JP2007213479A - Chat system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chat system or the like allowing smooth access to a system, not requiring advance registration or the like of connection information, and using short-range wireless communication. <P>SOLUTION: In this chat system, a plurality of terminals each having a short-range wireless communication function are connected in series, and each the terminal mutually transfers the connection information and chat data. The short-range wireless communication function can be materialized by a wireless LAN or the Bluetooth. A fixed server is not used, and it is not necessary to provide each the terminal of a server function to construct the high-flexibility chat system at no cost. The terminal shares a function of distribution or the like of the chat data, so that large-scale reconstruction is not required even when the terminal quits a chat. The terminal automatically generates reconnection information and has it inside it, and operates such as to keep a communication state to quickly start/end the chat without requiring preparation such as the registration of the connection information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chat system, and more particularly, to a system for realizing communication such as discourse on a network, that is, so-called chat, using short-range radio.

  The chat system using the Internet is generally realized by placing a chat server on the Internet. However, since it is always connected to the Internet, there is a charge and there is a response due to the load on the Internet. Problems such as slowness also occur.

  Also, a method for configuring an ad hoc network without using the Internet when chatting between terminals at a short distance has been proposed. An ad hoc network is a network where short-distance ad hoc network terminals are connected to each other on the spot to enable mutual communication. The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) MANET (Mobile Ad-hoc Networks) working The group plays a central role in reviewing and standardizing specifications.

  As a method of configuring this ad hoc network, for example, in Patent Document 1, each ad hoc network terminal that holds data periodically transmits data according to data transmission conditions, and a terminal that receives the data holds new data. A technique is described in which each terminal has a role of carrying data by repeatedly becoming a terminal that periodically transmits data in the same manner as the first data transmitting terminal.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when each mobile node is a transmission source node and the destination node belongs to another group, and there are a plurality of neighboring nodes, the group or the node class is higher or lower. Therefore, a technique is described in which priorities are assigned to select neighboring nodes as transmission destination nodes and packets are transmitted to the destination node.

Further, Patent Document 3 describes a wireless communication device including an ad hoc communication unit that establishes an ad hoc network with other wireless communication devices existing in the vicinity and performs wireless communication, and can simultaneously communicate (data) between a plurality of nodes. Signal transmission / reception), thereby making it possible to improve the efficiency of communication in an ad hoc network and improve the line capacity and communication speed of the entire network.
JP 2005-236598 A JP 2005-142959 A JP 2005-65102 A

  However, when chatting is performed in the ad hoc network system described in the above patent document, there are many problems as follows.

  First, the first problem is that a fixed server cannot be used in an ad hoc network, and if a specific terminal is provided with a server function, the degree of freedom of the terminal is deprived. The method based on existing servers cannot be adopted. In addition, when a certain terminal is used as a server, a large-scale reconfiguration is required when the terminal is removed from chat, and there is a problem that chat cannot be continued during that time.

  The second problem is that the terminal participating in the chat is not a known terminal and is likely to be a new terminal, and it is not practical to set data for connection in advance. is there.

  The third problem is that in order to perform N-to-N communication, it is necessary to select a communication path so that data congestion and duplication do not occur. When N-to-N communication is configured as a mesh type, it is difficult to specify a connection route, and it takes a long time to establish a connection route.

  From the above problems, conventional ad hoc systems and the like have been proposed for an N-to-N communication system in a fixed configuration, or when a terminal device having a dedicated server function is prepared, such as chat A method for N-to-N communication when the number of components (N) varies has not been established and has not been put into practical use.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the problems in the above-described conventional technology, and can smoothly enter and leave the chat system, and does not require prior registration such as registration of connection information. It is an object of the present invention to provide a chat system using short-range radio that is highly convenient.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention is a chat system, wherein a plurality of communication terminals having a short-range wireless communication function are connected in series, and each communication terminal exchanges connection information and chat data with each other. And

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to use a fixed server such as the Internet, and it is not necessary to provide each communication terminal with a server function. Therefore, a chat system that is free and has a high degree of freedom is constructed. be able to.

  In addition, since all communication terminals participating in the chat share functions such as the distribution of chat data, there is no need for extensive reconfiguration even when the communication terminal is disconnected from the chat.

  In addition, all communication terminals participating in the chat automatically generate reconnection information and prepare it internally, and operate so as to maintain the communication status. Can be started and ended.

  Further, since the chat system according to the present invention uses a communication path configured in series instead of a communication path configured in a mesh type, it is easy to select or specify a communication path when performing N-to-N communication. The time for selecting a communication path can be saved.

  In the chat system, the short-range wireless communication function can be realized by a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.

  In addition, the present invention is a communication terminal, which has a short-range wireless communication function, and is characterized in that it exchanges connection information and chat data with other communication terminals connected in series. As a result, as described above, it is free and has a high degree of freedom, and even if the communication terminal is disconnected from the chat, a large-scale reconfiguration is unnecessary, and there is no need for prior preparation such as registration of connection information. A chat system that can save time can be constructed.

  In the communication terminal, the short-range wireless communication function can be realized by a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.

  Furthermore, the present invention is a program for connecting a plurality of communication terminals having a short-range wireless communication function in series, and each communication terminal constitutes a chat system that exchanges connection information and chat data with each other. It is provided between a user interface of a terminal and a wireless device that realizes the short-range wireless communication function. As a result, as described above, it is free and has a high degree of freedom, and even if the communication terminal is disconnected from the chat, a large-scale reconfiguration is unnecessary, and there is no need for prior preparation such as registration of connection information. A chat system that can save time can be constructed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly enter and leave the chat system, and use a short-range radio that is highly convenient, such as no need for prior registration such as registration of connection information. Can provide a chat system or the like.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The chat system according to the present invention is realized by using a mobile phone or a mobile terminal (hereinafter referred to as “terminal”), in particular, a short-range wireless device (hereinafter referred to as “wireless device”) in which a wireless LAN or Bluetooth is mounted. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, a terminal 11 for implementing a chat system according to the present invention includes a wireless device 12, a user interface display unit 14, a user interface input unit 15, and an application for controlling the wireless device 12. Software 13 and application software 13 is a characteristic part of the present invention. The connection management data 16 is recorded in the terminal 11 together with the application software 13.

  The connection management data 16 is for maintaining the connection form of the chat system. As shown in FIG. 2, the “group name” 21, “terminal name” 22, “connection state” 23, and connection The “connection destination address 1” area 24 for storing the address of the other terminal that is connected, and the “connection destination address 2” area for storing the address of another terminal that is not the own terminal connected to the other terminal 25.

  The “group name” 21 and the “terminal name” 22 are prepared for facilitating the processing of the user interface when performing a chat. The “connection state” 23 is managed by the definitions of “Slave”, “Bridge”, and “Master” so that the internal state can be easily determined. Further, in the “connection destination address 1” area 24 and the “connection destination address 2” area 25, information is automatically generated when a connection is made, and when the next terminal leaves (disconnects) from the chat, The “address 2” area 25 is used to automatically reconnect to two neighboring terminals.

  FIG. 3 shows commands and data for maintaining the chat connection form, and deletion is performed with reference to 31 as an example of a command for registering the “connection destination address 2” area 25 (see FIG. 2) of the partner terminal. An example command is shown in FIG. An example of normal chat data is shown in FIG.

  The user interface comprising the user interface display unit 14 and the user interface input unit 15 includes a button for starting / ending a chat, a screen for selecting a chat group, a part for inputting chat data, and a screen for displaying chat data. However, since these can be realized by a user interface of a general terminal device, a detailed description of the user interface itself is omitted.

  As for the wireless device 12, one-to-N communication is generally possible (N is usually 2 or more), and N depends on the performance and wireless standard of the device, but in the present invention, the maximum connection of one wireless device Since the number is two connections, any wireless device in recent years can be employed.

  Next, each process performed by the chat system will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows an initial operation when the terminal 11 (see FIG. 1) starts chatting by the user interface (I / F). When the start of the chat function is designated from the user interface, the “connection state” 23 (see FIG. 2) of the connection management data 16 of the terminal 11 is set to “Master (M)”, and the wireless terminal 12 is searched and connected from the partner terminal. Make possible settings and maintain this state. In addition, the wireless device 12 notifies its address to the search.

  FIG. 5 shows an operation when a search for a partner terminal to chat with is specified by the user interface. When the wireless device 12 is instructed to search for another device and a list of connection destination addresses (an example is shown in FIG. 14) is notified from the wireless device 12 as a search result, this is displayed on the interface display unit 14 and is displayed by the user. Wait for the selection.

  FIG. 6 shows processing when a connection with a partner terminal for chatting is designated by the user interface. The wireless device 12 is instructed to connect by specifying a connection address.

  FIG. 7 shows processing when chat disconnection is designated by the user interface. A disconnection is instructed by designating an address connected to the wireless device 12. When connected to two terminals, the “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the connection management data 16 is confirmed, and the registered one is disconnected first.

  FIG. 8 shows processing when chat data transmission is designated by the user interface. The chat data to be transmitted is displayed on the user interface display unit 14 of the user and transferred to the connected partner terminal. When connected to two terminals, the same data is transferred to the two terminals.

  FIG. 9 shows processing when chat data is received from one connected terminal. The received chat data is displayed on the user interface display unit 14 of the user and transferred to another connected partner terminal. If it is not connected to another terminal, no transfer is performed.

  FIG. 10 shows processing when a connection request is received from another terminal and a connection notification is received from the other terminal. If the "connection destination address 1" area 24 of the connection management data 16 is confirmed and not registered, the address for which connection notification has been made is registered. If there is an already connected terminal, the terminal is notified of the connection destination address for which connection notification has been made this time using a registration command. When the number of connections in the “connection state” is one, “Slave” is changed to “Bridge” in the case of two, and thereafter, the setting of the wireless device 12 does not respond to the search. When the “connection state” is “Bridge”, if a connection request is received from the third terminal, it is rejected. However, since it cannot be within the operation of the method of the present invention, it is not explicitly shown in the figure.

  FIG. 11 shows processing when a disconnection request is received from one connected terminal and a disconnection notification is received from another terminal. The “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the connection management data 16 is confirmed, and if the address for which the disconnection notification has been made is not registered, nothing is done. If it has been registered, this is deleted, and the “connection destination” If the “address 2” area 25 is registered, reconnection to this address is performed, and this address is moved to the “connection destination address 1” area 24. As a result, if the number of already connected is 2, the “connection state” is changed to “Bridge”, if it is 1, it is changed to “Slave”, and if it is 0, it is changed to “Master”. Also, if there is another connected terminal, the address that has been notified of disconnection to this terminal is notified using a delete command.

  FIG. 12 shows processing when a registration command for a connection destination address is received from one connected terminal. The “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the connection management data 16 is confirmed to confirm that the address of the terminal that has transmitted the command is registered, and the “connection destination address 2” area 25 of the connection management data 16 is notified. Register the address that has been sent.

  FIG. 13 shows processing when a delete command for the connection destination address is received from one connected terminal. Check the “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the connection management data 16 to confirm that the address of the terminal that sent the command is registered, and register it in the “connection destination address 2” area 25 of the connection management data 16 Delete the address that is being used.

  Next, a specific operation of the chat system will be described in detail.

  When starting the chat, as shown in FIG. 4, the “terminal name” 22 of the connection management data 16 inside the terminal 11 is set, and the “connection state” 23 is set to “Master (M)”. A mode for responding to a search request from a partner terminal and a connection request is prepared to prepare for connection from the partner terminal.

  When a search for a chat partner is instructed from the user interface input unit 15 of FIG. 1, a search operation is designated for the wireless device 12 as shown in FIG. The wireless device 12 in which the mode for responding to the search request is designated responds to the search request by notifying its own address, terminal name, and the like. When a search response result list (FIG. 14) is notified from the wireless device 12, the search response result is displayed on the user interface display unit 14 so that a connection destination terminal can be selected.

  Next, a connection example in a one-to-one case in the chat system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the connection destination terminal is selected and the connection is instructed in the user interface input unit 15 of the second terminal, the connection operation is specified by specifying the connection destination address 1 for the wireless device 12. The wireless device 12 makes a connection request to the connection destination address 1 (45). Then, when the wireless device 12 of the first terminal 41 receives the connection request and notifies the connection completion, the connection state 23 (see FIG. 2) of the connection management data 16 is set to “Slave (S)”. (43) Thereafter, the mode is set so as not to respond to a search request from the counterpart terminal. The connection destination address “2” is registered in the “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the connection management data 16 of the first terminal 41 (44).

  Next, a case where a third terminal is newly connected at the time of one-to-one connection (see FIG. 15) in the chat system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this case, the terminal responding to the search request is the second terminal whose “connection state” is “Master” in FIG. When connection is made from the third terminal to the second terminal (51), the “connection state” 23 of the connection management data 16 inside the second terminal is changed to “Bridge (B)”, and “connection destination address” The connection destination address No. 3 is registered in the “1” area 24.

  Next, a registration command is sent from the second terminal to the first terminal to notify that the connection destination address 3 is connected (52). The first terminal that has received the registration command confirms that the registration command has been notified from the address 2 registered in the “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the internal connection management data 16, and performs internal connection management. The connection destination address 3 is registered in the “connection destination address 2” area 25 of the data 16.

  Next, an example in which five terminals are connected in the chat system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18.

  When the terminal 4 and the terminal 5 are connected from the state shown in FIG. 16, the first connected terminal 1 becomes the “connected state” “Slave (S)”, and the last connected terminal 5 “Connection state” “Master (M)”. Then, the “connection state” is “Bridge (B)” for terminals 2 to 4 existing between them. The “connection destination address 1” area 24 and the “connection destination address 2” area 25 are registered in the terminal 1 to the terminal 3, and only the “connection destination address 1” area 24 is registered in the terminal 4. The

  In this state, when the terminal 2 is disconnected from the connection, as shown in FIG. 17, the terminal 2 is connected to the terminal 3 that is registered in the internal “destination address 1” area 24. Is cut first (61). Next, the connection with the other terminal No. 1 is disconnected (62). Since the disconnected terminal 3 is disconnected from an address not registered in the internal “destination address 1” area 24, the disconnection is normally accepted and no other processing is performed.

  Since the disconnected terminal 1 is disconnected from the address registered in the internal “connection destination address 1” area 24, the address registered in the “connection destination address 2” area 25 after accepting the disconnection. (63). Then, the contents of the “connection destination address 2” area 25 are moved to the “connection destination address 1” area 24. Since the terminal 3 has received a connection request from the terminal 1, it accepts this, and subsequently transmits the address registered in the internal “destination address 1” to the terminal 1 as a registration command (64). The first terminal that has received the registration command confirms that the registration command has been notified from the address 3 registered in the “connection destination address 1” area 24 of the internal connection management data 16, and the internal “connection” The connection destination address 4 is registered in the "destination address 2" area 25 (71).

  When the terminals 3 and 4 located in the middle of the connection leave the connection, the same operation as described above is performed. When the terminals 1 and 5 at both ends are disconnected from the connection, it is clear that basically no reconnection is necessary. However, when the terminal 5 is disconnected (72), the terminal 4 detects this, performs deregistration (73) of the internal "connection destination address 1", and sends the address 5 to the terminal 3 The delete command is transmitted (74). The terminal 3 that has received the delete command deletes the “connection destination address 2” area 25 (75).

  FIG. 19 shows an example when a chat is being performed with four terminals connected. The chat data (81) input from the user interface input unit 15 of the terminal 3 is displayed on the user interface display unit of the terminal 3 and transferred to the connected terminals 1 and 4 (82). (83).

  The terminal No. 1 that has received the chat data displays (85) on the user interface display unit, and does not do anything any more because there is no other connection.

  The terminal 4 that has received the chat data is displayed on the user interface display section (85), and since there is a connection with the terminal 5, the chat data is also transferred to the terminal 5 (84). The operation of terminal # 5 is the same as that of terminal # 1.

  An example of the display contents of the user interface display unit 15 is shown in FIG. 20, but the display form is well known to those skilled in the art and is not directly related to the present invention, and thus the detailed configuration is omitted.

  As another embodiment of the present invention, the basic configuration is as described above, but it is easily conceivable to add the following additional functions.

  Not accepting unconditional connection when the terminal is connected, notify the confirmation command to all the devices that are chatting, the function to connect only when the approval is obtained from all devices, and chat data A function that adds specific address information and notifies only a specific terminal. When a terminal outside the specified address receives this chat data, the chat data is not displayed, and is transferred when the transfer destination terminal is connected.

It is a block diagram of the configuration of a terminal to which the chat system according to the present invention is applied. It is the connection management data formed in each of the terminals of FIG. It is a format of the interface command data between the terminals of FIG. In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart in the case where “the chat function is designated to be started by the user”. In the chat system concerning this invention, it is a flowchart in case "chat search is designated from the user interface." In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart when “a chat connection is designated from a user interface”. In the chat system concerning this invention, it is a flowchart in the case of "the chat disconnection was designated from the user interface." In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart when “transmission of chat data is designated from the user interface”. In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart when “data is received from one connected terminal”. In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart in the case of “There is a connection notification from another terminal” (corresponding to reference numeral 45 in FIG. 15 and reference numeral 51 in FIG. 16). In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart in the case of “disconnection notification from another terminal” (corresponding to reference numerals 61 and 62 in FIG. 17). In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart in a case where “a connection address registration command is received from another terminal”. In the chat system according to the present invention, it is a flowchart in the case of “received a connection address deletion command from another terminal”. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which selects a chat group in the chat system concerning this invention. It is a chat connection diagram in the case of one-to-one by the chat system according to the present invention. It is a chat connection diagram in the case of 3 units | sets (3 persons) by the chat system concerning this invention. It is a chat connection diagram when one (1 person) comes out during 5 (5 persons) chats by the chat system according to the present invention. FIG. 18 is a chat connection diagram when the contents of the terminal 1 are rewritten and the terminal 5 is also disconnected as a result of the disconnection of one (one person) during the chat in FIG. 17. It is a connection diagram which shows the state which is transmitting / receiving chat data by 4 units | sets with the chat system concerning this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the screen in connection with chat in the chat system concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Terminal 12 Wireless device 13 Application software 14 User interface display part 15 User interface input part 16 Connection management data 21 Data which stores the group name which chats 22 Area which stores the terminal name at the time of chatting 23 Terminal connection Area 24 for storing the state 24 Area for storing the connection destination address 25 Area for storing the address of another terminal that is not its own terminal connected to the terminal of 24 24 Example of command for registering 25 of the partner terminal 32 Example of command for deleting 25 of partner terminal 33 Example of chat data 41 Terminal 42 to which the present invention is applied 42 Wireless device address 43 Terminal connection status display section 44 Connection destination address and self connected to terminal Display part of another device that is not a device ( : X for Y "connection destination address", Y represents respectively "other one terminal not self terminal connected to a terminal")
45 State of connection from terminal 2 to terminal 1 51 State of connection from terminal 3 to terminal 2 Command transfer 61 for registering information on address 3 from terminal 2 to terminal 1 Disconnect 62 Disconnect from terminal 1 because terminal 2 leaves the chat 63 Automatically connect to terminal 3 based on the connection destination address of terminal 1 and the information of another terminal that is not its own terminal connected to the terminal 64 Transfer command for registering address 4 information from connected terminal 3 to terminal 71 71 Register connection destination address No. 4 to terminal 1 72 Transfer command for deleting address 5 information from terminal 4 to terminal 3 73 terminal 3 deletes the information of another terminal that is not its own terminal connected to the terminal 74 Input / send chat data 75 One connected chat data 81 Send chat data to input / send 82 Send chat data to the first connected terminal 83 Send chat data to the second connected terminal 84 Chat transferred Transfer data to other devices 85 Receive and display transferred chat data

Claims (5)

  A chat system, wherein a plurality of communication terminals having a short-range wireless communication function are connected in series, and each communication terminal exchanges connection information and chat data with each other.   The chat system according to claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication function is realized by a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.   A communication terminal having a short-range wireless communication function, which exchanges connection information and chat data with another communication terminal connected in series.   The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein the short-range wireless communication function is realized by a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.   In order to configure a chat system in which a plurality of communication terminals having a short-range wireless communication function are connected in series and each communication terminal exchanges connection information and chat data with each other, a user interface of each communication terminal and the short-range wireless communication A program provided between a wireless device for realizing a function.

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