JP7595437B2 - COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a communication system, a communication method, and a communication program.

Conventionally, there has been a communication function between a distributor and a viewer that, when a distributor designates a specific viewer during real-time video distribution, displays a pop-up or animation only on the terminal of that viewer (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). However, these communication functions did not include any means of communication other than visual information.

JP 2013-149262 A JP 2018-11138 A International Publication No. 2018/074516

A first aspect of the present invention is a communication system comprising a distributor terminal that distributes information, a plurality of receiver terminals that receive the information, and a server that relays communication between the distributor terminal and the plurality of receiver terminals, wherein the distributor terminal comprises an input unit that accepts input from the distributor, a selection unit that selects at least one receiver terminal from the plurality of receiver terminals based on the input to the input unit, and a first transmission unit that transmits to the server receiver identification information identifying a receiver associated with the at least one receiver terminal selected by the selection unit and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal, the server comprises a first receiving unit that receives the receiver identification information and the vibration request signal, and a second transmission unit that transmits a vibration signal to the receiver terminal corresponding to the receiver identification information for vibrating the receiver terminal, and the receiver terminal comprises a receiving unit that receives the vibration signal and a vibration unit that vibrates based on the vibration signal.
A second aspect of the present invention is a server that relays communications between a distributor terminal that distributes information and a plurality of receiver terminals that receive the information, and includes a receiving unit that receives from the distributor terminal at least one receiver terminal from a plurality of receiver terminals communicating with the distributor terminal and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal, and a transmitting unit that transmits a vibration signal to the at least one receiver terminal based on the vibration request signal for vibrating the at least one receiver terminal.
A third aspect of the present invention is a communication method in which a computer executes a receiving step of receiving from a distributor terminal at least one of a plurality of receiver terminals communicating with the distributor terminal and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal, and a transmitting step of transmitting a vibration signal to the at least one receiver terminal based on the vibration request signal for vibrating the at least one receiver terminal.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is a communication program that causes a computer to realize a receiving function of receiving, from a distributor terminal, at least one receiver terminal out of a plurality of receiver terminals communicating with the distributor terminal, and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal, and a transmitting function of transmitting, based on the vibration request signal, a vibration signal for vibrating the at least one receiver terminal to the at least one receiver terminal.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of user information registered in a server. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an exchange between devices in a communication system. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distributor terminal related to FIG. 3 . 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server related to FIG. 3; 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the receiver terminal related to FIG. 3; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on a distributor terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on a receiver terminal.

<Compliance with legal matters>
It should be noted that the disclosures described herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications secrecy, as necessary for the implementation of the disclosure.

An embodiment for implementing a display method etc. that allows confirmation of the status of transmission or reception by a terminal according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As disclosed in FIG. 1, in the communication system 1, a server 10 and terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C) are connected via a network 30. The server 10 provides a service that enables sending and receiving messages between terminals 20 to terminals 20 owned by users via the network 30. Note that the number of terminals 20 connected to the network 30 is not limited.

The network 30 serves to connect one or more terminals 20 to one or more servers 10. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the terminals 20 can transmit and receive data after connecting to the server 10.

One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be wired or wireless. Network 30 may include, by way of example and without limitation, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth, satellite communications, or the like, or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

The terminal 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C) may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of the terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone (feature phone), a computer (such as, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (such as, but not limited to, a cable or satellite set-top box, digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computer device (such as, but not limited to, a personal digital assistant (PDA), email client, etc.), a wearable device (such as a glasses-type device or a watch-type device), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

Because the configurations of terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C are basically the same, the following description will focus on terminal 20. In addition, as necessary, the terminal used by user X will be referred to as terminal 20X, and user information in a specified service associated with user X or terminal 20X will be referred to as user information X. Note that user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in a specified service. User information includes, by way of example and without limitation, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, user's icon image, user's age, user's sex, user's address, user's hobbies and interests, and user's identifier, which is input by the user or assigned by a specified service, and may be any one or a combination of these, or may not be the same.

The server 10 has a function of providing a predetermined service to the terminal 20. The server 10 may be any device that is an information processing device capable of realizing the functions described in each embodiment. The server 10 includes, but is not limited to, a server device, a computer (for example, but not limited to, a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (for example, but not limited to, a cable or satellite set-top box, a digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (for example, but not limited to, a PDA, an email client, etc.), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The server 10 may also be expressed as an information processing device. When there is no need to distinguish between the server 10 and the terminal 20, the server 10 and the terminal 20 may or may not be expressed as information processing devices.

＜Hardware (HW) configuration＞

The following describes the hardware configuration of each device included in communication system 1 using Figure 1.

(1) Device hardware configuration

The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a memory unit 28, a communication I/F 22 (interface), an input/output unit 23, a display unit 24, and a location information acquisition unit 25. The HW components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus B, by way of example and not limitation. It is not essential that the HW configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components, such as the microphone 232, the camera 234, the location information acquisition unit 25, or multiple components, are removable.

The communication I/F 22 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be performed. The communication I/F 22 has a function of performing communication with the server 10 via the network 30. The communication I/F 22 transmits various data to the server 10 according to instructions from the control unit 21. The communication I/F 22 also receives various data transmitted from the server 10 and transmits it to the control unit 21. The communication I/F 22 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. Furthermore, when the communication I/F 22 is configured with a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

The input/output unit 23 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 20, and a device for outputting the results of processing performed by the terminal 20. The input/output unit 23 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or may not be.

The input unit is realized by any one or combination of all types of devices that can receive input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of the input unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel 231, a touch display, hardware keys such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera 234 (operation input via moving images), and a microphone 232 (operation input by voice).

The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of any type of device capable of outputting the results of processing by the control unit 21. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker 233 (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output and hologram output), a printer, etc.

The display unit 24 is realized by any one of all types of devices or a combination thereof that can display according to the display data written to the frame buffer. Examples of the display unit 24 include, but are not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, monitors (examples, but are not limited to, liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence displays (OLEDs)), head mounted displays (HDMs), projection mapping, holograms, devices that can display images, text information, etc. in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). Note that these display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

If the input/output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input/output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be arranged facing each other and have approximately the same size and shape.

The control unit 21 has circuitry that is physically structured to execute functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized, for example and without limitation, by a data processing device built into hardware. As such, the control unit 21 may or may not be described as a control circuit.

The control unit 21 may include, by way of example and not limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

The storage unit 28 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, by way of example and not limitation, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). In addition, the storage unit 28 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

The terminal 20 stores the program P in the memory unit 28, and by executing this program P, the control unit 21 executes the processing of each unit included in the control unit 21. In other words, the program P stored in the memory unit 28 causes the terminal 20 to realize each function executed by the control unit 21. Furthermore, this program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.

The microphone 232 is used to input audio data. The speaker 233 is used to output audio data. The camera 234 is used to obtain video data.

(2) Hardware configuration of the broadcaster device

As shown in FIG. 1, the distributor terminal 40 comprises a control unit 41, a memory unit 48, a communication I/F 42, an input/output unit 43, a display unit 44, and a location information acquisition unit 45. The hardware configuration of the distributor terminal 40 is the same as the hardware configuration of the terminal, and the components of the distributor terminal 40 correspond to the components of the terminal with the same name. Therefore, explanations related to the hardware of each functional unit will be omitted.

(3) Server hardware configuration

The server 10 comprises a control unit 11 (CPU), a memory unit 15, a communication I/F 14 (interface), an input/output unit 12, and a display unit 13. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus B, as an example and not a limitation. Note that it is not essential that the HW of the server 10 includes all the components as the configuration of the HW of the server 10. As an example and not a limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured such that the display unit 13 is detachable.

The control unit 11 has circuitry that is physically structured to execute functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized, for example and without limitation, by a data processing device built into the hardware.

The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA, or may not be such a unit. In this disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

The storage unit 15 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is realized by various storage media such as a HDD, SSD, and flash memory. However, in this disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

The communication I/F 14 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication can be performed. The communication I/F 14 has a function of performing communication with the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication I/F 14 transmits various data to the terminal 20 according to instructions from the control unit 11. The communication I/F 14 also receives various data transmitted from the terminal 20 and transmits it to the control unit 11. The communication I/F 14 may also be simply referred to as a communication unit. When the communication I/F 14 is configured with a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

The input/output unit 12 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the server 10. The input/output unit 12 is realized by any of all types of devices or a combination thereof that can receive input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input/output unit 12 is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input/output unit 12 may or may not include, but is not limited to, a touch panel, a camera (operation input via video images), or a microphone (operation input via voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input/output unit 12 is not limited to these.

The display unit 13 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)). The display unit 13 may or may not be a head mounted display (HDM) or the like. These display units 13 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D. However, in the present disclosure, the display unit 13 is not limited to these.

The server 10 stores a program P in the memory unit 15, and by executing this program P, the control unit 11 executes the processing of each unit included in the control unit 11. In other words, the program P stored in the memory unit 15 causes the server 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 11. This program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.

In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the present invention is described as being realized by the CPU of the terminal 20 and/or the server 10 executing the program P.

The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 and/or the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not realize each process by a CPU having a control circuit, but may also realize each process by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the multiple processes shown in each embodiment may or may not be realized by a single integrated circuit. Depending on the degree of integration, an LSI may also be called a VLSI, a super LSI, an ultra LSI, etc. For this reason, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

In addition, the program P (which may be, for example and not by way of limitation, a software program, computer program, or program module) of each embodiment of the present disclosure may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium is capable of storing the program P in a "non-transitory tangible medium." The program P may or may not be for realizing part of the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the program P may or may not be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the functions of each embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with a program P already recorded in a storage medium.

The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, by way of example and not limitation, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific IC (ASIC)), a hard disk drive (HDD), a hybrid hard drive (HHD), an optical disk, an optical disk drive (ODD), a magneto-optical disk, a magneto-optical drive, a floppy diskette, a floppy disk drive (FDD), a magnetic tape, a solid state drive (SSD), a RAM drive, a secure digital card, or a drive, any other suitable storage medium, or a suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, as appropriate. It should be noted that the storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing the program P. Also, the storage medium may or may not be referred to as a memory.

The server 10 and/or the terminal 20 can realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading the program P stored in the storage medium and executing the read program P.

The program PDD of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and/or the terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and/or the terminal 20 executes the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like, for example and not by way of limitation, to realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment.

In addition, each embodiment of the present disclosure may be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission.

At least a portion of the processing in the server 10 and/or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing consisting of one or more computers.

At least a part of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10.

At least a part of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20.

Unless explicitly stated, the judgment configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a specified process may or may not be executed when the judgment condition is satisfied, or when the judgment condition is not satisfied.

The programs disclosed herein may be implemented using, for example and without limitation, scripting languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages such as HTML5.

<Embodiment>
In real-time video distribution services, functions for activating communication between distributors and viewers have traditionally existed, such as functions for a large number of viewers to send messages to distributors, functions for online tipping, and functions for distributors to ask quizzes to a large number of viewers. However, it has been difficult for distributors to easily communicate with specific individual viewers. The communication system according to the present embodiment relates to a function for a distributor who distributes videos in real time to communicate with specific individual viewers, and enables communication that gives the viewer a sense of pseudo-interaction with the distributor by vibrating the terminal of a specified viewer from the distributor terminal.
The server 10 according to this embodiment relays communication between a distributor terminal and a plurality of receiver terminals. In this embodiment, the receiver terminal designated by the distributor terminal is assumed to be terminal 20A. A detailed description will be given below.

(1) Functional Configuration of Distributor Terminal 40 As shown in Fig. 1, the distributor terminal 40 includes a selection unit 411 in a control unit 41. The terminal 40 may further include an acceleration sensor 46.

The broadcaster terminal broadcasts live video on the desired broadcast screen. Receiver identification information (also called receiver ID) that identifies the receiver who will watch the live video is compiled into a list and stored in the memory unit 48.

The distributor terminal 40 accepts input from the distributor at the input/output unit 43. When the distributor communicates with a desired recipient, the distributor first selects the recipient desired by the distributor as the communication target from among multiple recipients. The recipient may select the recipient desired by the distributor as the communication target from, for example, multiple recipients displayed on the display unit 44. Alternatively, for example, conditions for selection from multiple recipients may be set, and a recipient that meets the conditions may be set so that it is automatically selected. An example of a condition for selection is that the recipient is the first to receive a video distributed by the distributor. The distributor terminal 40 accepts the selected recipient information desired by the distributor as the communication target, the selection conditions, etc. at the input/output unit 23.

The distributor terminal 40 selects at least one receiver terminal from among the multiple terminals in the selection unit 411 based on the input from the distributor received from the input/output unit 43, and reads out the receiver ID associated with the selected at least one receiver terminal stored in the storage unit 48. Here, in this embodiment, it is assumed that terminal 20A is selected from terminals 20A to 20C.

The distributor transmits a signal for communication to the recipient selected by the distributor as the communication target. Specifically, for example, the distributor touches a button displayed on the display unit 44 for transmitting a vibration request signal for communication with the recipient selected by the distributor as the communication target. The distributor terminal 40 accepts input for transmitting a signal for communication at the input/output unit 23. The distributor terminal 40 transmits the recipient ID associated with the terminal 20A selected in the selection unit 411 and a vibration request signal for vibrating the terminal 20A selected in the selection unit 411 from the communication I/F 42 to the server 10.

As described below, in this embodiment, when a broadcaster transmits a signal for communication to a receiver selected by the broadcaster as a communication target, the device of the receiver selected by the broadcaster as a communication target vibrates. When the broadcaster touches a button for transmitting a vibration request signal displayed on the display unit 44, the time for which the receiver's device selected by the broadcaster vibrates may change depending on the time the broadcaster's finger touches the button for transmitting the vibration request signal, for example, by touching it for a longer period of time. Alternatively, for example, a vibration setting button may be displayed on the display unit 44 in addition to the button for transmitting a vibration request signal, and the vibration of the receiver's device may be set using the vibration setting button, such as the time for which the receiver's device vibrates and how strong or weak the vibration is, before the button for transmitting a vibration request signal is touched to transmit the vibration request signal.

As described above, instead of touching a button displayed on the display unit 44 for transmitting a vibration request signal, the broadcaster can vibrate the broadcaster terminal by shaking the broadcaster terminal, transmit the vibration information of the broadcaster terminal to at least one selected receiver terminal, and vibrate at least one selected receiver terminal in response to the vibration of the broadcaster terminal, thereby allowing the broadcaster to communicate with the receiver as if shaking hands. To achieve this operation, the broadcaster terminal 40 may be equipped with an acceleration sensor 46, and the acceleration sensor 46 may detect a change in the acceleration of the terminal 40 itself over time when the broadcaster shakes the broadcaster terminal 40. The broadcaster terminal 40 may transmit the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself detected by the acceleration sensor 46 from the communication I/F 42 to the server 10, together with the receiver ID associated with the selected terminal 20A and a vibration request signal for vibrating the terminal 20A selected in the selection unit 411.

The acceleration sensor 46 may detect the acceleration of the broadcaster terminal 40 for a certain period of time after the broadcaster terminal 40 receives an input from the broadcaster at the input/output unit 43. Alternatively, for example, the acceleration sensor 46 may detect the acceleration of the broadcaster terminal 40 from when the broadcaster terminal 40 receives at the input/output unit 43 a start signal indicating that the broadcaster will start vibrating the broadcaster terminal until the broadcaster receives an end signal indicating that the broadcaster will stop vibrating the broadcaster terminal.

As described below, a receiver terminal that has been selected by the broadcaster terminal 40 as a communication target and that has transmitted a vibration request signal from the broadcaster terminal 40 may transmit information expressing a comment or emotion to the broadcaster terminal. In this case, the broadcaster terminal 40 receives the receiver ID and the information expressing the comment or emotion from the server 10. The receiver information and the information expressing the comment or emotion are displayed on the display unit 44 of the broadcaster terminal 40. The information expressing emotion may be, for example, an illustration of a face with a smiling or surprised expression.
The functional configuration of the distributor terminal 40 has been described above.

(2) Functional Configuration of Server 10 As shown in FIG. 1 , the server 10 may include a generating unit 113 in the control unit 11 .

The server 10 receives the receiver ID and the vibration request signal sent by the distributor terminal 40 from the communication I/F 42 via the communication I/F 44. The server 10 transmits a vibration signal to the receiver terminal corresponding to the receiver ID, terminal 20A in FIG. 1, via the communication I/F 14 to vibrate terminal 20A.

The server 10 may further include a generation unit 113 in the control unit 11. The server 10 receives, from the communication I/F 14, acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself detected by the acceleration sensor 46, which is transmitted from the broadcaster terminal 40 via the communication I/F 42. The server 10 generates a vibration signal in the generation unit 113 based on the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself received from the broadcaster terminal 40 and the vibration request signal. The generation unit 113 may generate a vibration signal such that the change over time in the strength of vibration based on the vibration signal corresponds to the change over time in the strength of acceleration indicated by the acceleration information.

As described later, a receiver terminal that has received a vibration signal from the server 10 may transmit information expressing a comment or emotion to the distributor terminal. When the server 10 receives the receiver ID and the information expressing a comment or emotion from the receiver terminal via the communication I/F 44, the server 10 transmits the receiver ID and the information expressing a comment or emotion to the distributor terminal via the communication I/F 44.
The functional configuration of the server 10 has been described above.

(3) Functional Configuration of the Recipient Terminal (Terminal 20A) As shown in FIG. 1, the recipient terminal (terminal 20A) includes a vibration unit 27.

The receiver terminal receives the vibration signal transmitted from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22. When the receiver terminal receives the vibration signal, a notification that the receiver terminal has been selected by the distributor as a communication target is displayed on the display unit 24, and the vibration unit 27 of the receiver terminal vibrates based on the received vibration signal. Furthermore, the receiver terminal may be provided with a means for transmitting information expressing a comment or emotion to the distributor terminal. Specifically, for example, a comment reply form for sending a comment to the distributor may be displayed on the display unit 24. When the receiver writes a comment in the comment reply form and touches the comment reply button displayed on the display unit 24, comment information indicating the content of the comment is transmitted from the communication I/F 22 to the distributor terminal via the server 10 together with the receiver ID. Alternatively, for example, illustrations of a face with a smiling or surprised expression are displayed on the display unit 24, and when these illustrations are touched, information on the selected illustration is transmitted from the communication I/F 22 to the distributor terminal via the server 10 together with the receiver ID.

In this embodiment, the vibration unit 27 is, for example, a vibrator that performs a vibration function provided in the mobile terminal. The vibrator provided in the mobile terminal vibrates the mobile terminal by rotating a weight using a motor, vibrating a weight connected to a spring, or the like. The number of rotations of the vibrator motor or the number of vibrations of the spring may be changed based on the received vibration signal. If the received vibration signal is generated by the generation unit 113 of the server 10 based on acceleration information of the distributor terminal 40 itself detected by the acceleration sensor 46, the receiver terminal is vibrated in accordance with the change over time in the acceleration of the distributor terminal 40 itself, whereby the vibration is transmitted to the hand of the receiver holding the receiver terminal, and communication can be carried out as if the distributor and receiver were shaking hands.

<Data>
2 is a conceptual data diagram showing an example of the configuration of user management information 200, which is information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 and relates to each user to whom the server 10 provides services. The user management information 200 is used to determine whether or not it is acceptable to send a message.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user management information 200 is information that associates a distributor ID 201, a user ID 202, and a user name 203.

The distributor ID 201 is distributor identification information for identifying the distributor who provides the service provided by the server 10.

User ID 202 is user identification information for identifying a user who receives the services provided by server 10.

User name 203 is the name of the user who has the user ID indicated by the corresponding user ID 202. User name 203 may be a real name or a handle name.

Note that the user name 203 is not essential information in the user management information 200. In addition, the user management information 200 may also include information related to the user other than the information shown in FIG. 2.

<Operation>
FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of communication between the distributor terminal 40, the server 10, and the receiver terminal (terminal 20A) in the communication system 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the broadcaster terminal 40 accepts input from the broadcaster at the input/output unit 43 (step S301). The broadcaster terminal 40 further selects the receiver terminal 20A at the selection unit 411 based on the input from the broadcaster accepted at the input/output unit 43 (step S302). The broadcaster terminal 40 detects the acceleration of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself using the acceleration sensor 46 (step S303). The broadcaster terminal 40 transmits the receiver ID associated with the terminal 20A selected at the selection unit 411, a vibration request signal for vibrating the terminal 20A selected at the selection unit 411, and the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself detected by the acceleration sensor 46 to the server 10 from the communication I/F 42 (step S304).

The server 10 receives from the communication I/F 14 the receiver ID, the vibration request signal, and the acceleration information transmitted by the broadcaster terminal 40 from the communication I/F 42 (step S305). The server 10 generates a vibration signal in the generation unit 113 based on the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself received from the broadcaster terminal 40 and the vibration request signal (step S306). The server 10 transmits a vibration signal to the receiver terminal 20A corresponding to the receiver ID from the communication I/F 14 to vibrate the terminal 20A (step S307).

The receiver terminal 20A receives the vibration signal sent from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (step S308). A notification that the receiver terminal 20A has been selected by the distributor as a communication target is displayed on the display unit 24, and the vibration unit 27 of the receiver terminal 20A vibrates based on the received vibration signal (step S309). A comment reply form for sending a comment to the distributor is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S310). When the receiver writes a comment in the comment reply form and touches the comment reply button, the comment information and the receiver ID are sent from the receiver terminal 20A to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (step S311).

When the server 10 receives the comment information and the receiver ID from the receiver terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14, it transmits the comment information and the receiver ID to the distributor terminal 40 (step S312).

When the distributor terminal 40 receives the comment information and the recipient ID from the server 10 via the communication I/F 44, it displays the recipient and the comment on the display unit 44 (step S313).

Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the distributor terminal 40 for realizing the exchange from step S301 to step S310 shown in Figure 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the broadcaster terminal 40 accepts input from the broadcaster at the input/output unit 43 (step S401). The broadcaster terminal 40 further selects the receiver terminal 20A at the selection unit 411 based on the input from the broadcaster accepted at the input/output unit 43 (step S402). The broadcaster terminal 40 detects the acceleration of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself using the acceleration sensor 46 (step S403). The broadcaster terminal 40 transmits the receiver ID associated with the terminal 20A selected at the selection unit 411, a vibration request signal for vibrating the terminal 20A selected at the selection unit 411, and the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself detected by the acceleration sensor 46 to the server 10 from the communication I/F 42 (step S404).

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server 10 for realizing the exchange from step S301 to step S310 shown in Figure 3.

The server 10 receives the receiver ID, vibration request signal, and acceleration information sent by the broadcaster terminal 40 from the communication I/F 14 (step S501). The server 10 generates a vibration signal in the generation unit 113 based on the acceleration information of the broadcaster terminal 40 itself received from the broadcaster terminal 40 and the vibration request signal (step S502). The server 10 transmits a vibration signal for vibrating the receiver terminal 20A corresponding to the receiver ID from the communication I/F 14 (step S503).

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the recipient terminal (terminal 20A) to realize the exchange from step S301 to step S310 shown in Figure 3.

The receiver terminal 20A receives the vibration signal transmitted from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (step S601). A notification is displayed on the display unit 24 indicating that the receiver terminal 20A has been selected by the distributor as a communication target, and the vibration unit 27 of the receiver terminal 20A vibrates based on the received vibration signal (step S602).

Figure 7 shows an example of a display screen on the distributor terminal 40.

Figure 7 (a) is an example of a distribution screen displayed in the display area of the display unit 44 of the distributor terminal 40. A title is displayed at the top of the distribution screen. As an example, the title "Super long music" is displayed in Figure 7. When the person-shaped mark displayed directly below the title is selected (tapped), a list of viewers participating in the video viewing shown in Figure 7 (a) is displayed.

Figure 7(b) shows a viewer list. As an example, three viewers are displayed in Figure 7(b). Images and names of each of the three viewers are displayed, and a hand symbol is displayed to the right of each name. When one taps on one of these hand symbols, the viewer corresponding to the tapped hand symbol is selected, and the handshake screen shown in Figure 7(c) is displayed.

Figure 7(c) shows the handshake screen. When the hand symbol shown in Figure 7(c) is tapped, the recipient ID and a vibration request signal are sent to the server 10, and a screen indicating completion of transmission, shown in Figure 7(d), is displayed.

Figure 8 shows an example of a display screen on the recipient terminal 20A.

Figure 8(a) is an example of a viewer screen displayed in the display area of the display unit 24 of the receiver terminal 20A. In the center of the display area of the display unit 24, a notification is displayed from the broadcaster terminal 40 to the receiver terminal 20A that the broadcaster has selected the receiver terminal 20A as a communication target. As an example, Figure 8(a) displays "The broadcaster has shook hands with you!", with a "Enter comment" button displayed below. When the "Enter comment" button is tapped, a comment input area is displayed at the bottom of the display area of the display unit 24, as shown in Figure 8(b).

Figure 8 (b) shows the comment input area. When a comment is entered in the comment input area and the "Send" button is tapped, the comment information and the recipient ID are sent from the recipient terminal 20A to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

<Modification>
The aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment. Modifications will be described below.

In the above embodiment, the distributor terminal is equipped with an acceleration sensor, which detects the vibration of the distributor terminal itself, transmits the acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor to the server, and reflects it in the vibration of the receiver terminal. The above embodiment assumes communication between a distributor and a receiver in a real-time video distribution service, and an example of a situation is a situation in which a camera equipped in the distributor terminal records a video of the distributor and distributes the video to the receiver in real time. In such a situation, when the distributor terminal is vibrated, the camera equipped in the distributor terminal also vibrates at the same time, causing blurring in the video of the distributor, and the vibration of the distributor terminal affects the video recording.

As an example of a variation of this embodiment, instead of using an acceleration sensor built into the broadcaster terminal, an acceleration sensor that the broadcaster can hold and shake is connected to the external input terminal of the broadcaster terminal via a cable as the acceleration sensor provided in the broadcaster terminal. This makes it possible to apply vibration to the acceleration sensor without vibrating the broadcaster terminal.

In addition, instead of vibrating the broadcaster terminal with a vibration unit, for example, a light equipped in the broadcaster terminal may be made to flash, or a sound such as a hand waving motion may be used. The brightness of the light and the sound may be changed according to the change over time in acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor equipped in the broadcaster terminal.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Communication system 10 Server 11 Control unit 113 Generation unit 12 Input/output unit 13 Display unit 14 Communication I/F (communication unit)
15 Storage unit 20 Terminal 21 Control unit 22 Communication I/F
23 Input/Output Unit 231 Touch Panel 232 Microphone 233 Speaker 234 Camera 24 Display Unit (Display)
25: location information acquisition unit 27: vibration unit 28: storage unit 30: network 40: distributor terminal 41: control unit 411: selection unit 42: communication I/F
43 Input/Output Unit 431 Touch Panel 432 Microphone 433 Speaker 434 Camera 44 Display Unit (Display)
45 Position information acquisition unit 46 Acceleration sensor 48 Storage unit

Claims (10)

A communication system including a distributor terminal that distributes live video , a plurality of receiver terminals that receive the live video , and a server that relays communication between the distributor terminal and the plurality of receiver terminals,
The distributor terminal includes:
an input unit that receives an input from a distributor during distribution of the live video ;
a selection unit that selects at least one receiver terminal from a plurality of receiver terminals viewing the live video based on an input to the input unit;
a first transmission unit that transmits to the server recipient identification information that identifies a recipient associated with the at least one recipient terminal selected by the selection unit and a vibration request signal for vibrating the recipient terminal during distribution of the live video ;
The server,
a first receiving unit that receives the recipient identification information and the vibration request signal during distribution of the live video ;
a second transmission unit that transmits a vibration signal to a receiver terminal corresponding to the receiver identification information, for vibrating the receiver terminal during distribution of the live video ;
The receiver terminal,
A receiving unit that receives the vibration signal while the user is watching the live video ;
a vibration unit that vibrates based on the vibration signal. The distributor terminal includes:
An acceleration sensor is provided to detect the acceleration of the terminal itself;
The first transmission unit further transmits acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensor to the server,
The server further comprises:
a generating unit that generates the vibration signal based on the acceleration information and the vibration request signal,
The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the second transmission unit transmits the vibration signal generated by the generation unit. The communication system according to claim 2 , wherein the generating unit generates the vibration signal such that a strength of vibration based on the vibration signal corresponds to a strength of acceleration indicated by the acceleration information. 4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration signal is information indicating the strength of vibration over time. A server that relays communication between a distributor terminal that distributes live video and a plurality of receiver terminals that receive the live video ,
a receiving unit that receives, from the distributor terminal during distribution of the live video , receiver identification information that identifies a receiver associated with at least one receiver terminal selected from a plurality of receiver terminals viewing the live video , and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal during distribution of the live video ;
a transmission unit that transmits a vibration signal to the at least one receiver terminal during distribution of the live video based on the vibration request signal, the vibration signal being used to vibrate the at least one receiver terminal;
A server comprising: The receiving unit further receives acceleration information indicating the acceleration detected by the distributor terminal,
The server further comprises:
a generating unit that generates the vibration signal based on the acceleration information and the vibration request signal,
The server according to claim 5 , wherein the transmission unit transmits the vibration signal generated by the generation unit. The server according to claim 6 , wherein the generation unit generates the vibration signal such that a strength of vibration based on the vibration signal corresponds to a strength of acceleration indicated by the acceleration information. 8. The server according to claim 5, wherein the vibration signal is information indicating the strength of vibration over time. The computer
a receiving step of receiving, from a distributor terminal distributing a live video , receiver identification information for identifying a receiver associated with at least one receiver terminal selected from a plurality of receiver terminals viewing the live video , and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal during distribution of the live video ;
a transmitting step of transmitting a vibration signal to the at least one recipient terminal for vibrating the at least one recipient terminal during distribution of the live video based on the vibration request signal;
A communication method that performs the following: On the computer,
a receiving function for receiving, from a distributor terminal distributing a live video , receiver identification information for identifying a receiver associated with at least one receiver terminal selected from a plurality of receiver terminals viewing the live video , and a vibration request signal for vibrating the receiver terminal during distribution of the live video ;
a transmission function of transmitting a vibration signal to the at least one receiver terminal during the distribution of the live video based on the vibration request signal;
A communications program that makes this possible.

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