JP2002057693A - Message exchange system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To receive a message in a medium form preset corresponding to a desire by a receiver regardless of the medium form of the message transmitted by a transmitter and to transfer the message in a wide range even by the user terminal of limited medium forms. SOLUTION: In the medium data base 12 of a server 1, the medium form desired at the time of reception is registered by setting from communication equipment 1. A reception data base 13 stores a transmission message to be received by an interactive operation with the transmitter based on an automatic answering data base 14 together with the medium form desired by the receiver checked by referring to the medium data base 12 at the time of transmission. A medium converter 15 converts the transmission message stored in the reception data base 13 to the specified medium form as needed and stores it in a post-conversion data base 16. The post-conversion data base 16 distributes the stored message to the communication equipment 2 corresponding to the receiver of a destination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a message exchange system for providing a service for distributing a message transmitted from one user terminal to another user terminal on a network, such as an instant message service. In particular, the present invention relates to a message exchange system and a recording medium that can easily deliver a message according to a media type desired by a receiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a means of communicating on a network, for example, on the Internet, a system for grasping the situation of a partner who wants to communicate before starting communication, for example, an instant message service as a system capable of communicating with appropriate media. Already exists. Communication media include a voice message using voice information, a short message using text information and a text message such as ordinary electronic mail (e-mail), and an image message using an image.

A user using such an instant message connects to a server that manages the status of all users, and sets his / her communication status in the server. The communication states include [online], [offline]
ne)], [away], [don't disturb] and [chat]. The user sets the states in the server by selecting these states from a menu. By setting it on the server, you present your status to other users (of the instant messaging service). Before sending the message, the sender can check the status information about the other party to select an appropriate communication medium and send the message.

Further, there is provided a device for converting text data such as e-mail into voice data or a media change such as voice recognition from voice data to text data, recording a voice message, and operating guidance in various media formats. Devices are also sold (for example, NTTDATA multimedia card Vo).
stage, voice and facsimile mail system IOX 5500 manufactured by OKI).

[0005]

In the conventional instant message service, the receiver sets the communication state by himself. In the instant message service, various message media such as voice conversation, short message (chat), answering machine, and e-mail can be used. In many cases, there is a message media that the recipient wants to use for communication due to the personal circumstances of the recipient or restrictions due to the system used for reception. For this reason, the sender of a communication message must
By confirming the status of the recipient with whom the communication is to be made before transmitting the message, the message media desired by the recipient is predicted, and the recipient selects and transmits the message. In this way, the communication with the message is executed for the recipient.

Referring now to FIG. 20, an outline of a conventional system for an instant message service will be described. As shown in FIG. 20, the state management system 101
Is installed on a network, for example. The users, ie, the receiver and the sender, connect the computers 102 and 103 as terminal devices to the state management system 101 via a network. The state management system 101 includes a state database (state DB) 11
1. A media database (media DB) 112 and a communication database (communication DB) 113 are provided. State management system 101
Are the state database 111, the media database 112, and the communication database 11
3 are used to realize a state confirmation function, a media selection function, and a communication function.

At the time of communication using the system shown in FIG. 20, the recipient operates the computer 102 to set the personal status in the status database 111 of the status management system 101. At the same time, the media desired by the recipient for use may be set in the media database 112. The caller
By operating the computer 103, the state management system 10
Reference is made to the state of the other party who is to send a message based on the state database 111 of FIG. At this time, the media database 112 may sometimes allow the user to refer to the desired media. In this way,
The sender confirms or predicts the desired medium of the other party, operates the computer 103, and transmits a message to the communication database 113 of the state management system 101 using the corresponding medium. The receiver receives the message transmitted from the sender from the communication database 113 of the state management system 101 via the computer 102.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-135264 describes a system that allows an e-mail recipient to read out a text of a received e-mail as voice information as desired. JP-A-9-135264
The system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-15064 discloses a text conversion server for adding high-precision reading / prosodic information to an e-mail text, and converts text-based speech information using the provided high-precision reading / prosodic information. And a voice output server for generating. The e-mail recipient sets in advance whether or not to generate high-precision reading / prosodic information, e-mail selection information for generating reading / prosodic information, and a voice output device to be used for voice reading. If the e-mail recipient wishes to read the received e-mail with high accuracy, the e-mail is transferred to the text conversion server, and the returned e-mail to which the high-precision reading / prosodic information is added is read. Make the set voice output device read aloud. A local voice synthesizer or voice output server is used as the voice output device. Here, when the audio output server is used, the e-mail to which the highly accurate reading / prosodic information is added is transferred to the audio output server, and the audio information returned from the audio output server is reproduced.

The system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-135264 converts media from text to voice after receiving an e-mail. Media conversion in a text conversion server and a voice output device is performed by converting text to voice. It is limited to media conversion, and is converted when transferred from an e-mail recipient for conversion. That is, in this case, regarding the media conversion, the e-mail recipient is the sender, and the media is converted only by the selection of the sender.

Therefore, in the conventional system,
There are the following problems. (1) Since the transmission media form depends on the sender's selection, the receiver may receive a message from the sender in a media form that does not suit his or her desired form. (2) The caller predicts the state of the other party and selects the media form by himself, but the media form may not be the form desired by the caller. (3) If there is a restriction on the media format due to the communication device of the sender, the message may not be transmitted in the media format desired by the recipient.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible for a receiver to receive a message in a preset media format as desired, regardless of the media format of the message transmitted by the sender. It is an object of the present invention to provide a message exchange system and a computer-readable recording medium that can transmit and receive a wide range of messages even by a user terminal having a limited media form.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, a message exchange system according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a service for distributing a message transmitted from one user terminal to another user terminal. Media exchange means for registering a media type of a message that the user desires to receive from a user terminal, and a destination user of the transmitted message when a message is transmitted from the user terminal. Media type reference means for examining the received media type registered for the destination user, and when the registered received media type of the destination user obtained by the media type reference means is different from the media type of the transmitted message, the transmitted message is Media conversion means for converting into a conversion message of the registered reception media type; To the destination user, using one of the transmission message and transform the message,
Message transmission means for transmitting a message corresponding to the registered reception media type.

[0013] The apparatus further includes database means for storing a received media type for each user registered by the received media registering means, wherein the media type referencing means refers to the database means to register a registered received media type of a destination user. You may check it.

[0014] The media conversion means transmits the conversion message to the transmitting side in a desired media type of the transmitting side,
Means may be included for causing the originating side to confirm the content of the transmission after the media conversion.

[0015] The media type of the message may include at least one of a text message including a normal electronic mail and a short mail, a voice message, and an image message.

In a message exchange system according to a first aspect of the present invention, a media type of a message that the user desires to receive from a user terminal is registered in advance in a receiving media registration unit, and a message from the user terminal is registered. At the time of transmission, the received media type registered for the destination user of the transmitted message is checked by the media type reference means, and the registered received media type of the destination user obtained by the media type reference means is the same as the media type of the transmitted message. If they are different, the transmission message is converted by the media conversion unit into a conversion message of the registered reception media type, and one of the transmission message and the conversion message corresponding to the registered reception media type is used by the message transmission unit. The message to the destination user. In this message exchange system, a message is converted into a media format specified by the recipient and delivered, so that the message is transmitted in a media format preset by the recipient as desired, regardless of the media format of the message transmitted by the sender. Can be received, and a wide range of messages can be exchanged even with a user terminal whose media form is restricted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium comprising: a receiving medium registering means for registering, from a user terminal, a media type of a message which the user desires to receive; When transmitting the message, the media type reference means for checking the received media type registered for the destination user of the transmitted message, and the registered received media type of the destination user obtained by the media type reference means is the transmission message. When the media type is different, the media conversion means for converting the transmission message into a conversion message of the registered reception media type, and the destination user, using one of the transmission message and the conversion message, The message corresponding to the registered reception media type Shin message transmitting means records the program for functioning as a.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium, comprising: a computer for storing a receiving medium type for each user; a medium for a message which the user desires to receive from a user terminal; Receiving media registering means for registering a type in the database means, referencing the database means at the time of transmitting a message from a user terminal, referencing a media type for checking a receiving media type registered for a destination user of the transmitted message; Means for converting the transmission message into a conversion message of the registered reception media type when the registered reception media type of the destination user obtained by the media type reference means is different from the media type of the transmission message. Conversion means, and the destination user The transmission message and using one of the conversion message records the program to function as a message transmission means for transmitting a message corresponding to the registration reception media type.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium, comprising: a receiving medium registering means for registering, from a user terminal, a media type of a message which the user desires to receive; When transmitting the message, the media type reference means for checking the received media type registered for the destination user of the transmitted message, and the registered received media type of the destination user obtained by the media type reference means is the transmission message. If it is different from the media type, the transmission message is converted into a conversion message of the registered reception media type, and the conversion message is transmitted to the transmission side in the desired media type of the transmission side, and the media conversion is performed by the transmission side. Media conversion means for confirming the transmitted content, and Serial to the destination user, using one of the transmission message and converts the message, records a program for functioning as a message transmission means for transmitting a message corresponding to the registration reception media type.

According to the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium according to the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, the message is converted into a medium format designated by the recipient and distributed, so that the originator sends the message. Regardless of the media format of the message, the recipient can receive the message in a media format set in advance as desired, and a wide range of messages can be exchanged even with a user terminal having a limited media format.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. That is, the message exchange system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a message exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The message exchange system shown in FIG. 1 includes a server 1, a first communication device 2, and a second communication device 3. In this case, the first communication device 2 is a user terminal (device) for a receiver, and the second communication device 3 is a user terminal device for a sender in this case. Server 1
These communication devices 2 and 3 are connected via a network, and realize message exchange from the second communication device 3 on the transmitting side to the first communication device 2 on the receiving side.

The server 1 has a status confirmation unit, a media selection unit, and a media conversion unit. The state confirmation unit has a state database (state DB) 11. The state database 11 registers personal state information indicating a personal state with respect to reception or the like by setting from the communication device 2 and is referred to when confirming the personal state of the other party at the time of transmission from the communication device 3 or the like. The media selection unit has a media database (media DB) 12. The media database 12 registers a desired media format at the time of reception by, for example, setting from the communication device 2. The media conversion unit includes a reception database (reception DB) 13, an automatic response database (automatic response DB) 14, a media conversion device 15, and a converted database (converted DB).
16. The reception database 13 stores, at the time of transmission, a transmission message received by an interactive operation with the sender based on the automatic response database 14 together with a desired media form of the recipient as a destination checked with reference to the media database 12. I do. The media conversion device 15 converts the transmission message stored in the reception database 13 into a specified media format as necessary and stores the converted message in the converted database 16.

The converted database 16 distributes the converted and stored message as needed to the communication device 2 corresponding to the destination recipient. Although the media conversion device 15 may be configured by hardware, a part or all of its functions may be configured by software, and the required functions may be achieved by executing the software.

That is, in this message exchange system, message exchange is generally performed according to the following procedure.

First, the receiver side determines the communication status and the media in advance and registers them in the system, that is, the status database 11 and the media database 12 of the server 1. Specifically, for example, in a theater and a movie theater, etc., register the reception mode by mobile phone manner mode or e-mail, and register the drive mode and answering machine reception of the mobile phone during high-speed movement by highway and train, When using a personal computer in the office, register e-mail reception, and when using a family telephone at home, register voice reception.

The state and media on the receiver side are changed by the receiver each time the state of the receiver changes.・ The sender confirms the status of the recipient, decides the content of the communication, and according to the media desired by the sender,
A message addressed to the recipient is transmitted to the system (server 1). The system (server 1) checks the destination, that is, the media selected by the recipient, and if the media format of the transmitted message does not match, converts the message from the sender into the message format desired by the recipient. , Deliver to the recipient.

The flow of processing mainly in the server 1 of the system realized by the message exchange system according to this embodiment will be briefly described below. The operations (1) to (6) shown in FIG. 1 correspond to the following (1) to (6)
Corresponds to each item. (1) The message receiver sets his / her communication status such as accessible, inaccessible, and receiving only emergency contact in the system (the status database 11 of the server 1). (2) The message recipient sets the media form he or she wants to receive according to the situation in the system (media database 12 of server 1). In this case, examples of the media form include voice (real-time voice), mail (text), voice mail (answering machine), mail (storage type), and the like.

(3) The message sender obtains the status of the message recipient, that is, the destination communication from the system (the status database 11 of the server 1). (4) The message sender sends a message to the system using media desired by the sender (for example, voice (real-time voice), mail (text), etc.). When the media is specified by the receiver, the system and the caller may be interactively exchanged for each media. For example, if the designated medium is an answering machine, an exchange such as recording a voice call in accordance with an automatic response message prompting recording is required.

(5) The message from the sender stored by the system is converted into the media set by the receiver registered in the media database 12. (6) The converted message stored in the system (the converted database 16 of the server 1) is transmitted to the recipient immediately or at a time desired by the recipient by the media set by the recipient.

By utilizing such a system, the recipient can receive the message on the media desired by the recipient. Also, the caller can send the message in the media desired by the caller. Furthermore, some communication tools are limited in the media form to be handled, such as, for example, telephone only for voice, facsimile (FAX) only for inputting character and graphic patterns, and mail-only terminal for only character input. With a communication tool or the like having various restrictions as described above, it is possible to communicate with a user who has not been able to transmit a message until now by adapting to the media of the device.

Hereinafter, the message exchange system according to the embodiment described above and shown in FIG. 1 will be described more specifically and in detail.

This message exchange system is configured as a system as schematically shown in FIG. That is, the server S illustrated in FIG. 2 corresponds to the server 1 illustrated in FIG. User terminals C1, C of a plurality of service users
2 and C3 are connected to the server S via a network such as a mobile telephone network N1, a general telephone network N2, and the Internet N3. These user terminals C1, C2, C3, etc. function as clients for the server S, and can be both a message sender and a message receiver. Therefore, the communication devices 2 and 3 described with reference to FIG.
And C3.

Next, a more specific operation of the message exchange system shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

<< Preprocessing >> Before performing the message exchange processing according to the present invention, the user of this service has registered in the system of this message exchange service, and has confirmed that the authentication processing for the system has been completed. It is necessary that the information of the recipient be transferred to the sender by some means, and that the recipient be registered in the address book of the sender. The address book of the caller is a list of the callers who can know the communication state and the form of the used media by the message exchange service.

Hereinafter, a flow until the sender registers the receiver in the address book of this system will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. First, with reference to FIG. 3, a flow of pre-processing until a sender and a recipient are authenticated by the system will be described. The operations (1) to (5) and (1 ') to (5') shown in FIG.
To (5).

(1) The service user, that is, both the caller and the receiver, register that the message exchange system uses the message exchange service. (2) The system event control unit 10A in the server 1 of this system searches for the ID of the current member, allocates a unique (unique) ID (identification information), and stores the ID in the member database (member DB) 10B. And a randomly generated password (the password is not limited to a randomly generated password, but may be a character string arbitrarily specified by the user).

(3) The system event controller 10A notifies the service user (both the sender and the receiver in this case) of the unique ID and password. (4) The service user authenticates to the system using the notified ID and password.

(5) After successful authentication, the service user sets and registers in the system event control section 10A the state of the user's communication and the desired communication media form.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a description will be given of the flow of the pre-processing until the sender registers the recipient in his / her personal address book. In addition, (1)-shown in FIG.
The operation (7) corresponds to each of the following items (1) to (7).

(1) The recipient can use any communication means (for example, a face-to-face conversation, telephone, letter, E
Using a mail or the like, the sender is notified of the ID number of the receiver in this message exchange system. (2) The sender authenticates the system. (3) After successful authentication, the sender is the system event controller 1
An inquiry is made to 0A by giving the ID number of the receiver notified earlier. (4) The system event control unit 10A makes an inquiry to the member database 10B and receives the given ID.
Get personal information attached to the number.

(5) The system event control unit 10A
The caller is notified of the detailed information of the inquired ID number. (6) The sender confirms that the ID previously notified by the receiver is correct, and requests the system event control unit 10A to register the ID number of the receiver in the address book 10C of the sender. (7) The system event control unit 10A sends the requested I
D is added to the caller's address book 10C.

<< Overall Processing at the Time of Message Exchange >> Next, the overall processing at the time of message exchange in this message exchange system will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the sender sends a message to the recipient with the desired media already set, and the process until the recipient receives the message from the sender is described by the sender's voice message. Will be described as an example of a process from converting to a mail and delivering it to the recipient. Also in this case, the operations (1) to (12) shown in FIG. 5 correspond to the following items (1) to (12), respectively.

(1) The sender checks the state of the receiver of the other party with whom he wishes to communicate. (2) The sender notifies the system that communication is to be made to the receiver. (3) The message receiving device 17 of this system acquires the media set by the recipient stored in the media database 12. The message receiving device 17 determines a method of receiving a message and a method of converting a message by using the notification media of the sender to the system and the media set by the recipient.

(4) The message receiving device 17 prepares an exchange with the sender in accordance with the determined message receiving method (for example, the media of the sender is voice, and the media set by the recipient is mail (text). In this case, a voice response message is prepared from the response database 14 to inform the caller that the voice of the caller is converted to text and transmitted. (5) The message receiving device 17 notifies the sender that the message is to be converted and a means for sending the message to the recipient by using a medium used by the sender (in this case, a voice message. Therefore, the message is converted to text and notified to the recipient, and the message is blown into the message receiving device 17 within a certain time to notify that the converted text message should be confirmed).

(6) The sender is the message receiving device 17
The message is transmitted to the message receiving device 17 according to the instruction received from. (7) The message receiving device 17 stores the message received from the sender in the receiving database 13. (8) The message receiving device 17 acquires the media of the recipient from the media database 12 and converts the message of the sender stored in the database 13 into the media set by the recipient (in this case, the recorded media is recorded). Convert the voice message to text using a speech recognizer). The converted message is stored in the converted database 16.

(9) The message receiving device 17 reversely converts the converted message in the converted database 16 into the media used by the sender, and transmits the media to the sender. (10) The sender confirms the converted message transmitted from the message receiving device 17, and if correct,
A content confirmation notification is returned to the message receiving device 17. (11) The message transmitting device 18 acquires the media format set by the recipient from the media database 12. (12) The message transmitting device 18 acquires the message for the recipient from the converted database 16 and transmits the message to the recipient in the media format set by the recipient.

Next, the details of the media conversion operation mainly in the media conversion section inside the server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Also in this case, the operations 1 to 38 shown in FIG. 6 correspond to the following items 1 to 38, respectively. 1: The sender sends a message to the communication control unit of this system using the media desired by the sender. 2: The communication control unit issues a message transmission request to the event control unit. 3: The event control unit requests the reception database control unit to store the message from the sender.

4: The reception database control unit requests the reception database 13 to store the message. 5: The reception database control unit performs the reception database 13
Get the storage result from. 6: The event control unit acquires the storage result from the reception database control unit. 7: The event controller requests the media database controller for the media type (media type) requested by the receiver. 8: The media database control unit requests the media database 12 to acquire the media format requested by the recipient.

9: The media database control unit acquires the media requested by the receiver from the media database 12. 10: The event control unit acquires the media form requested by the receiver from the media database control unit. 11: The event control unit requests the media conversion control unit to convert the message of the sender into the media form requested by the receiver. 12: The media conversion control unit requests the message of the sender from the reception database control unit.

13: The receiving database control unit requests the receiving database 13 for the sender's message. 14: The receiving database control unit performs the receiving database 1
3 to obtain the sender's message. 15: The media conversion control unit acquires the sender's message from the reception database control unit.

16: The media conversion control unit converts the media of the sender's message according to the media type requested by the receiver and the media type of the sender's message. 17: The media conversion control unit creates a message for confirming with the sender, and requests the response database control unit to store the message. 18: The response database control unit requests the automatic response database 14 to store a confirmation message.

19: The response database control unit acquires the storage result from the automatic response database 14. 20: The media conversion control unit acquires the storage result from the response database control unit. 21: The media conversion control unit requests a confirmation message from the response database control unit. 22: The response database control unit requests a confirmation message from the automatic response database 14.

23: The response database control unit acquires a confirmation message from the automatic response database 14. 24: The media conversion control unit obtains a confirmation message from the response database control unit. 25: The media conversion control unit requests the communication control unit to send a confirmation message. 26: The communication control unit sends a confirmation message to the sender. 27: The communication control unit acquires an answer message from the sending destination. 28: The media conversion control unit acquires the sender's response message from the communication control unit.

29: The media conversion control unit requests the post-conversion database control unit to store the converted sender message created in item 16 (the processing is terminated here by the response message in item 28). There is also.). 30: The converted database control unit requests the converted database 16 to store the converted sender message. 31: The converted database control unit acquires the storage result from the converted database 16. 32: The media conversion control unit acquires the storage result from the converted database control unit.

33: The media conversion control unit requests the converted database message from the converted database control unit. 34: The converted database control unit requests the converted database 16 for the converted sender message. 35: The converted database control unit obtains the converted sender message from the converted database 16.

36: The media conversion control unit obtains the converted sender message from the converted database control unit. 37: The media conversion control unit requests the communication control unit to transmit a message. 38: The communication control unit transmits the message to the recipient.

The example of FIG. 5 describes a process for converting a voice message from a caller's telephone into text for sending to a recipient by mail. In the present embodiment, the media format as shown in FIG. 7 is targeted, and the media conversion as shown in FIG. 8 is made possible. That is,
Media formats handled include emails such as e-mails and short messages composed of text, facsimile and handwritten messages composed of images, and telephones composed of voices. Then, in order to convert the text into an image, a character image conversion device (15 in FIG. 9)
A), a text-to-speech device (15D in FIG. 9) is used to convert text to speech, and a character recognition device (15B in FIG. 9) is used to convert an image to text. To convert to text, a character recognition device (15B in FIG. 9) and a text-to-speech device (15D in FIG. 9) are used together, and to convert voice to text, a voice recognition device (15C in FIG. 9) is used. To convert voice into an image, a voice recognition device (15C in FIG. 9) and a character image conversion device (15A in FIG. 9) are used together.

The details of the above-described media conversion device 15 are as follows.
As shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the media conversion device 15
It has a character image conversion device 15A, a character recognition device 15B, a voice recognition device 15C, and a voice reading device 15D.
The character image conversion device 15A is used when converting a text into an image, converts text data read from the reception database 13 into image data, and writes the image data into the converted database 16. The character recognition device 15B is used when converting an image into text, converts image data read from the reception database 13 into text data, and writes the text data into the database 16 after conversion. The speech recognition device 15C is used when speech is converted to text, converts speech data read from the reception database 13 into text data, and converts
Write to. The text-to-speech device 15D is used when converting text to speech, and
3 is converted into voice data and written into the database 16 after conversion.

As described above, when the image is converted into voice, the image data read from the reception database 13 is converted into text data by the character recognition device 15B, and the text data is converted by the voice reading device 15D. The data is converted into audio data and written into the database 16 after the conversion. When converting voice into an image, the voice data read from the reception database 13 is converted into text data by the voice recognition device 15C, and the text data is converted into image data by the character image conversion device 15A. After that, the data is written into the database 16. All of the character image conversion device 15A, character recognition device 15B, voice recognition device 15C, and voice reading device 15D may be configured by hardware, but some or all of the functions are performed by software. It may be constituted as.

FIG. 10 shows a database structure used for the media conversion processing performed by the media conversion device 15.
FIG. 11 shows the conversion table, and FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the entire media conversion process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process corresponding to each conversion operation in FIG.
19 to FIG.

The database structure shown in FIG. 10 is a database structure used for the reception database 13, the converted database 16, and the like. As shown in the figure, a sender, a receiver, a transmission time, a media type, and a pointer to the message are stored for each message,
Text files, audio files, and image files are stored. The pointer to the message in each message stores the head address of the corresponding message corresponding to the corresponding media type among the text file, the audio file, and the image file.

FIG. 11 shows a conversion table for selecting a process for converting the data read from the reception database 13 into the media form indicated by the media database 12. The conversion from text to text is performed by the process <1. > Conversion of text to image is processed <2>,
Conversion from text to voice is processing <3>, conversion from image to text is processing <4>, conversion from image to image is processing <1>, conversion from image to voice is processing <5>, conversion from voice Conversion to text is processing <6>, conversion from voice to image is processing <7>, and conversion from voice to voice is processing <1>. That is, the process <1> shows a case where no conversion is performed.

Next, the processing shown in FIG. 12 will be described. The process shown in FIG. 12 is activated every time a message is sent. When the process is started, first, the forced end flag is reset to "0" (step S1), a message is received (step S2), and the message is written into the reception database 13 (step S3). Then, based on the destination of the message, that is, the recipient, the media database 12 is read and the media type to be converted is confirmed (step S4), and the conversion table shown in FIG. One of the processes <1> to <7> is executed (step S5).

When the conversion process is completed, it is checked whether or not the forced end flag is "1" (step S6). If not, the conversion result is written in the converted database 16 (step S7), and (Step S8), and the process ends. In step S6, if the forced termination flag is "1", the process is immediately terminated.

FIG. 13 shows the contents of the process <1>. This is a process in the case where there is no need to convert anything, as described above. finish. Thereafter, step S in FIG.
Proceed to step 6.

FIG. 14 shows the contents of the process <2>, which is the conversion from text to image, and is as follows. First, when the process starts, text data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S21). Then, the read text data is converted by the character image conversion device 15A.
The character image is converted (step S22), and the process ends. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

FIG. 15 shows the contents of the process <3>, which is the conversion from text to speech, and is as follows. First, when the process starts, text data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S31). Then, the read text data is converted into voice data by text-to-speech conversion by the voice reading device 15D (step S3).
2) Write the obtained audio data into the converted database 16 (step S33). Further, the voice data is read from the converted database 16 (step S3).
4) In the voice recognition processing by the voice recognition device 15C, the data is converted into text data (step S35), written into the automatic response database 14 (step S36), and a confirmation message is transmitted to the caller using the text data. Prompt for confirmation (step S37).

Then, the confirmation content from the sender is "OK".
Is determined (step S38), and "OK" is determined.
If so, the process ends. If the sender's confirmation content is not "OK" in step S38, the forced end flag is set to "1" (step S39), and the process ends. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

FIG. 16 shows the contents of the process <4>. Since this is conversion from an image to text, it is as follows. First, when the process starts, image data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S41). Then, the read image data is converted into text data by character recognition processing by the character recognition device 15B (step S4).
2), the obtained text data is converted into a database 1
6 (step S43). Further, the text data is read from the converted database 16 (step S44), and converted into image data by character image conversion by the character image conversion device 15A (step S4).
5) Write into the automatic response database 14 (step S46), and send a confirmation message to the caller using this image data to prompt confirmation (step S47). Then, it is determined whether or not the confirmation content from the caller is "OK" (step S48). If "OK", the process is terminated. In step S48, the confirmation content of the caller is "O
If not "K", the forced termination flag is set to "1" (step S49), and the process is terminated. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

FIG. 17 shows the contents of the process <5>, which is the conversion from image to audio, and is as follows. First, when the process starts, image data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S51). Then, the read image data is converted into text data by character recognition processing by the character recognition device 15B (step S52),
The obtained text data is written into the converted database 16 (step S53). Further, the text data is read from the converted database 16 (Step S).
54), the image data is converted into image data by the character image conversion by the character image conversion device 15A (step S55), and written into the automatic response database 14 (step S5).
6) A confirmation message is transmitted to the caller using the image data to prompt confirmation (step S57).

Then, the confirmation content from the sender is "OK".
Is determined (step S58), and "OK" is determined.
If so, the text data is read from the converted database 16 (step S5A), and the voice reading device 1
The character data is converted into voice data by 5D character-to-speech conversion (step S5B), written into the automatic response database 14 (step S5C), and the process ends. Step S
At 58, if the confirmation content of the sender is not "OK", the forced end flag is set to "1" (step S59), and the process is terminated. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

FIG. 18 shows the contents of the process <6>, which is the conversion from speech to text, and is as follows. First, when the process is started, voice data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S61). Then, the read voice data is converted into text data by voice recognition processing by the voice recognition device 15C (step S62), and the obtained text data is written into the converted database 16 (step S63). Further, the text data is read from the converted database 16 (step S6).
4), the text-to-speech device 15D converts the voice data into voice data (step S65), writes it into the automatic response database 14 (step S66), and transmits a confirmation message to the caller using the voice data. Prompts for confirmation (step S67). Then, it is determined whether or not the content of confirmation from the caller is "OK" (step S68). If "OK", the process is terminated. In step S68, if the confirmation content of the caller is not "OK",
The forced termination flag is set to "1" (step S69), and the process is terminated. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG.

FIG. 19 shows the contents of the process <7>, which is the conversion from voice to image, and is as follows. First, when the processing is started, voice data as a received message is read from the reception database 13 (step S71). Then, the read voice data is converted into text data by voice recognition processing by the voice recognition device 15C (step S72), and the obtained text data is written into the converted database 16 (step S73). Further, the text data is read from the converted database 16 (step S7).
4), converted into voice data by text-to-speech conversion by the voice reading device 15D (step S75), written into the automatic response database 14 (step S76), and a confirmation message is transmitted to the caller using the voice data. Prompt for confirmation (step S77). Then, it is determined whether or not the content of the confirmation from the caller is "OK" (step S78).
6, the text data is read (step S7).
A), converted into image data by character image conversion by the character image conversion device 15A (step S7B), and written into the automatic response database 14 (step S7).
C), end the process. In step S78, if the confirmation content of the caller is not "OK", the forced end flag is set to "1".
(Step S79), and the process ends. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6 in FIG. As described above, the above-described media conversion processing can be realized.

It should be noted that the message exchange system of the present invention can be realized at least in part by using a normal computer system, without being configured as a dedicated system. For example, a medium (floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, etc.) storing a program for executing the above operation in a computer system
By installing the program from, a message exchange system that executes the above-described processing can be constructed. By the installation, the program is stored in a medium such as a hard disk in the computer system, configures a message exchange system, and is used for execution.

Alternatively, the program may be registered in an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server provided on a communication network such as the Internet, and distributed to an FTP client via the network. The program may be registered in a board system or the like and distributed via a network. Then start this program and run the OS
The above processing can be achieved by executing under the control of the (Operating System). Furthermore, the above-described processing can also be achieved by starting and executing the program while transferring the program via the communication network.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention, a recipient can receive a message in a preset media format as desired, regardless of the media format of the message transmitted by the sender. Further, it is possible to provide a message exchange system and a computer-readable recording medium in which a wide range of messages can be transmitted and received even by a user terminal whose media form is restricted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a message exchange system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for schematically explaining the configuration of the whole message exchange service using the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a pre-process for registering a user and a reception medium of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a pre-process for registering an address book of a user of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for schematically explaining media conversion and message exchange processing of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining details of media conversion processing of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a handling medium for explaining details of a media conversion process of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conversion form of a handling medium and a means therefor for explaining the details of a media conversion process of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram schematically showing a specific configuration of a media conversion device of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a database structure for explaining a media conversion operation of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a conversion table for explaining a media conversion pattern of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a media conversion operation of the message exchange system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <1> in a media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <2> in the media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <3> in the media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <4> in a media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <5> in a media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

18 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <6> in a media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion process <7> in the media conversion operation of the message exchange system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a conventional message exchange system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 server 2, 3 communication equipment (communication terminal) 11 status database 12 media database 13 reception database 14 automatic response database 15 media conversion device 16 converted database 17 message reception device 18 message transmission device 15A character image conversion device 15B character recognition device 15C Speech recognition device 15D Speech reading device

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Nakamura 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo F-term in NTT Data Corporation (reference) 5K024 AA71 CC03 DD04 FF03 FF04 FF06 GG03 5K030 HA05 HB01 HB02 HB19 HC01 KA07 LB16 5K051 BB02 GG02 JJ07

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A message exchange system for providing a service for delivering a message transmitted from a certain user terminal to another user terminal, wherein a media type of a message that the user desires to receive from the user terminal is provided. Receiving medium registering means for registering a received media type, a media type referencing means for checking a received media type registered for a destination user of the transmitted message when a message is transmitted from the user terminal, and When the destination user's registered reception media type is different from the media type of the transmission message, media conversion means for converting the transmission message into a conversion message of the registered reception media type; and The registration reception is performed using one of a transmission message and a conversion message. A message transmission unit for transmitting a message corresponding to a communication media type. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a database unit for storing a reception media type for each user registered by said reception media registration unit, wherein said media type reference unit refers to said database unit to register a destination user's registered reception media. The message exchange system according to claim 1, wherein the type is checked. 3. The media conversion means transmits a conversion message to a caller in a media type desired by the caller,
3. The message exchange system according to claim 1, further comprising means for causing a transmitting side to confirm the contents of the transmission after the media conversion. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the media type of the message includes at least one of a text message including a normal electronic mail and a short mail, a voice message, and an image message. A message exchange system according to any one of the preceding claims. 5. A receiving medium registering means for registering, from a user terminal, a media type of a message which the user desires to receive from a user terminal, and when transmitting a message from the user terminal, a destination user of the transmitted message. A media type referencing unit for examining the registered receiving media type; if the registered receiving media type of the destination user obtained by the media type referencing unit is different from the media type of the transmitted message, the transmitted message is registered. Media conversion means for converting the received media type into a conversion message, and the destination user, using one of the transmission message and the conversion message,
A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for functioning as a message transmitting means for transmitting a message corresponding to the registered receiving medium type is recorded. 6. A computer, comprising: database means for storing a received media type for each user; received media registering means for registering, in the database means, a media type of a message which the user desires to receive from a user terminal; Media type referencing means for referencing the database means at the time of transmitting a message from a user terminal to check a received media type registered for a destination user of the transmitted message; and the destination use obtained by the media type referring means. When the registered receiving media type of the user is different from the media type of the transmission message, media conversion means for converting the transmission message into a conversion message of the registered reception media type, and the destination user, the transmission message and Using one of the conversion messages,
A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for functioning as a message transmission unit for transmitting a message corresponding to the registered reception medium type is recorded. 7. A receiving medium registering means for registering, from a user terminal, a media type of a message which the user desires to receive from a user terminal, and when sending a message from the user terminal, a destination user of the transmitted message. A media type referencing unit for examining the registered receiving media type; if the registered receiving media type of the destination user obtained by the media type referencing unit is different from the media type of the transmitted message, the transmitted message is registered. Media conversion means for converting the converted message into a converted message of the received media type, transmitting the converted message to the transmitting side in a desired media type of the transmitting side, and allowing the transmitting side to confirm the contents of the media-converted transmission; To the user, the transmission message and the conversion message Using one, the message transmitting means for transmitting a message corresponding to the registration reception media type, computer-readable recording medium a program for functioning as.