor-attached operation terminal B. Item 12 is an item for evaluating the number of times that the information terminal T has responded with "Like" to information transmitted from the monitor-attached operation terminal B.

Figure 35 shows the types of badges for each item. Each time the specified conditions are met for items 1 to 12 described above, a badge such as that shown in Figure 35 is given. Badges are available in three colors for each item, and badges of different colors are given depending on the specified number of times. The different colored badges correspond to one of multiple levels of evaluation, and the information terminal T classifies and judges the evaluation of each member into one of the multiple levels. In other words, the more the specified number of times, the higher the evaluation badge is given. Therefore, in order to obtain more badges, children will frequently use the communication promotion system to communicate with their parents so as not to lose to other children.

Figure 36 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the number of badges awarded for items 1 to 12 is displayed.

The image displayed on the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 36(a) and the image displayed on the display screen Tp shown in FIG. 36(b) are consecutive images, and the image in FIG. 36(b) can be displayed by scrolling the image downward on the display screen Tp in FIG. 36(a).

Figure 37 shows an image displayed on the display screen Tp of information terminal T when the evaluation results for items 1 to 12 are displayed.

When the "View details" button is tapped on the display screen Tp of FIG. 36, the evaluation results for each item are displayed as shown in FIG. 37. For example, when an award is given to the person with the highest score in a week, the top three family members' progress for each badge item are displayed as evaluation results. In this way, the information terminal T classifies and judges each member's evaluation into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. On the information terminal T, the display as shown in FIG. 37 is for presentation purposes, so it is displayed only once a week.

As described above, the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment is a communication promotion system that promotes communication between multiple members, and includes a cloud server 2 that holds information about members P1 to P5, information terminals T1 to T2 that are capable of sending and receiving information between the cloud server 2 and that are linked to specific members P1 to P2 among the multiple members P1 to P5, and monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2 that are capable of sending and receiving information to the cloud server 2 and that are shared by the multiple members P1 to P5, and the information terminals T1 to T2 and the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2 are connected to the cloud server 2 via a communication network 5.

In this way, multiple members can communicate frequently by using the information terminals T1-T2 and the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 have identification information, and when the cloud server 2 receives information from the information terminals T1-T2 together with the identification information of the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2, it can transmit the information to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 identified based on the identification information, and communicate the information to the members P1-P5.

In this way, information can be easily transmitted from the information terminals T1-T2 to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 via the cloud server 2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 can set the destination to which information is to be sent, and when the cloud server 2 receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2, it transmits the information to the members P1-P2 set as the destination and notifies them that the information has been sent.

In this way, the information terminal T1 of the member P1 set as the destination can be notified that the information has been sent, allowing the member P1 to confirm the information reliably.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminal can set a destination to which information is to be sent, and when the server receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits the information to the member information terminal that is not set as a destination, but does not notify the user that the information has been sent.

In this way, by sending information to the information terminal T2 of member P2 who is not set as a destination, the information can be made known to member P2 who is not set as a destination.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 can send confirmation information for the task information received from the information terminals T1-T2 to the cloud server 2.

In this way, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 can send confirmation information to the cloud server 2 in response to the task information received from the information terminals T1-T2, such as "read" information indicating that the task information has been confirmed, or "completed" information indicating that the task has been completed.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2 can record voice and transmit the recorded voice data to the cloud server 2.

In this way, the recorded audio data can be sent to cloud server 2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 have cameras 11, and when transmitting information to the cloud server 2, they can also transmit image data captured by the camera 11.

In this way, by sending image data captured by the camera 11 to the cloud server 2, it is easy to confirm who sent the information to the cloud server 2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B can transmit voice data or image data to the cloud server 2 by remote control from the information terminals T1 to T2.

In this way, voice can be recorded and the voice data can be sent to the cloud server 2 by remote control from the information terminals T1-T2 located away from the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2, and image data captured by the camera can be sent to the cloud server 2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the cloud server 2 has an evaluation unit 2b that counts the number of times information is received from the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 and performs an evaluation according to that number, and the information terminals T1-T2 notify the evaluation results of the evaluation unit 2b for each member P1-P5.

In this way, children are evaluated according to the number of times they use the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2, which increases their motivation to communicate using the switch terminals.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the information terminals T1 to T2 can send response information to information sent from the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2, the cloud server 2 has an evaluation unit 2b that counts the number of times response information has been sent to the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1 to B2 and performs an evaluation according to that number, and the information terminals T1 to T2 notify the members P1 to P5 of the evaluation results from the evaluation unit 2b.

In this way, information sent from the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2 to the information terminals T1-T2 is evaluated according to the number of "likes" that are returned, which increases the motivation of children to communicate using the monitor-equipped operation terminals B1-B2.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, the information terminals T1 to T2 have a creation and editing function that creates a member display image representing each of the members P1 to P5 for each of the members P1 to P5, and the creation and editing function creates member display images using self-created characters and with text related to the members P1 to P5 as the body, each in a different color scheme.

In this way, you can easily distinguish between members by creating individual member display images that represent each member.

In the communication promotion system 1 of this embodiment, there are multiple information terminals T1 to T2 that can send and receive information to and from the cloud server 2. When a portion of the multiple information terminals T1 to T2, an information terminal T1, is connected to the cloud server 2 via a communication network 5, and the remaining information terminal T2 of the multiple information terminals T1 to T2 is not connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5, the information terminal T1 connected to the cloud server 2 displays that the remaining information terminal T2 is not connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5.

In this way, when there are multiple information terminals T1 to T2, it is possible to identify which of the multiple information terminals T1 to T2 are not connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention, but the configuration of each part is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the communication promotion system 1 includes an information terminal T, a position transmission terminal A, a monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and a switch terminal C connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5, but as in the communication promotion system 101 shown in FIG. 38, if an information terminal T and a monitor-equipped operation terminal B connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5 are included, the position transmission terminal A and the switch terminal C may not be included. The communication promotion system of the present invention includes a server that holds information about members, an information terminal that can send and receive information between the server and is linked to a specific member among the multiple members, and a monitor-equipped operation terminal that can send and receive information to the server and is shared by the multiple members, and the information terminal and the monitor-equipped operation terminal may be connected to the server via a communication network.

In the above embodiment, a case where one family consists of five people has been described, but this is not limited to this. The number of people constituting one family may be changed as desired. The number of parents and the number of children may also be changed as desired. In addition, the number of devices (location transmission terminal A, monitor-equipped operation terminal B, and switch terminal C) registered as members of one family and the number of signal transmission terminals a registered as members of one family may also be changed as desired.

In the above embodiment, the information terminal T has a creation and editing function for creating a member display image representing each member using a self-created character, but is not limited to this. The information terminal T may also have a creation and editing function for creating a member display image representing each member using at least one of a photograph, a portrait, and a self-created character.

In the above embodiment, when location transmission terminal A transmits its own location information to the outside, it extracts signal transmitter a registered to the same family (group) as location transmission terminal A from all signal transmission terminals that have received signals, and transmits information indicating that it has detected signal transmitter a registered to the same family (group), but this is not limited to this. For example, location transmission terminal A may extract signal transmitter a registered to the same school, or may extract signal transmitter a registered in the same area. The characteristics of the signal transmission terminals extracted from all signal transmission terminals detected by location transmission terminal A can be changed as desired.

In the above embodiment, when position transmission terminal A transmits its own position information to cloud server 2, it also transmits information indicating that it has detected signal transmission terminal a extracted from all of the signal transmission terminals from which it received a signal, but this is not limited to this. For example, when position transmission terminal A transmits its own position information to cloud server 2, it also transmits information indicating that it has detected all of the signal transmission terminals from which it received a signal, and the cloud server 2 may identify whether the detection information of the signal transmission terminal from which it received a signal is transmittable or not, and when transmitting the position information of position transmission terminal A to information terminal T, it may also transmit information indicating that it has detected the signal transmission terminal identified as transmittable. In this way, the cloud server 2 may extract some signal transmission terminals from all of the signal transmission terminals from which position transmission terminal A received a signal, and when transmitting the position information of position transmission terminal A to information terminal T, it may also transmit information regarding the some of the signal transmission terminals.

In the above embodiment, the signal transmission terminal a is attached to the children's bags to obtain the location information of the bags, but this is not limited to this. For example, the signal transmission terminal a may be attached to a pet to obtain the location information of the pet. It may also be attached to a travel bag or a family car shared by family members to obtain the location information of the travel bag or the family car. That is, for example, while dad is out in his family car, it may detect that the family car is near dad, and when dad leaves the family car, it may detect that the family car is not near dad.

In the above embodiment, the cloud server 2 determines whether the location information of the location transmission terminal A matches information about the schedule of the member linked to the location transmission terminal, but the information terminal T may also determine whether the location information of the location transmission terminal A matches information about the schedule of the member linked to the location transmission terminal.

In the above embodiment, the information terminal T is an information terminal in which application software for managing information about members is installed, and when the application software is launched, the family list display of FIG. 11 is displayed on the display screen Tp as information about the locations of multiple members, but this is not limited to this. When the application software is launched, the information terminal T may display the current location of each member on the display screen Tp as information about the locations of multiple members. Also, when the application software is launched, the information terminal T may display the current location of each member on a map display screen Tp as information about the locations of multiple members, as shown in FIG. 17.

In the above embodiment, the information terminal T is an information terminal in which application software for managing information about members is installed, and when the application software is launched, information about the locations of multiple members is displayed simultaneously on the display screen Tp, but this is not limited to this. The display screen of the information terminal T may be configured as a touch panel that can be operated by touch, and when the application software is launched, information about the locations of multiple members may be displayed on the display screen Tp so that it can be confirmed by scrolling the display screen Tp.

In the above embodiment, in the family list display of FIG. 11, a "diagonal line" is displayed on the mark displayed at the left end of the bottom row of the display area for "Sakie Mama" to indicate that "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 is not connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5, but the display method for indicating that it is not connected to the cloud server 2 is not limited to this. For example, the color of the display area for "Sakie Mama" or the color of the member display image for "Sakie Mama" may be lightened to indicate that "Sakie Mama's" information terminal T2 is not connected to the cloud server 2 via the communication network 5.

In the above embodiment, one family (group) consisting of multiple members is registered using the information terminal T, but this is not limited to this. Multiple families (groups) consisting of multiple members may also be registered using the information terminal T. In this case, the server may be capable of transmitting information about the members of each group to an information terminal T linked to members of a different group. In addition, the public/private setting of information may be set for each group all at once.

The cloud server 2 can store schedule-related information for each individual, as well as group identification information that can be associated with multiple people. Information identifying individual members may include, for example, fingerprint information, iris, voice, or face recognition. There may be one or more group identification information for identifying a group. The name of each group can be changed. Group identification information can be added and deleted. Information belonging to individuals can be set to either public or private for each group.

Groups can be assigned levels from the perspective of a particular member, and information can be made public or private all at once by level.

For example, if a member is included in both the first group and the second group (if the range of the first group partially overlaps with the range of the second group), the first group and the second group can be leveled, and the member's information can be set to public or private for each group (the member's information can be public in one of the first group and private in the other group).

In addition, when a member is included in the first group, the second group, and the third group (when the ranges of the first group, the second group, and the third group partially overlap), the first group, the second group, and the third group can be leveled, and the member's information can be set to public or private for each group (the member's information can be public in the first group, the second group, and some of the third group, and private in the remaining groups).

In the above embodiment, a notification indicating that an email is being received is displayed at the top of the member character, but the display portion of the notification indicating that an email is being received on the display screen Tp may be an operation portion that links to related information. In that case, when the display portion of the notification on the display screen Tp is operated, the information terminal T may display an email reception screen on the display screen Tp. Therefore, when the link to the related information is opened on the information terminal T, the received email can be easily checked. In this way, links to related information about the member may be displayed around the member character. The related information is not limited to a notification indicating that an email is being received, but may also be information regarding any of text, audio, map information, and text/background color.

In the above embodiment, the information terminal T does not notify the information about each member in a different color or sound depending on the importance or urgency, but this is not limited to the above. The information terminal T may notify the information about each member in a different color or sound depending on the importance or urgency. For example, when the importance or urgency of information about a member is high, the information may be displayed in a different color (image) on the display screen Tp of the information terminal T. Also, when the importance or urgency of information about a member is high, the ringtone indicating that the information has been received may be changed to a different sound.

In the above embodiment, the information terminal T and the position transmission terminal A are capable of receiving a signal transmitted from the signal transmission terminal a, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B may be configured to be capable of receiving a signal transmitted from the signal transmission terminal a. In that case, when a bag containing the signal transmission terminal a is at home, the monitor-equipped operation terminal B may receive a signal transmitted from the signal transmission terminal a, and the position information of the signal transmission terminal a (that it is at home) may be transmitted from the monitor-equipped operation terminal B to the cloud server 2.

In the above embodiment, the contents of any of "messages", "things to do", "plans" and "actions" are extracted and displayed from the communication for one day shown in FIG. 30, but this is not limited to this. The method of extraction from the communication for one day may be changed as desired. For example, one member may be specified and only the contents of that one member may be extracted and displayed. Also, one of the registered spots may be specified and only the contents of that registered spot may be extracted and displayed. The storage unit 2a of the cloud server 2 stores "plans" information, "message" information, "things to do" information and "actions" information as multiple types of information that differ from each other on a daily basis for the communication for one day, but this is not limited to this. The multiple types of information are not limited to "plans", "messages", "things to do" and "actions", and may be any information.

In the above embodiment, the cloud server 2 has the evaluation unit 2b, but this is not limited to the above. The evaluation unit 2b may be provided in the information terminal T. In addition, the contents of the items evaluated by the evaluation unit 2b may be changed as desired.

Other configurations can also be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1. Communication promotion system 2. Cloud server (server)
5 Communication network T Information terminal A Position transmission terminal a Signal transmission terminal B Monitor-equipped operation terminal C Switch terminal 30 Operation button 31 Fixed portion 32 Movable portion 35 Plate

Claims (15)

A communication promotion system for promoting communication among a plurality of members,
a server that holds information about members;
an information terminal capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server and associated with a specific member included in the plurality of members;
a monitor-equipped operation terminal capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server and shared by at least two members included in the plurality of members;
A communication promotion system, wherein the information terminal and the monitor-equipped operation terminal are connected to the server via a communication network. the monitor-equipped operation terminal has identification information,
The communication promotion system described in claim 1, characterized in that when the server receives information from the information terminal together with identification information of the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it is able to transmit the information to the monitor-equipped operation terminal identified based on the identification information, and communicate the information to members. the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of setting a destination to which information is to be transmitted;
The communication promotion system described in claim 1, characterized in that when the server receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits the information to the information terminal of the member set as the destination and notifies the member that the information has been sent. the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of setting a destination to which information is to be transmitted;
The communication promotion system described in claim 1, characterized in that when the server receives information from the monitor-equipped operation terminal, it transmits the information to the member information terminal that is not set as the destination, but does not notify the user that the information has been sent. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, characterized in that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of transmitting confirmation information for the task information received from the information terminal to the server. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, characterized in that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of recording voice and transmitting the recorded voice data to the server. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, characterized in that the monitor-equipped operation terminal has a camera and can transmit image data captured by the camera together with information transmitted to the server. The communication promotion system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the monitor-equipped operation terminal is capable of transmitting voice data or image data to the server by remote operation from the information terminal. the information terminal or the server has an evaluation unit that counts the number of times information is received from the monitor-equipped operation terminal and performs an evaluation according to the number of times;
2. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal notifies the evaluation result of the evaluation unit for each of the members. the information terminal is capable of transmitting response information to the information transmitted from the monitor-equipped operation terminal,
the information terminal or the server has an evaluation unit that counts the number of times response information has been transmitted to the monitor-attached operation terminal and performs an evaluation according to the number of times,
2. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal notifies the evaluation result of the evaluation unit for each of the members. the information terminal has a creating and editing function for creating a member display image representing each member,
The communication promotion system described in claim 1, characterized in that the creation and editing function creates member display images using at least one of photographs, caricatures, and self-made characters, and with text related to the member as part of the body, in different colors as the base color. There are a plurality of information terminals capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server,
A part of the plurality of information terminals is connected to the server via a communication network,
When the remaining information terminals of the plurality of information terminals are not connected to the server via a communication network,
2. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, wherein the part of the information terminals displays a message indicating that the remaining information terminals are not connected to the server via a communication network. There are multiple groups consisting of multiple members,
2. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, wherein the server is capable of transmitting information about members of each group to the information terminals associated with members of different groups. The communication promotion system described in claim 13 is characterized in that multiple groups can be assigned levels from the perspective of a specific member, and information can be made public or private all at once by level. 2. The communication promotion system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal notifies the information about each member in a different color or sound depending on the importance or urgency of the information.