JP7685979B2 - Program, information processing method, and terminal - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to programs, information processing methods, terminals, etc.

There are services (e.g., messaging services) for exchanging content between accounts. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for distributing advertisements using official accounts.

JP 2016-53929 A

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program executed by a terminal that displays a chat room including at least content transmitted and received between a first terminal is executed by the terminal to display the chat room on a display unit of the terminal based on input to the terminal, to display on the display unit a first area into which a search term is input and first information that is stored in association with a user of the terminal and is for displaying search results searched based on the input of the search term into the first area, and to display on the display unit search results based on input by the user of the terminal to the first information stored in association with the user of the terminal.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an information processing method for a terminal that displays a chat room including at least content transmitted and received between a first terminal includes displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal based on an input to the terminal, displaying on the display unit a first area into which a search term is input and first information that is stored in association with a user of the terminal and for displaying search results searched based on the input of the search term into the first area, and displaying on the display unit the search results based on input by the user of the terminal to the first information stored in association with the user of the terminal.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a terminal that displays a chat room including at least content transmitted and received between a first terminal includes a display unit that displays the chat room based on input to the terminal, and a control unit that controls the display on the display unit of a first area into which a search term is input, and first information that is stored in association with a user of the terminal and for displaying search results searched based on the input of the search term into the first area, and the control unit controls the display of the search results on the display unit based on input by the user of the terminal to the first information stored in association with the user of the terminal.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a terminal that displays a chat room including at least content transmitted and received between a first terminal has a processor that reads a program from a memory and executes processing based on the program, and the processor executes the following operations based on input to the terminal: displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal; displaying on the display unit a first area into which a search term is input and first information that is stored in association with a user of the terminal and is for displaying search results searched based on the input of the search term into the first area; and displaying on the display unit the search results based on input by the user of the terminal to the first information stored in association with the user of the terminal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of account registration data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an account management database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process executed by each device according to the first embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a first modified example. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processes executed by each device according to a first modified example. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processes executed by each device according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processes executed by each device according to the second embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process executed by a terminal according to a third embodiment; 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process executed by each device according to the fourth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a search and favorites process according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an account management database according to the fifth embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a category-based display process according to the fifth embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth modified example. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing an example of transition of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to another embodiment.

<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.

<Embodiment>
In this specification, for ease of understanding, there are some places where the phrase "by way of example and not by way of limitation" is used, but please note that not only these places but also the entire embodiment described below are not limited to the contents of the description.

An embodiment for implementing the program etc. related to this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a system may be, by way of example and not limitation, comprised of multiple devices.
The multiple devices may be a combination of devices of the same type, a combination of devices of different types, or a combination of devices of the same type and devices of different types.
Note that a system can be considered, for example and not by way of limitation, as a plurality of devices working together to perform some kind of processing.

Furthermore, a system relating to a client (client device) and a server can be considered to be, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of the following:
(1) Terminal & Server (2) Server (3) Terminal

(1) is, by way of example and not limitation, a system that includes at least one terminal and at least one server. One example of this is a client-server system.

The server is, by way of example and not limitation, composed of the following devices, which may be a single device or a combination of multiple devices:

Specifically, the server is configured to have at least one processor (for example and without limitation, a CPU: Central Processing Unit, a GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, an APU: Accelerated Processing Unit, a DSP: Digital Signal Processor (for example and without limitation, an ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, an FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.), a computer device (processor + memory), a control device, an arithmetic device, a processing device, etc., and may be a configuration having multiple of the same type of any one device (for example and without limitation, a CPU + CPU, a homogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or a configuration having multiple different types of any one device (for example and without limitation, a CPU + DSP, a heterogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or may be a combination of multiple devices (for example and without limitation, a processor + computer device, a processor + arithmetic device, a heterogeneous combination of multiple devices, etc.).
The processor may be a virtual processor.

Furthermore, when a server executes some processing, if the server is configured with a single device, the processing described in the embodiment is executed by the single device. If the server is configured with multiple devices, the server may be configured to execute some processing by one device and execute other processing by the other device. As a non-limiting example, if the server is configured with a processor and an arithmetic device, the server may be configured to execute a first processing by the processor and execute a second processing by the arithmetic device.
Furthermore, when a configuration is made up of a plurality of devices, the devices may be arranged in locations physically separated from one another.

Furthermore, the server functions may be provided in the form of PaaS, IaaS, or SaaS in cloud computing, for example and without limitation.

The control unit of the system can be at least one of the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server. In other words, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit of the system can be any of the following: (1A) only the control unit of the terminal, (1B) only the control unit of the server, or (1C) both the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server.

In addition, the control and processing (hereinafter collectively referred to as "control, etc.") performed by the control unit of the system may be (1A) performed only by the control unit of the terminal, (1B) performed only by the control unit of the server, or (1C) performed by both the control unit of the terminal and the control unit of the server.
In addition, in (1C), as an example and not a limitation, some of the controls performed by the control unit of the system may be performed by the control unit of the terminal, and the remaining controls may be performed by the control unit of the server. In this case, the allocation (allocation) of the controls may be equal or may be allocated in different proportions.

Furthermore, when referring to a communication unit of a server, if the server is configured with a single device, it may be the communication unit itself that the single device has, or, if the server is configured with multiple devices, the communication unit of the server may be configured to include each communication unit that each device has.
As an example and not by way of limitation, if a server comprises a first device and a second device, the first device having a first communication unit and the second device having a second communication unit, the communication unit of the server may be conceptualized as including the first communication unit and the second communication unit.

(2) As an example and not a limitation, the system may be a system made up of multiple servers (hereinafter referred to as a "server system"). In this case, the configuration of each server may be the same as that described above.

The control etc. performed by the server system may be performed by only one of the multiple servers (2A), by only the other servers (2B), or by both the one server and the other servers (2C).
In addition, in (2C), as an example and not a limitation, one server may perform part of the control etc. performed by the server system, and another server may perform the remaining control etc. In this case, the allocation (allocation) of the control etc. may be equal or may be allocated in different proportions.

(3) By way of example and not limitation, the system may be comprised of multiple terminals.
The system may be, by way of example and not limitation, a system such as the following:
A system that provides server functions to terminals (distributed system). This can be realized, for example and without limitation, by using blockchain technology.
A system in which terminals communicate wirelessly with each other. This can be realized, for example and without limitation, by communicating in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner using short-range wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth.

The above is not limited to the control unit, but also applies to each functional unit, such as the input/output unit, communication unit, memory unit, clock unit, etc., which may be components of the system.

In the following embodiment, a system including a terminal and a server (a client-server system) is illustrated as an example and not as a limitation.
Incidentally, the server system described above in (2) can also be applied as the server.

Also, instead of a system including a terminal and a server, a system not including a server, such as the above-mentioned system (3) as an example and not a limitation, may be applied.
In this case, the embodiment can be configured based on the above-mentioned blockchain technology. Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, data stored and managed in a server described in the following embodiment is stored on the blockchain. Then, the terminal generates a transaction to the blockchain, and when the transaction is approved on the blockchain, the data stored on the blockchain can be updated.

It should be noted that even when the term "terminal" is used, this is not limited to the meaning of a terminal as a client device in a client server.
That is, a terminal may include the concept of a device other than in a client-server context.

In addition, the expression "through a communication I/F" is used appropriately in this specification. This is not intended to be limiting, but may be taken as an example to indicate that a device transmits and receives various information and data through a communication I/F (through a communication unit) based on the control of a control unit (such as a processor).

In addition, with regard to the terms "related to" and "associated" used in this specification, as examples and not limitations, when we say "B related to A" or "B related to A," it may mean "B" that has some kind of relationship with "A." Specific examples of this will be described later.

In addition, in this specification, when a device performs processing on two or more objects, such as "transmitting A and B" or "receiving A and B," this may include performing "A" and "B" in a synchronized manner (hereinafter referred to as "simultaneous"), and performing "A" and "B" with a different timing (hereinafter referred to as "non-simultaneous").
As an example and not a limitation, when referring to transmitting first information and second information, this may include both concepts of transmitting the first information and the second information in a synchronized manner and transmitting the first information and the second information with a lag in timing.
In addition, taking into consideration the lag (time lag), "simultaneous" may include "almost simultaneously."

Note that, even if "A" and "B" are performed at different times, this only needs to be the processing targeting "A" and "B," and the purpose does not necessarily have to be the same.
As an example and not a limitation, when the first information and the second information are transmitted as described above, it is sufficient to transmit the first information and the second information, and this may include cases where the first information and the second information are transmitted for the same purpose as well as cases where the first information and the second information are transmitted for different purposes.

In the following embodiment, a messaging service is illustrated as an example of a service that allows users to chat (hereinafter, referred to as a "chat service"). An application for realizing the chat service is referred to as a "chat application", and an application for realizing the messaging service is referred to as a "messaging application".
By way of example and not limitation, a chat application may enable users to chat in chat rooms.

Note that messaging services (MS) (including instant messaging services (IMS)) can also be considered as one form of social networking services (SNS). For this reason, messaging services and social networking services may or may not be distinguished. In other words, social networking services may include messaging services.

In addition, in the following embodiments, as an example of a messaging service, an instant messaging service (IMS) that transmits and receives content in the form of simple messages between multiple devices (terminals, for example and not limitation) via a server is exemplified.
By way of example and not limitation, an instant messaging application may allow users to talk in talk rooms.

A chat room (for example, but not limited to, a talk room) can be a UI (User Interface) or GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allows each user to view content sent and received between the terminals of multiple users.

In addition, chat rooms can include one-to-one user chat rooms (hereinafter referred to as "one-to-one chat rooms"), group chat rooms including multiple users (hereinafter referred to as "group chat rooms"), and chat rooms with official account users (hereinafter referred to as "OA chat rooms").

An official account is an account of a business user, not of a general user, and the user of this official account can, for example and without limitation, be able to use a terminal similar to that of a general user to send and receive messages with other devices via the server.

In this specification, content may be information transmitted from a source to a destination. Also, content may be one or more pieces of content.

The content may include, by way of example and not limitation, text content in the form of text, image content in the form of images (including at least one of still images and/or moving images), audio content in the form of sounds (including voice), and the like.
In addition, the content may include operation content such as buttons and icons for user operation, and link content such as link information (including, but not limited to, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier)).

The text may include, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of national characters, extended characters, machine-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, graphics, and signs, all of which are represented by character codes.
The text does not have to include at least one of the above characters, extended characters, machine-dependent characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and signs, and may include other text.

The image may include at least one of various types of image information, such as, for example and not limitation, icons, buttons, stamps, emojis, and banner images.

<System Configuration>
FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system 1 according to the present embodiment.
In the communication system 1, as an example and not a limitation, a server 10 and a plurality of terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, . . . ) are connected via a network 30.

The server 10 has the function of providing a chat service (chat application) including a messaging service (messaging application) to official users and terminals 20 owned by the users via the network 30. The server 10 can also be expressed as a messaging server, a messaging service server, a messaging application management server, etc.

In this embodiment, the messaging service provider (operator) is the user of server 10.

Unlike this embodiment, a payment service (payment application) operator that enables electronic payments using electronic money (electronic currency) or the like may become a user of server 10 and operate a messaging service. The payment service operator may or may not provide a messaging service as one function of the payment application.

The number of servers 10 and the number of terminals 20 connected to the network 30 are not limited.

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, a digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (such as, but not limited to, a PDA (personal digital assistant), an email client, etc.), a wearable device (such as, but not limited to, a glasses-type device, a watch-type device, etc.), a VR (Virtual Reality) terminal, a smart speaker (a device for voice recognition), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be expressed as an information processing terminal.

The configurations of the terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C can be the same as one another, for example and not for limitation. In addition, if necessary, the terminal used by the user X may be expressed as the terminal 20X, and the user information in a predetermined service associated with the user X or the terminal 20X may or may not be expressed as the user information X.
The user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in a specific service. The user information includes, but is not limited to, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, the user's icon image, the user's age, the user's sex, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, and the user's identifier, which is input by the user or given by a specific service, and may be any one of these, or a combination of these, or may not be the same.

The network 30 serves to connect one or more terminals 20 and one or more servers 10. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides a connection path so that the above-mentioned various devices can connect and then send and receive data.

One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be wired or wireless. Network 30 may include, by way of example and not 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 server 10 (not limited to, but an example of a server, information processing device, or information management device) has a function of providing a predetermined service (messaging service in this embodiment) to the terminal 20. The server 10 may be any device that is an information processing device that can realize the functions described in each embodiment. The server 10 includes, not limited to, a server device, a computer (not limited to, but an example of, a desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), a media computer platform (not limited to, but an example of, a cable, satellite set-top box, digital video recorder, etc.), a handheld computer device (not limited to, but an example of, a PDA, 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 of each device]
The HW configuration of each device included in the communication system 1 will be described.

(1) Terminal Hardware Configuration FIG. 1A shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 20.
The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication I/F 22 (interface), an input/output unit 23, a clock unit 29A, and a position calculation information detection unit 29B. The HW components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not for limitation. It is not essential that the HW configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not for limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components 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 various devices such as the server 10 via the network 30. The communication I/F 22 transmits various data to various devices such as the server 10 according to instructions from the control unit 21. The communication I/F 22 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as 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. 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, a device for outputting the results of processing performed by the terminal 20, etc. 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 it may not be the case.

The input unit is realized by any one or combination of any type of device that can accept 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, a touch display, hardware keys such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (operation input via moving images), and a microphone (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 (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

By way of example only, the input/output unit 23 includes, by way of example and not limitation, a display unit 24, a sound input unit 25, a sound output unit 26, and an imaging unit 27.

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 (for example, but not limited to, liquid crystal displays and organic electroluminescence displays (OELDs)), 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.

The sound input unit 25 is used to input sound data (including voice data; the same applies below). The sound input unit 25 includes a microphone and the like.
The sound output unit 26 is used to output sound data and includes a speaker and the like.
The imaging unit 27 is used to obtain image data (including still image data and moving image data; the same applies below). The imaging unit 27 includes a camera and the like.

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 clock unit 29A is a built-in clock of the terminal 20, and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 29A is configured to include, for example and not limitation, a clock that uses a quartz oscillator. The clock unit 29A can also be expressed as a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit, for example and not limitation.

The clock unit 29A may or may not have a clock that conforms to the NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) standard or the like.

The position calculation information detection unit 29B is a functional unit that detects (measures) information (hereinafter referred to as "position calculation information") necessary for the control unit 21 to calculate (measure) the position of its own terminal 20. The position calculation information detection unit 29B can also be expressed as a position calculation sensor unit, for example and not by way of limitation.

The position calculation information detection unit 29B includes, by way of example and not limitation, a satellite positioning sensor (satellite positioning unit) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), an inertial measurement sensor (inertial measurement unit (IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit))) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using an inertial navigation system, a UWB positioning sensor (UWB positioning unit) which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using UWB (Ultra Wide Band), etc.

The satellite positioning unit includes, by way of example and not limitation, an RF receiving circuit that converts RF (Radio Frequency) signals, including positioning satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites and received by an antenna (not shown), into digital signals, and a baseband processing circuit that performs correlation calculation processing or the like on the digital signals output from the RF receiving circuit to capture the positioning satellite signals, and outputs information such as satellite orbit data and time data extracted from the positioning satellite signals as information for position calculation.

The inertial measurement unit has an inertial sensor that detects information required to calculate the position of the terminal 20 by inertial navigation calculation. Examples of inertial sensors include, but are not limited to, a three-axis acceleration sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor, and output the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor and the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor as information for position calculation.

The UWB positioning unit includes, by way of example and not limitation, an ultra-wideband RF (Radio Frequency) receiving circuit that converts an ultra-wideband RF signal, including an ultra-wideband pulse signal for positioning transmitted from a positioning beacon and received by an antenna not shown, into a digital signal, and a relative position calculation processing circuit that calculates the relative position between the terminal 20 and the positioning beacon based on the digital signal output from the ultra-wideband RF receiving circuit.
As an example and not by way of limitation, the UWB positioning unit may or may not cause the terminal 20 to function as a positioning beacon by transmitting an ultra-wideband RF signal including an ultra-wideband pulse signal for positioning from an antenna not shown.

By way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 calculates the position of its own terminal 20 at regular or specific timings based on the position calculation information detected by the position calculation information detection unit 29B. The terminal position is referred to as the "terminal position", and the calculated terminal position is referred to as the "calculated terminal position". The control unit 21 may, but may not, associate the calculated terminal position with the date and time when the calculated terminal position is calculated and store it in the storage unit 28 as calculated terminal position history data.

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 by, for example and not by way of limitation, 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.

(2) HW Configuration of Server FIG. 1A shows an example of the HW configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG.
The server 10 includes a control unit 11 (CPU), a storage unit 15, a communication I/F 14 (interface), an input/output unit 12, and a clock unit 19. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not for limitation. It is not essential that the HW of the server 10 includes all components as the configuration of the HW of the server 10. For example and not for limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured such that individual components or multiple components are removable.

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 not by way of limitation, by a data processing device built into 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 the communication between the two devices is possible. The communication I/F 14 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication I/F 14 transmits various data to various devices such as the terminal 20 according to instructions from the control unit 11. The communication I/F 14 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as 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 composed of a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

The input/output unit 12 includes a device for inputting various operations to the server 10, a device for outputting the results of processing performed by the server 10, and the like. The input/output unit 12 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or it may not be the case.

The input unit is realized by any one or combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input unit is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input unit may or may not include a touch panel, a camera (operation input via video images), or a microphone (operation input by voice), but is not limited to these.

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 11. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (sound output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

By way of example only, the input/output unit 12 is equipped with a display unit 13, by way of example and not by way of limitation.

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

The clock unit 19 is a built-in clock of the server 10, and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 19 is configured to include, for example and not limitation, an RTC (Real Time Clock) as a hardware clock, a system clock, etc. The clock unit 19 can also be expressed as a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit, for example and not limitation.

(3) Others The server 10 stores the program P in the storage unit 15, and by executing this program P, the control unit 11 executes the processes of each unit included in the control unit 11. In other words, the program P stored in the storage 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.
The same applies to other devices.

In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the CPU of the terminal 20 and/or the server 10 is described as executing the program P to achieve this.

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.

Furthermore, when referring to a system program (a program executed by the system), the system is as described above. The above-mentioned system program is a program that can be executed by the entire system, and this program may be composed of individual programs of the devices that make up the system, for example and without limitation, and the programs stored in each device that makes up the system may be different from each other. In other words, it is not necessary for the programs to be common to the individual devices that make up the system.
As a non-limiting example, if a system is composed of a terminal and a server, and the system program is P1, the system program P1 is composed of a program P2 stored in the terminal and a program P3 stored in the server, and P2 and P3 are for executing the system program and may be different programs. As a non-limiting example, the program P2 stored in the terminal may be a program that executes a first process and transmits the result of the first process to the server, and the program P3 stored in the server may be a program that executes a second process on the received result of the first process and transmits the result of the second process to the terminal.

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 thereof. 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.

In addition, the program P 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 a program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). By way of example and not limitation, the server 10 and/or the terminal 20 executes the program P downloaded via the Internet or the like 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 in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission.
At least a part 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 or all of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part or all 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 or all of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part or all 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 are implemented using, by way of example and not limitation, scripting languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), compiler languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages such as HTML5.

First Example
The first embodiment is an example, not a limitation, that enables a user of terminal 20 to favorite search results obtained by a chat room search in a messaging application in advance, and later display the search results on display unit 24.

The contents described in the first embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

In the embodiment described below, a method is considered in which a search is performed after displaying a talk room in a messaging application.
In the embodiments described below, the method of displaying a talk room and then displaying a search screen using various methods described in detail below to perform a search will be referred to as an "intra-talk room search" for convenience.
When applying this method of searching within a chat room, there may be cases where a user wants to recheck search results that they have already performed.

In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays a talk room on the display unit 24, and displays corresponding search results on the display unit 24 based on input by the user of the terminal 20 regarding first information (as an example, and not a limitation, information such as a thumbnail corresponding to a favorite search result) for displaying search results that the user of the terminal 20 has favorited from among search results previously searched for by a search within the talk room.
The favorites may be called bookmarks or the like.

Searching within a talk room will be explained in a later embodiment, but in this embodiment, it will be explained that at least one search result from searching within a talk room has been favorited by the user of terminal 20.

Search results may be displayed based on at least one of the following, by way of example and not limitation:
(1) Data in a database of an external server (hereinafter, for convenience, referred to as “external data”)
(2) Data in the database of the server 10 (hereinafter, for convenience, referred to as “internal data”)
In the following description, it is assumed that the internal data is stored in the database of server 10, but the internal data may be stored in the database of a server other than server 10 that is managed by a messaging service provider.

In the first embodiment, as an example and not a limitation, a case where search results are displayed based on (1) external data is illustrated.

[Functional configuration of each device]
(1) Server FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in this embodiment.
The control unit 11 includes, as a functional unit, an application management processing unit 111 for executing messaging application management processing in accordance with an application management processing program 151 stored in the storage unit 15, for example and not for limitation.

FIG. 1-3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment.
The storage unit 15 stores, by way of example and not limitation, an application management processing program 151 executed as a messaging application management processing program, account registration data 153, a search engine database 155, and an account management database 157.

The account registration data 153 is registration data related to an account of a messaging application, and an example of the data configuration is shown in FIG. 1-4.
In the account registration data 153, for example and not by way of limitation, a user name, an application ID, and other registration information are stored in association with each other.

The user name is the name of the account of the terminal 20 that uses the application, and as a non-limiting example, the name that the user of the terminal 20 registers when using the application is stored.

The application ID is information used to identify an application account, or the account itself.
This application ID is preferably a value unique to each account, and as a non-limiting example, a unique value (proper value) is set and stored by the server 10 for each account.
The application ID is information associated with the terminal 20 or the user of the terminal 20, and is an example of information related to the terminal or information related to the user of the terminal.

Other registration information may include, by way of example and not limitation, various types of information such as identification information for identifying the terminal 20, the telephone number (terminal telephone number) of the terminal 20, an email address (terminal email address), and authentication information such as passwords (login password, authentication password, etc.) used for various authentications in the application.

The identification information for identifying the terminal 20 may be, for example and not for limitation, a terminal ID (for example and not for limitation, an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)).
Furthermore, the identification information for identifying the user of the terminal 20 may be, for example and without limitation, an application ID or an official application ID.
It should be noted that the application ID may or may not be replaced by a "user ID."

Furthermore, if the application allows only one account to be registered per terminal 20, then, as a non-limiting example, "identification information for identifying the terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of the terminal 20 = application ID" can be used.

Also, by way of example and not limitation, it may or may not be possible to assign multiple device IDs to one application ID.

Also, instead of the application ID, it is possible to apply a method of managing the account using information such as a terminal phone number.
In this case, instead of storing the application ID in the account registration data 153, information such as the terminal telephone number can be stored in the account registration data 153.

The search engine database 155 is a database of search engines managed by the messaging service provider (server 10).

By way of example and not limitation, messaging service providers may use robot-type search engines to search and collect various information on the web.
Specifically, as a non-limiting example, various external data can be collected by crawling using a crawler (bot).
Hereinafter, the information (contents) of the external data will be referred to as "external information" for convenience.

By way of example and not limitation, the server 10 can analyze the acquired external information, convert it into searchable data, and register (index) it in the search engine database 155. In this way, in a search within a talk room (search within a chat room), which will be described in detail later, the server 10 can return search results for a search term entered by a user of the terminal 20.

In this embodiment, the search engine database 155 can store, by way of example and not limitation, external information, link information to external data (hereinafter referred to as "external link information"), and the like, associated with a data ID, which is identification information for uniquely identifying data.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the search engine database 155 may store, by way of example and not limitation, data regarding thumbnails generated based on external information.
A thumbnail can be, for example and without limitation, a reduced image used when displaying a list of images.
For example and not for limitation, the server 10 generates thumbnails based on external information, the contents of which are easily and intuitively recognizable by the user. Then, the server 10 stores data related to the thumbnails (for example and not for limitation, a thumbnail ID for identifying the thumbnail, image data of the thumbnail, etc.) in the search engine database 155 in association with a data ID.

In addition, data regarding thumbnails may be stored in a different database for thumbnails rather than in the search engine database 155.

The link information may be, for example and not by way of limitation, a "URI."
In this case, the external link information may be information for accessing an external server different from the server 10, for example and not by way of limitation, information for accessing external data in a database of the external server. Various devices may access the external server based on the external link information and display an external page including the target external information.

The link information (for example, but not limited to, a URI) may or may not be written in accordance with a description scheme specified by the messaging service provider.

In addition, a terminal 20 on which a messaging application has been installed can display an external page using the messaging application's browser (hereinafter referred to as an "in-app browser (internal browser)"), for example and not limitation, based on link information being specified while the messaging application is running.

Alternatively, external pages can be displayed using an external browser (hereinafter referred to as an "external browser") that is not an in-app browser.

The account management database 157 is a database of management data relating to accounts stored in the account registration data 153, and an example of the data configuration of an account management database 157A is shown in FIG. 1-5.
Account management database 157A stores account management data as management data for each account.

Each account management data stores, by way of example and not limitation, an application ID, friend data, content transmission/reception history data, and favorite data.

The application ID is the application ID stored in the account registration data 153.

The friend data is data for identifying the account of this application ID and an account registered as a friend, and as a non-limiting example, the application ID of the account registered as a friend is stored.
In addition to this, information such as the date and time when the friend was registered may or may not be stored.

The application ID stores, among the application IDs stored in the account registration data 153, the application ID of the account that the application ID of this account management data has registered as a friend.
The user name of the account registered as a friend can be specified by referring to the account registration data 153.

By way of example and not limitation, a user of this account can send and receive content to and from the terminal 20 with the application ID stored in the friend registration data.

The content transmission/reception history data stores, by way of example and not limitation, data regarding the history of content transmission/reception between other accounts. It may also be referred to as chat history data, etc.

The favorite data is data related to search results that have been favorited (bookmarked) by the account of this application ID.
A favorite can be, by way of example and not limitation, information for displaying search results obtained through a search within a chat room, which can be registered so that the search results can be displayed later with simple input.

As an example, but not limited to, the favorite data stores a favorite ID, corresponding link information, and favorite date and time in association with each other.

As a non-limiting example, the favorite ID stores the data ID associated with the data stored in the search engine database 155 that corresponds to the search result to be favorited.

The corresponding link information may be link information that corresponds to a favorited search result.
For example, but not by way of limitation, the server 10 stores in the search engine database 155 link information associated with the data ID corresponding to this favorites ID in a corresponding link information field in association with the favorites ID.

The favorite date and time stores, by way of example and not limitation, the date and time when this search result was added to favorites.

Here, the favorite data does not store the search results themselves, but rather, by way of example and not limitation, information for displaying the search results, such as a data ID or link information, can be stored. In other words, rather than the search results themselves, information for displaying the search results can be stored in association with an application ID (terminal 20, or a user or account of terminal 20).

By matching the favorite ID with the data ID of the search engine database 155, it is possible to identify the corresponding thumbnail (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as the "corresponding thumbnail"). Therefore, the corresponding thumbnail can also be considered as information stored in association with the application ID (terminal 20, user of terminal 20, account).

It should be noted that information such as a thumbnail ID for identifying a corresponding thumbnail may or may not be stored in the favorites data.
In addition to thumbnails, by way of example and not limitation, information such as the title and summary of the search results may be identified from the search engine database 155 .

In the favorite data, information may be stored in the order of favorites (oldest first), for example and not by way of limitation.
However, the order of the information related to favorites (information such as thumbnails) displayed on the display unit 24 by the terminal 20 does not necessarily have to be in the order of oldest favorites, but may be in the order of newest favorites. This can be realized based on the information on favorite date and time.

(2) Terminal FIG. 1-6 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
The control unit 21 includes, as a functional unit, an application processing unit 211 for executing messaging application processing according to an application processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28, for example and not for limitation.

FIG. 1-7 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
In the storage unit 28, for example and not limitation, an application processing program 281 executed as a messaging application process and an application ID 283 of the own terminal 20 or the user of the own terminal 20 are stored.

Note that application ID 283 may or may not be able to store multiple application IDs.

<Display screen>
In the following, the display screen of the terminal 20 will be illustrated as a smartphone having a vertically long display as an example and not as a limitation.

For example, but not by way of limitation, a smartphone has a touch panel that functions as an input unit, disposed opposite the display, thereby forming a touch screen. When an element such as an icon, button, item, or input area is displayed on the display, and a part of the touch panel that faces the area in which the element is displayed is operated by a user, a program associated with that element or a subroutine of that program may be executed.

In the following, a tap (tap operation) is, by way of example and not by way of limitation, an action in which a user lightly taps the display unit 24 (touch screen) with an integrated touch panel using a finger or the tip of a pen, and then releases the touch.

Note that the transitions of the display screens described below are merely examples of transitions of the display screens for implementing the technique of the present disclosure, and are not limited to these.
In the transition of the display screens exemplified below, some of the display screens may be omitted, or other display screens may be added.

1-8 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A of the user A.A. in this embodiment.
The left side of FIG. 1-8 shows a state in which a talk room in which user A.A can talk with user B.B, who is registered as a friend, is displayed based on an input by user A.A to display the talk room.

The top area of the screen displays the name of the messaging application, "Messaging App," and next to it is an icon image of the user (user A.A) and the username "A.A." In addition, the area below that displays the letters "B.B," indicating that the person you are talking to is user B.B, as well as "<B.B," which includes a "<" button for leaving the chat room.

The area below that is a talk room area TR where the content being sent and received is displayed. As a non-limiting example, the right side of the screen displays the content being sent from the user (user A.A) to the other user (user B.B) in chronological order, and the left side of the screen displays the content being sent from the other user to the user in chronological order.

In this example, the text content "What do you want to eat today?" sent from user A.A to user B.B is displayed, and the text content "How about Western food?" sent from user B.B to user A.A is also displayed.

At the bottom of the screen, there is a content input area CIR for inputting the content to be sent to the other user. Also, to the right of the content input area CIR, there is a search screen display button B1, indicated by a magnifying glass mark, for displaying a search screen, by way of example and not limitation.

When the search screen display button B1 is tapped, the display shown in the center of FIG. 1-8 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.
Specifically, a search screen (search window) SW is displayed so as to rise from the bottom of the screen. In this example, the search screen SW is displayed superimposed on the talk room, with a size (or height) set so as not to cover the top of the talk room area TR.

At the top of the search screen SW, there is a search term input area SIR for inputting a search term, and to the right of this are an execute button B2 for performing a search within the chat room using the input search term, and a close button B3 for closing the search screen SW.

In addition, below the area on the search screen where the search term input area SIR and the like are provided, there is a favorites area that displays a list of information such as thumbnails corresponding to search results that User A.A has previously favorited.

In this example, the favorites area displays a combination of a heart image and the word "Favorited," with thumbnails and titles corresponding to search results that user A.A. has favorited as one set, and multiple sets are displayed in a set order. By way of example and not limitation, the most recent favorited search results are displayed at the top in reverse chronological order.

In this example screen, the title is displayed in correspondence with the thumbnail for ease of understanding, but it is also possible to display only the thumbnail.

In addition, there may be a large number of favorited search results, and it may not be possible to display thumbnails and other information corresponding to all search results at once. Therefore, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may perform scrolling control based on a user's scrolling operation on the favorites area.

In this example, by way of example and not limitation, a thumbnail with the title "Hamburger", a thumbnail with the title "One Piece", a thumbnail with the title "Japanese-style Pasta", a thumbnail with the title "Makeup Video", a thumbnail with the title "Steak", a thumbnail with the title "Stew", a thumbnail with the title "Sneakers", etc. are displayed.

By way of example and not limitation, when the thumbnail with the title "Hamburger" is tapped by user A.A, the display shown on the right in FIG. 1-8 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
In this example, based on the external link information corresponding to the tapped thumbnail, the browser displays the “XYZ RECIPE” webpage about a recipe for “Hamburger” as an external page containing search results for “Hamburger” (external information corresponding to the search results).

<Processing>
FIG. 1-9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.
In this figure, from the left, an example of a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of user A.A and a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 are shown.

Note that the processes described below are merely examples of processes for implementing the method of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to these.
Other steps may be added to the process described below, or some steps may be omitted (deleted) from the process described below.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that at least one search result has already been favorited by user A.A. prior to the process.

First, the control unit 21 displays the talk room on the display unit 24 based on an input to the input/output unit 23 of the terminal 20A to select a talk room (a user operation, for example and not for limitation; the same applies below) (A110).

Then, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to display a search screen (A120). Specifically, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 21 determines whether or not an input to display a search screen via the input/output unit 23 has been detected.

If it is determined that the search screen is not to be displayed (A120: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to A190.
If it is determined that the search screen is to be displayed (A120: YES), the control unit 21 requests favorite information from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (A130).

If the control unit 11 determines that the terminal 20A has requested the favorite information through the communication I/F 14 (S110: YES), the control unit 11, by way of example and not limitation, identifies a favorite ID stored in the favorite data of the account management data corresponding to the application ID of the user A.A in the account management database 157A. The control unit 11 then identifies the corresponding thumbnail by collating the identified favorite ID with the data ID of the search engine database 155. The control unit 11 then transmits the favorite information including, by way of example and not limitation, the favorite ID, the corresponding link information, the corresponding thumbnail, and the favorite date and time to the terminal 20A through the communication I/F 14 (S120).
In response to this, the control unit 21 stores the received favorite information in the storage unit 28 .

If the communication I/F 14 determines that no request for favorite information has been made from terminal 20A (S110: NO), the control unit 11 advances the process to S190.

When the favorites information is received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a search screen including, by way of example and not limitation, a search term input area (an example of a first area) and a favorites area (an area displaying a list of thumbnails) in which corresponding thumbnails included in the favorites information are arranged (A140). In this case, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 can arrange the corresponding thumbnails in the favorites area in reverse chronological order, such as newest first or oldest first, based on the received favorite date and time information.

In addition, when displaying a search screen, the terminal 20 is not limited to a configuration in which it obtains favorite information from the server 10 and displays the search screen. As a non-limiting example, the latest favorite information may be obtained from the server 10 at regular intervals, etc., and stored and updated in the memory unit 28 of the terminal 20, and in A140, the control unit 21 may or may not display the search screen based on the latest favorite information stored in the memory unit 28.
In addition, although details will be described later in another embodiment, it is also possible for the terminal 20 to display the search screen without acquiring favorite information from the server 10 .

Here, the search screen can be displayed in any of the following ways, by way of example and not limitation.
(A) A method for displaying a search screen using an external browser. (B) A method for displaying a search screen using an in-app browser.

In the method (A), by way of example and not limitation, the search screen may be displayed by an external browser (web application browser) that runs on the messaging application as a platform.
Specifically, when the chat room screen of a messaging application is displayed, by way of example and not limitation, an external browser capable of referencing various information including account information of the messaging application can be launched to display a search screen.
In this case, the search screen can be displayed so as to be superimposed on at least a portion of the talk room (overlay).

The size (or height) of the search screen can be set arbitrarily.
If the search screen is to be full size, it can be displayed so that it completely overlaps with the chat rooms. In this case, the chat rooms are completely covered by the search screen, making them invisible.
On the other hand, if the search screen is smaller than the full size, the search screen can be displayed so as to be superimposed on part of the chat room. In this case, part of the chat room area is obscured, but the unobscured area remains visible.

In method (B), as an example and not a limitation, while a chat room screen in a messaging application is displayed, an in-app browser of the messaging application can be launched to display a search screen.
In this case, by way of example and not by way of limitation,
Any of the following methods can be applied: (B-1) A method of moving (transitioning) from the talk room screen to display a search screen; or (B-2) A method of displaying a search screen in parallel with the talk room screen.

In the method (B-2), the following is an example, but not a limitation:
(B-2a) A method of displaying a search screen so as to be superimposed on at least a part of the chat room (overlay), similar to the method (A).
(B-2b) A method of splitting the screen into two and allocating one for the chat room and the other for search (split)
Any of the methods mentioned above can be applied.

Note that for method (A), the same method as for (B-2b) split may or may not be applied.

The above-mentioned display screen is an example, not a limitation, of a display screen in which a search screen is displayed using method (A) and the size of the search screen is smaller than full size.

In addition, on the search screen, the search term input area (not limiting, an example of a first area where search terms are input) can be, by way of example and not limitation, an area different from the content input area (not limiting, an example of a second area where content is input) displayed in the chat room.

Then, the control unit 21 determines whether or not an input to a thumbnail in the favorites area of the search screen has been detected via the input/output unit 23 (A150).

If it is determined that no detection has been made (A150: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to A180.
If it is determined that the input has been detected (A150: YES), the control unit 21 performs a search result display process (A160a). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, for the thumbnail whose input has been detected, an external server is accessed via the communication I/F 22 based on the corresponding link information. As a result, an external page including the target search result is displayed on the display unit 24.

Thereafter, after returning from the external page to the talk room of the messaging application, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to close the search screen being displayed (A180).
If it is determined that the search screen is not to be closed (A180: NO), the control unit 21 returns the process to A150.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the search screen is to be closed (A180: YES), the control unit 21 performs control to hide the search screen that is being displayed.

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to close the displayed talk room (A190).
If it is determined that the talk room should not be closed (A190: NO), the control unit 21 returns the process to A120.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the talk room is to be closed (A190: YES), the control unit 21 performs control to hide the currently displayed talk room, and then ends the process.

After S120, the control unit 11 determines whether or not to end the process (S190).
If it is determined that the process should be continued (S190: NO), the control unit 11 returns the process to S110.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the process should be ended (S190: YES), the control unit 11 ends the process.

<Information for displaying search results (first information)>
While thumbnails have been used as an example so far, the information for displaying search results in this disclosure can include, by way of example and not limitation, various types of information that can be accessed through user input in the search results.
As a non-limiting example, information such as a title or summary of a search result associated with link information may be displayed as the first information on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20. In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can display the search result on the display unit 24 using the corresponding link information based on an input for the first information.
Also, link information such as a URI may be displayed as the first information.

Effects of the First Embodiment
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays a talk room (not limited to this, but an example of a chat room) on the display unit 24 based on an input to the terminal 20. The terminal 20 also displays a search term input area (not limited to this, but an example of a first area) and information such as a thumbnail stored in association with a user of the terminal 20 (not limited to this, but an example of first information for displaying search results searched based on the input of a search term to the first area) on the display unit 24. The terminal 20 then displays search results on the display unit 24 based on an input by the user to the information such as the thumbnail.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can display a chat room on the display unit, and display search results on the display unit based on an input by the user of the terminal to a first area into which a search term is input and first information that is stored in association with the user of the terminal and is for displaying search results searched based on the input of the search term into the first area. As a result, by way of example and not of limitation, when the user wants to review the search results later, the search results can be easily displayed based on the input by the user of the terminal to the first information.

In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which a search screen including a search term input area (not limited to, but an example of the first area) and information such as a thumbnail (not limited to, but an example of the first information) is superimposed on the talk room and displayed on the display unit 24.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, and by way of example and not limitation, by displaying the first area and the first information so as to be superimposed on a portion of the chat room, it is possible for the user of the terminal to view the chat room while also being able to view the first area and the first information.

In addition, in this embodiment, the search term input area (not limited to, but an example of the first area) has a different configuration from the content input area (not limited to, but an example of the second area) displayed in the talk room.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, by making the first area where search terms are entered and the second area where content to be displayed in the chat room is entered different areas, it is possible to prevent the user from entering information into the wrong area.

<First Modification (1)>
In the first embodiment, the terminal 20 may be configured to confirm the search results with the user before displaying them.

<Processing>
As an example, and not a limitation, of the processing in this modified example, in the processing of Figure 1-9, if it is determined at A150 that input has been detected for a thumbnail in the favorites area of the search screen via the input/output unit 23, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to display the search result corresponding to the thumbnail for which input was detected.

Specifically, as a non-limiting example, a preview of the search results corresponding to the thumbnail for which input was detected is displayed, and buttons for confirming with the user whether or not to display an external page (as non-limiting examples, an "Open link" button or an "Open external page" button) are displayed.
When an operation on this button is detected, the control unit 21 advances the process to A160a.

<First Modification (2)>
In the first embodiment, the terminal 20 displays search results based on (1) external data, based on input by the user of the terminal 20 for information such as thumbnails, but the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal 20 may also display search results based on (2) internal data.

The internal data may be, by way of example and not limitation, data based on at least one of the following:
(2-1) Internal original information (2-2) External organized information (2-3) Composite information

(2-1) Internal original information may be, by way of example and not limitation, search information generated independently by a messaging service provider.
It is also conceivable that messaging service providers may build their own search systems.
It is possible to generate search information without necessarily acquiring external information, and there may be cases where no external information that can be referenced exists in the first place.

In this case, the search engine database 155 can store, by way of example and not limitation, internal original information, link information of internal data based on the internal original information, corresponding thumbnails, and the like, associated with a data ID.

(2-2) The externally organized information may be information obtained as a result of organizing external information. There may be cases where a messaging service provider wishes to organize external information and use it for search.
By way of example and not limitation, organizing information can refer to adjusting the original information (content) without altering it, and can include, by way of example and not limitation, editing the content, deleting some of the content, extracting key parts of the content, summarizing the content, etc.
The organization of external information may also be referred to as organization of external data.

In this case, the search engine database 155 may store, by way of example and not limitation, external organization information, link information for internal data based on the external organization information, corresponding thumbnails, and the like, associated with a data ID.

It is not essential to organize the external information, and the external information may or may not be reused (used as is).

(2-3) Composite information can be information generated based on external information and internal original information. There may be cases where a messaging service provider wishes to use internal original information for searches while referring to external information.

In this case, the search engine database 155 can store, by way of example and not limitation, composite information, link information of internal data based on the composite information, corresponding thumbnails, and the like, associated with a data ID.

In this modified example, by way of example and not by way of limitation, internal data link information (hereinafter referred to as "internal link information") can be stored as corresponding link information in the favorite data of the account management data in the account management database 157A described above (see FIG. 1-5). The internal link information can be a URI by way of example and not by way of limitation.

<Display screen>
1-10 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment. The left side of FIG. 1-10 is the same screen as the center of FIG. 1-8.
By way of example and not limitation, when the thumbnail with the title "Hamburger" is tapped by user A.A, the display shown on the right in FIG. 1-10 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

In this example, based on the internal link information corresponding to the tapped thumbnail, an internal page in a messaging application containing search results for "hamburger" is displayed below the area on the search screen where the search term input area SIR, etc. are displayed.
In this example, the internal page displays external adjustment information that adjusts the external information published on the external page shown on the right of Figure 1-8.

In addition, instead of this, an internal page that reuses (uses as is) the external information published on the external page shown on the right of Figure 1-8 may or may not be displayed.

In addition, in the upper right corner of the image of "Hamburger" included in the internal page, a favorite button B21 represented by a heart mark is displayed so as to partially overlap the image, by way of example and not limitation, for the purpose of marking this search result as a favorite.
However, in this embodiment, the favorites button B21 is displayed surrounded by a circle for the sake of visibility.

As a non-limiting example, the favorite button B21 may be displayed uncolored if the search result corresponding to the content has not been favorited, and may be displayed colored if the search result corresponding to the content has been favorited.
In this example, since user A.A has already added the search result "hamburger" to his favorites, the favorites button B21 is displayed in color.

When displaying an internal page, the server 10 can refer to the user's favorite data, so that the favorite button B21 as described above can be displayed on the internal page.
It should be noted that it is not essential to display the favorite button B21, and it is also possible to choose not to display it.

<Processing>
FIG. 1-11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processes executed by each device in this modified example.
In this figure, from the left, an example of a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A and an example of a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 are shown.
This process is a process in which step A160a in FIG. 1-9 is replaced with step A160b.

In S120, the control unit 11 transmits, by way of example and not limitation, to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14, favorite information including, by way of example and not limitation, a favorite ID, corresponding link information (in this example, internal link information), corresponding thumbnail, and favorite date and time, based on the favorite data of the account management data corresponding to the application ID of the user A.A in the account management database 157A and the data stored in the search engine database 155.
In response to this, the control unit 21 stores the received favorite information in the storage unit 28 .

If it is determined in A150 that an input to a thumbnail in the favorites area of the search screen has been detected via the input/output unit 23 (A150: YES), the control unit 21 performs a search result display process (A160b).

Specifically, the control unit 21 transmits display request information to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22, requesting the display of an internal page based on the corresponding link information of the thumbnail whose input was detected, among the corresponding link information contained in the favorite information previously received from the server 10 and stored in the memory unit 28 (A161).

The control unit 11 determines whether or not display request information has been received from the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S130).
If it is determined that the signal has not been received (S130: NO), the control unit 11 advances the process to S190.

If it is determined that the search results have been received (S130: YES), the control unit 11 transmits the corresponding search results to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S140). Specifically, the control unit 11 refers to the search engine database 155, and transmits the information of the internal page that corresponds to the corresponding link information to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14.

In response to this, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display the search results (A163). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 causes the information on the internal page received from the server 10 to be displayed on the search screen.
Then, the control unit 21 ends the search result display process.

When displaying search results based on internal data based on the above-mentioned (2-2) externally organized information and (2-3) composite information, the original external data will be present.
In this case, in S140 of the above process, the control unit 11 may transmit to the terminal 20A information on the internal page including the search result associated with the external link information corresponding to the original external data.
In this case, upon detecting input into a setting area (such as, but not limited to, an image or title display area) of an internal page displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20, the control unit 21 can transition to the original external page based on the external link information.

In the example of FIG. 1-10, when the title area of "Hamburger" or the image area of "Hamburger" is tapped on the internal page of "Hamburger" displayed in the search screen on the screen on the right of FIG. 1-10, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 can transition to the external page shown on the right of FIG. 1-8 (the web page of "XYZ Recipe") and display it on the display unit 24.

<First Modification (3)>
The contents of the first modified example (1) and the contents of the first modified example (2) may be combined, and as an example and not a limitation, the user of the terminal 20 may be asked whether or not to display the internal page before displaying the internal page.

<Processing>
As an example, and not a limitation, of the processing in this modified example, in the processing of Figure 1-11, when it is determined at A150 that an input has been detected for a thumbnail in the favorites area of the search screen via the input/output unit 23, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to display the search result corresponding to the thumbnail for which the input was detected within the messaging application.
Specifically, as a non-limiting example, a preview of the search results corresponding to the thumbnail for which input was detected is displayed, and buttons (as non-limiting examples, an "Open" button or an "Open internal page" button) are displayed to confirm with the user whether or not to display the internal page.
If an operation on this button is detected, the control unit 21 advances the process to A160b.

In this case, in process A163 of FIG. 1-11, the control unit 21 can, by way of example and not limitation, hide the currently displayed talk room and display the internal page on the display unit 24 based on the information on the internal page received from the server 10.

<First Modification (4)>
In the above example, the terminal 20 receives and stores favorite information including corresponding link information from the server 10, and when input to a thumbnail is detected, the terminal 20 displays search results based on the stored corresponding link information, but this is not limited to the above.

In S120 of FIG. 1-9, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 transmits favorites information that does not include corresponding link information to the terminal 20A.
In this case, in the search result display process for A160a or A160b, the control unit 21 transmits the favorites ID corresponding to the thumbnail whose input was detected to the server 10. Then, the control unit 11 can obtain corresponding link information associated with the favorites ID received from the terminal 20A, and return the obtained corresponding link information to the terminal 20A.

<First Modification (5)>
In the above embodiment, information such as thumbnails is displayed on the display unit 20 of the terminal 20 in the order of newest favorites or oldest favorites, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Other examples, but not limitations, may include displaying the search results in a random order, or in order of most/least frequent number of times the search results have been displayed based on input for information such as thumbnails.

Also, as described above, there may be cases where there are a large number of search results that are favorited, and all of the information, such as thumbnails, cannot fit in the favorites area.
Therefore, the number of pieces of information such as thumbnails to be displayed in the favorites area may be limited. In other words, instead of displaying pieces of information such as thumbnails corresponding to all search results that have been favorited, pieces of information such as thumbnails corresponding to some of the search results that have been favorited may be displayed. As a non-limiting example, pieces of information such as thumbnails corresponding to a set number of search results may be displayed in order of most recently favorited.

Second Example
The second embodiment is an embodiment in which information about the search results in the first embodiment can be shared in a talk room.

The contents described in the second embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

In this embodiment, the server 10 generates content for transmission and reception in a messaging application based on external data and internal data stored in the search engine database 155, for example and not for limitation. The generated content is then stored in the search engine database 155 in association with a data ID.

In addition, data regarding content may be stored in a different content database rather than in the search engine database 155.

By way of example and not limitation, the server 10 can identify corresponding content (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "corresponding content") by comparing the favorite ID stored in the favorite data with the data ID in the search engine database 155. The corresponding content is an example of second information related to the search results.

In addition, information such as a content ID for identifying the corresponding content may or may not be stored in the favorites data.

<Display screen>
2-1 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment. The left side of FIG. 2-1 is the same screen as the center of FIG. 1-8.
By way of example and not limitation, when the thumbnail with the title "Hamburger" is tapped by user A.A, the display in the center of FIG. 2-1 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
In this example, the screen in the center of FIG. 1-8 is grayed out as the background, and a thumbnail with the title "Hamburger" is previewed in the foreground in the center of the screen.

Below that is an "Open Link" button B11 containing the words "Open Link" for opening the linked page of the search result corresponding to the previewed thumbnail, and above that is displayed the name of the linked page (in this example, "XYZ RECIPE") and its external link information (in this example, the URL).

Below the "Open link" button B11 is a "Share to chat room" button B12 containing the words "Share to chat room" for sharing content related to the search result that corresponds to the previewed thumbnail in a chat room.

Also displayed below is a "Cancel" button B13 containing the word "Cancel" to return to the previous screen without doing any of the above.

By way of example and not limitation, when the "Share to chat room" button B12 is tapped, the display shown on the right in FIG. 2-1 is displayed.
In this example, in the talk room area TR shown on the left side of FIG. 1-8, content CT11 corresponding to the search result of "Hamburg steak" is displayed as content sent from user A.A under the text content "How about Western food?" sent from user B.B.

In this example, content CT11 is configured as a composite content (composite content) that includes multiple pieces of content, such as, by way of example and not limitation, text content showing the title "Hamburger", image content shown as an image of "Hamburger", and content showing information about the link destination.

In this example, the above-mentioned favorite button B21 for adding the search result corresponding to the content CT11 to favorites is superimposed and displayed on the lower right of the image content of the content CT11.
In this example, since the user A.A has already added the search result corresponding to the content CT11 to his/her favorites, the favorites button B21 is displayed in color.

In this example, user A.A has already favorited the search result corresponding to content CT11. Therefore, the favorite button B21 may not be displayed for content CT11 displayed in the talk room of the display unit 24 of terminal 20A.

Also, as a non-limiting example, when user A.A taps on a setting area (such as a display area for an image, title, or link information) of content CT11, as a non-limiting example, an external page including the search results for "hamburger" shown on the right of FIG. 1-8 may be displayed based on the external link information corresponding to content CT11.

<Processing>
2-2 and 2-3 are flow charts showing an example of the flow of processes executed by each device in this embodiment. In this example, the user A.A.'s conversation partner is assumed to be user B.B. of terminal 20B.

In S120, the control unit 11 transmits, by way of example and not limitation, to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14, favorite information including, by way of example and not limitation, a favorite ID, corresponding link information, corresponding thumbnail, corresponding content, and favorite date and time, based on the favorite data of the account management data corresponding to the application ID of the user A.A in the account management database 157A and the data stored in the search engine database 155.
In response to this, the control unit 21 stores the received favorite information in the storage unit 28 .

If it is determined in A150 that an input to a thumbnail has been detected (A150: YES), the control unit 21 determines whether or not to display the search results (A210). Specifically, as described above, by way of example and not limitation, a preview of the search results corresponding to the thumbnail for which the input was detected is displayed, and a button for prompting the user to determine whether or not to display an external page (as an example and not limitation, a "Open Link" button or a "Open External Page" button) is displayed, and it is determined whether or not an operation on this button has been detected. Then, if it is determined that the search results are to be displayed (A210: YES), the control unit 21 performs a search result display process (A160a).

As in the first modified example (3), the search result display process may be performed by performing step A160b in FIG.
In this case, in A210, as described above, the control unit 21 performs a preview display of the search result corresponding to the thumbnail for which the input was detected, displays a button for the user to confirm whether or not to display the internal page (for example, but not limited to, an "Open" button or an "Open internal page" button), and determines whether or not an operation on this button has been detected. Then, if it is determined that the search result is to be displayed (A210: YES), the control unit 21 performs a search result display process (A160b).
This can be similarly applied to other embodiments and other modified examples, so further explanation will be omitted.

After A160a (or A160b), or when it is determined in A210 that the search results are not to be displayed (A210: NO), the control unit 21 determines whether or not to share the content corresponding to the thumbnail in which the input was detected in the talk room (A220). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, a preview of the search results corresponding to the thumbnail in which the input was detected is displayed, and a button (as a non-limiting example, a "Share to talk room" button) for confirming with the user whether or not to share the content in the talk room is displayed, and it is determined whether or not an operation on this button has been detected.

If it is determined that the content is not to be shared (A220: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to A189.
If it is determined that the content is to be shared (A220: YES), the control unit 21 causes the corresponding content of the thumbnail whose input was detected to be displayed in the currently displayed talk room, from among the corresponding content included in the favorite information previously received from the server 10 and stored in the memory unit 28 (A230).

Next, the control unit 21 transmits content sharing request information including the favorite ID corresponding to the thumbnail whose input was detected, among the favorite IDs included in the favorite information previously received from the server 10 and stored in the memory unit 28, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (A240).

If it is determined that content sharing request information has been received from terminal 20A via communication I/F 14 (S210: YES), control unit 11 transmits the content corresponding to the favorite ID included in the received content sharing request information to terminal 20B, the talk partner terminal 20, via communication I/F 14 (S220). Then, control unit 11 updates the content transmission/reception history data included in the account management data of the application ID of the user of the related terminal 20, and then proceeds to S190.

If it is determined that the content sharing request information has not been received from the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S210: NO), the control unit 11 advances the process to S190.

<Information about search results (second information)>
Although the above description has been given taking content as an example, the information related to the search results in the present disclosure may be information having a relationship with the search results.
By way of example and not limitation, the concept may include information that allows the user or the other user to know what the search results are (information that allows the user to recognize the search results), information that can serve as a guide to the search results, etc. Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, this may include text, images (including thumbnails), information that can be accessed by manipulating the search results, etc.

Furthermore, the information that terminal 20A (not limiting, an example of a terminal) displays in a chat room (not limiting, an example of a chat room) and the information that terminal 20A sends to the talk partner's terminal 20 (not limiting, an example of a first terminal) do not necessarily have to be the same information.
As a non-limiting example, the terminal 20A displays the corresponding content of the search result in the talk room of the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 as described above. Meanwhile, the terminal 20A may transmit content different from the corresponding content (as a non-limiting example, unorganized content, content at least partially different from the content displayed by the terminal 20A, etc.) to the terminal 20 of the talk partner.
In this way, the information displayed by the terminal and the information transmitted may be the same information or different information. Even if the information displayed by the terminal and the information transmitted are different information, they may be regarded as the same information (second information).

Moreover, the display of the second information and the transmission of the second information do not necessarily have to be performed simultaneously.
Moreover, the second information may be transmitted after being displayed, or conversely, the second information may be displayed after being transmitted.

<Effects of the Second Example>
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays content corresponding to the search results (not limited to this, an example of second information related to the search results) in the talk room based on input by the user of the terminal 20 for information such as a thumbnail. The terminal 20 also shows a configuration in which the control unit 21 controls transmission of this content to the terminal 20 of the talk partner user (not limited to this, an example of the first terminal) via the communication I/F 22.
As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, based on an input by a user of the terminal for the first information, second information regarding the search result can be displayed in a chat room to inform the user of the terminal. Also, the second information can be transmitted to the first terminal to be shared with the user of the first terminal.

In this case, if an input for displaying an external page, etc. (not limited to this, an example of an input related to displaying search results on a display unit) is made after a user of the terminal 20 inputs information such as a thumbnail, the terminal 20 can display the external page, etc., and if an input for sharing content in a talk room (not limited to this, an example of an input related to displaying second information in a chat room) is made after a user of the terminal 20 inputs information such as a thumbnail, the terminal 20 can display the content in the talk room.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, after a user of a terminal inputs first information, it becomes possible to display search results or display second information in a chat room based on a different input by the user of the terminal, thereby improving user convenience.

<Second Modification>
The above content is not necessarily limited to being shared in a one-to-one talk room, but may also be shared in a group talk room.
In this case, as an example and not a limitation, in a group talk room including user A.A of terminal 20A, user B.B of terminal 20B, and user C.C of terminal 20C, content corresponding to a search result that one user has favorited may be transmitted to the terminals 20 of the other users to be shared.

In this variation, the talk room can include content transmitted and received between a first terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of a terminal), a second terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of a first terminal), and a third terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of a second terminal different from the terminal and the first terminal).
As an example of an effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, content transmitted and received between a terminal, a first terminal, and a second terminal different from the terminal and the first terminal can be shared in a chat room.

<Third Example>
The third embodiment is related to the second embodiment, but is an embodiment that makes it possible to display search results corresponding to content on the talk partner's terminal 20 based on content corresponding to the search results that are sent to the talk partner's terminal 20 and displayed on the talk partner's terminal 20, or to favorite the search results corresponding to the content.

The contents described in the third embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

<Display screen>
3-1 and 3-2 are diagrams showing an example of the transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20B in this embodiment. Here, corresponding to the flow shown in FIG. 2-1, an example of the transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20B of user B.B, who is a talk partner of user A.A, is shown.

The left side of Figure 3-1 shows a state in which content CT11 corresponding to the search results for "hamburger", which is content sent from user A.A, is received by terminal 20B based on tapping the "Share to talk room" button B12 on the screen displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20A shown in the center of Figure 2-1, and the talk room screen with user A.A as the talk partner is displayed.

The content CT11 is the same as that described above. However, in this example, since user B.B. has not favorited the search result corresponding to the content CT11, the favorite button B21 is displayed without coloring.

When user B. B taps on a setting area (such as an image, title, or link information display area, for example and not limitation) of content CT11, a display such as that shown on the right in FIG. 3-1 is displayed, for example and not limitation. Specifically, based on the external link information corresponding to content CT11, an external page similar to that shown on the right in FIG. 1-8 is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B.

The left side of Fig. 3-2 is a screen similar to that of the left side of Fig. 3-1, but shows a state in which the favorite button B21 displayed in association with the content CT11 has been tapped by the user B.B.
In this case, the search result for "hamburger" corresponding to the content CT11 is added to the favorites. The favorites process, which is a process for adding a content to the favorites, will be described later.

As a result, a display like that shown in the right of FIG. 3-2 is obtained, by way of example and not by way of limitation.
In this example, a search screen (search window) SW is displayed rising from the bottom of the screen. The configuration of this search screen SW is the same as the search screen SW displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A of user A. A thumbnail corresponding to the search result of "hamburger" is newly added and displayed in the favorites area in the search screen.

Also, in this example, in order for user B.B. to easily recognize the newly favorited search result, a new mark including the letter "N (New)" indicating that it is new is displayed in the upper left corner of the thumbnail corresponding to the newly added search result of "Hamburger".
As a non-limiting example, the new mark can be erased if a certain amount of time has elapsed while the search screen is left open, or hidden if the search screen is closed and displayed again the next time.
It should be noted that it is not essential to display the new mark, and it may be possible not to display it.

<Processing>
3-3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B in this modified example. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that a chat room with user A.A of a messaging application is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20B.

Prior to this process, in S220 of FIG. 2-3, the control unit 11 of the server 10, by way of example and not limitation, transmits to terminal 20B via the communication I/F 14 the data ID corresponding to the favorite ID included in the content sharing request information received from terminal 20A, the corresponding content, and the corresponding link information.

First, the control unit 21 displays the received corresponding content in the chat room with user A.A (B220).

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether an input for displaying a search result corresponding to the displayed corresponding content has been detected (B230). Specifically, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 21 determines whether an operation on a setting area of the corresponding content has been detected.

If it is determined that no detection has been made (B230: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to B250.
If it is determined that the corresponding content has been detected (B230: YES), the control unit 21 performs a search result display process (B240). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, a page (external page or internal page) including the target search result is displayed on the display unit 24 based on the corresponding link information received together with the corresponding content.

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether a favorite input for favoriteizing a search result corresponding to the displayed corresponding content has been detected (B250). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, the control unit 21 determines whether an operation on a favorite button displayed in association with the corresponding content has been detected.

If it is determined that no detection has been made (B250: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to B290.
If it is determined that the corresponding content has been detected (B250: YES), the control unit 21 performs favorite processing with the server 10 (B260). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, favorite request information including the data ID received together with the corresponding content is transmitted to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

When it is determined that favorite request information has been received from terminal 20A via communication I/F 14, control unit 11 of server 10 performs favorite registration. Specifically, the data ID included in the received favorite request information is treated as a favorite ID, and favorite data of account management data corresponding to user B.B's application ID in account management database 157A is stored in association with corresponding link information.

Then, the control unit 21 judges whether or not to end the process (B290), and if it is judged that the process should be continued (B290: NO), the control unit 21 returns to B230. On the other hand, if it is judged that the process should be ended (B290: YES), the control unit 21 ends the process.

The same effect can be obtained if the relationship between terminal 20A (user A.A) and terminal 20B (user B.B) is reversed; in terminal 20A, content sent from terminal 20B can be displayed on display unit 24, and based on input for the content, search results corresponding to that content can be displayed, or search results corresponding to that content can be favorited.

<Effects of the Third Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 receives content (not limited to, an example of third information) related to a search result searched by the terminal 20 of the talk partner (not limited to, an example of a first terminal) from the terminal 20 of the talk partner via the communication I/F 22. The terminal 20 then displays the received content and a favorites button (not limited to, an example of a fourth display related to associating information for displaying the search result searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal) in the talk room. The terminal 20 then performs favorites processing (not limited to, an example of processing for associating information for displaying the search result searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal) via the control unit 21 based on an input to the favorites button.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to associate information for displaying search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal based on an input to the fourth display regarding associating information for displaying search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal.

<Third Modification>
In the third embodiment, when content displayed in the talk room is tapped on the terminal 20B of the talk partner, for example and not by way of limitation, an internal page or the like containing search results corresponding to the content may be displayed. Then, the search results may be favorited on the internal page or the like.

As a non-limiting example, when a setting area of content CT11 is tapped on the screen shown on the left in FIG. 3-2 displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B of user B.B, an internal page similar to the internal page shown on the right in FIG. 1-10 is displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B. Then, when a favorites button B21 displayed in association with an image of "hamburger" on this internal page is tapped, the search result for "hamburger" may be favorited for user B.B.

As an example and not by way of limitation, the content received from the conversation partner's terminal 20 and its display correspond to a display (not by way of limitation, an example of a fourth display) relating to associating information for displaying search results searched by the conversation partner's terminal 20 (not by way of limitation, an example of a first terminal) with the user of one's own terminal 20 (not by way of limitation, an example of a terminal), and in this case, the fourth display can be considered to be displayed in a chat room.

Also, by way of example and not limitation, the display of a favorites button or the like displayed on an internal page or the like corresponds to an example of a fourth display relating to associating information for displaying search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal, and in this case, the fourth display can be considered to be displayed on a screen different from the chat room (the fourth display is not displayed in the chat room).

In this modified example, the terminal 20 receives content (not limited to, an example of the third information) related to the search results searched by the terminal 20 of the talk partner (not limited to, an example of the first terminal) from the terminal 20 of the talk partner via the communication I/F 22. The terminal 20 then displays the received content (not limited to, an example of the third information, an example of the fourth display related to associating information for displaying the search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal) in the talk room (not limited to, an example of a chat room). The terminal 20 then performs a favorite process (not limited to, an example of a process for associating information for displaying the search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal) via the control unit 21 based on an input for the content (not limited to, an example of the fourth display).
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to associate information for displaying search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal based on an input to the fourth display regarding associating information for displaying search results searched by the first terminal with the user of the terminal.

<Fourth Example>
The fourth embodiment relates to a method for implementing a search within a talk room (search within a chat room) in the above-described embodiments.

The contents described in the fourth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

<Display screen>
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
The left side of Fig. 4-1 shows the screen in the center of Fig. 1-8 in which the search term "Western food recipes" is entered in the search term input area SIR and the execute button B2 is tapped. In this case, the display shown in the center of Fig. 4-1 is shown as an example, not a limitation.

Specifically, a list of search results from a chat room search is displayed in a search result list area located below the favorites area. In this example, information about multiple search results related to the search term "Western food recipes" (by way of example and not limitation, images and summaries corresponding to the search results) is displayed below the text in the search result list.

For each search result displayed, when a setting area (such as, for example and not limitation, the image or title display area) is tapped, a page (external page or internal page) containing this search result is displayed based on the corresponding link information.

In addition, for each of the displayed search results, by way of example and not limitation, the favorite button B21 described above is superimposed on the lower right corner of the image corresponding to that search result. When this favorite button B21 is tapped, the corresponding search result is favorited.

In addition, for search results that do not fit on the screen, by way of example and not limitation, the user may perform a scroll operation to display them. Specifically, as shown on the right side of FIG. 4-1, based on a user's scroll operation on an area including the favorites area and the search result list area, by way of example and not limitation, the search result list area may be scrolled together with the favorites area, so that search results that were not displayed may be displayed.

Note that if there are many favorited search results, the search result list area may be overwhelmed by the favorites area. Therefore, as described in the first modified example (5), it is possible to limit the number of pieces of information, such as thumbnails, that are displayed in the favorites area.

<Processing>
FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processes executed by each device in this embodiment.
In this figure, from the left, an example of a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A and an example of a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 are shown.

As a non-limiting example, after A140 and S120, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A and the control unit 11 of the server 10 start executing the search and favorites process (A310, S310).

FIG. 4C is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the search and favorites process in this embodiment.
In this figure, from the left, an example of a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A and an example of a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 are shown.

First, the control unit 21 determines whether or not it has detected the input of a search term into the search term input area of the search screen and a search execution operation for executing a search (A2110).
If it is determined that no detection has been made (A2110: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to A2140.
If it is determined that the search term has been detected (A2110: YES), the control unit 21 transmits search request information including the input search term to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (A2120).

If it is determined that search request information has been received from the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S2110: YES), the control unit 11 performs a search process within the talk room (S2120).
Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, data that includes information related to the search term included in the received search request information is searched for among data stored in search engine database 155. Then, a search result list is generated in which the searched data is rearranged in an appropriate order based on the search term.

Here, the data stored in the search engine database 155 is, by way of example and not by way of limitation, the above-mentioned
The data can be at least one of the following: (1) external data; and (2) internal data.
That is, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can perform a search within the talk room using at least one of these pieces of data as search data.

If it is determined that no search request information has been received from terminal 20A via communication I/F 14 (S2110: NO), control unit 11 advances the process to S2140.

Then, based on the results of the search process within the talk room, the control unit 11 sends a list of search results including, by way of example and not limitation, a data ID, link information, and the contents of the search results for each search result to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S2130).

When the search result list is received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22, the control unit 21 displays the received search result list in a search result list area, which is an area within the search screen that is different from the favorites area, by way of example and not limitation (A2130).

As mentioned above, search results that do not fit on the screen may be displayed based on, for example and not limitation, scrolling by the user of the terminal 20 .
In this case, the control unit 21 can, for example and not by way of limitation, control the scrolling of the search result list area together with the favorites area within the search screen based on a scrolling operation by the user of the terminal 20 .

Alternatively, the control unit 21 may, as an example and not a limitation, control the scrolling of the search result list area on the search screen based on a scrolling operation by the user of the terminal 20, while keeping the favorites area fixed.

After A2130, or if the determination result of A2110 is "NO", the control unit 21 determines whether or not a list of search results is being displayed (A2140).

If it is determined that the search result list is not being displayed (A2140: NO), the control unit 21 returns the process to A2110.
If it is determined that the search result list is being displayed (A2140: YES), the control unit 21 determines whether or not a favorite input has been detected (A2150). Specifically, as a non-limiting example, it determines whether or not a tap on at least one of the favorite buttons displayed in association with each search result included in the search result list has been detected.

If it is determined that a favorite input has not been detected (A2150: NO), the control unit 21 returns the process to A2110.
If it is determined that a favorite input has been detected (A2150: YES), the control unit 21 sends favorite request information including a data ID corresponding to the search result in which the favorite input was detected to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22, as an example but not a limitation (A2160).

If it is determined that the communication I/F 14 has received favorite request information from the terminal 20A (S2140: YES), the control unit 11 performs favorite registration (S2150). Specifically, the data ID included in the received favorite request information is treated as a favorite ID, and the favorite data of the account management data corresponding to the application ID of the user A.A in the account management database 157A is stored in association with the corresponding link information.

If it is determined via the communication I/F 14 that no favorite request information has been received from the terminal 20A (S2140: NO), the control unit 11 returns the process to S2110.

Then, the control unit 11 transmits the favorite information corresponding to the added search result to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S2160). The control unit 11 then returns the process to S2110.

In response to this, the control unit 21 adds information such as a thumbnail corresponding to the added search result to the favorites area of the search screen based on the received favorites information, and updates the display (S2170). Then, the control unit 21 returns the process to A2110.

Although not shown in the figure, as described above, when a setting area (such as, for example and not limitation, an image or title display area) of each search result included in the search result list is tapped, the control unit 21 can perform the search result display process described above to display a page (external page or internal page) that includes this search result.

4-2, if it is determined in A180 that the search screen is to be closed (A180: YES), the control unit 21 ends the ongoing search/favorites process (A330). In this case, the terminal 20A can notify the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 that the search/favorites process has been ended, for example and not by way of limitation.
Then, the control unit 21 advances the process to A190.

After S310, the control unit 11, by way of example and not limitation, determines whether or not to terminate the search/favorite processing based on whether or not the above-mentioned notification has been received from terminal 20A (S320), and if it determines to terminate (S320: YES), terminates the ongoing search/favorite processing (S330).
Then, the control unit 11 advances the process to S190.

<Effects of the Fourth Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays a search result list including one or more search results related to the first search term on the display unit 24 based on the first search term being input by the user of the terminal 20 into a search term input area (not limited to, an example of a first area). The terminal 20 also displays a favorite button or the like (not limited to, an example of a third display in which information for displaying search results is associated with the user of the terminal and stored) on the display unit 24. The terminal 20 then shows a configuration in which the control unit 21 controls the favorite setting of the first search result related to the first search term, based on the input by the user of the terminal 20 into the favorite button or the like, and as an example not limited to, controls the storage of favorite information related to the first search result in the storage unit 28 (not limited to, an example of control in which information for displaying the first search result related to the first search term is associated with the user of the terminal and stored).
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, based on the first search term being input by the user of the terminal into the first area, the terminal can display a first search result related to the first search term on the display unit to notify the user of the terminal. Also, based on an input by the user of the terminal to a third display related to storing information for displaying the search results in association with the user of the terminal, which is displayed on the display unit, the terminal can store information for displaying the first search result related to the input first search term in association with the user of the terminal.

In this case, based on the first search term being input by the user of the terminal 20 into the search term input area (an example of the first area, not limited to this), the terminal 20 can display on the display unit 24 the first search results and information such as a thumbnail (an example of the first information, not limited to this) for displaying search results related to the first search term among the search results stored in association with the user of the terminal 20.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the terminal can display, on the display unit, the first search result and first information for displaying search results related to the first search term among the search results stored in association with the user of the terminal, based on the first search term being input by the user of the terminal into the first area. As a result, the user of the terminal can view both the first search result and the first information for displaying search results related to the first search term, thereby improving user convenience.

<Fourth Modification>
In a fourth embodiment, based on a search term being input by a user of his/her terminal 20 into a search term input area (not limited to this, but an example of the first area), favorite information corresponding to a search result related to the input search term may be selected from the favorite information stored in the user's favorite data and displayed in the favorite area.

In this case, as one method, in S120 of FIG. 1-9, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits to the terminal 20 the favorite ID, the corresponding link information, the corresponding thumbnail, and also, by way of example and not limitation, information such as the title and summary of the search result associated with the favorite ID.
When a search term is input in the search term input area, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 selects favorite information corresponding to a highly relevant search result based on an index value such as the similarity between the title and summary of the search result received from the server 10 and stored in the storage unit 28 and the input search term. Then, the control unit 21 can display information such as a thumbnail included in the selected favorite information in the favorite area.

As another method, when a search term is input in a search term input area, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 transmits the input search term to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 .
The control unit 11 of the server 10 selects favorite information corresponding to highly relevant search results based on information corresponding to search results favorited by the user of this terminal 20 from the information stored in the search engine database 155 and index values such as the similarity between the search term received from the terminal 20. Then, the control unit 11 transmits a favorite ID included in the selected favorite information to the terminal 20 via the communication I/F 14.
The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can then display information such as a thumbnail corresponding to the received favorites ID in the favorites area.

In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may display information such as thumbnails based on the favorite information selected based on the search term input in the search term input area, and may also display search results related to the search term input in the search term input area in the search result list area.

This modified example shows a configuration in which, based on a first search term being input by a user of terminal 20 into a search term input area (not limited to this, but an example of the first area), terminal 20 displays on display unit 24 information such as thumbnails for displaying search results related to the first search term.
As an example of an effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, by way of example and not limitation, first information for displaying search results related to the first search term is displayed on the display unit of the terminal based on a user of the terminal inputting a first search term into the first area, which makes it possible to smoothly display search results related to the first search term, thereby improving user convenience.

Fifth Example
The fifth embodiment is an embodiment that enables the terminal 20 to display search results according to categories on the display unit 24.

The contents described in the fifth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, the same components as those already mentioned are given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of the account management database 157B, which is an example of the account management database 157 stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment.
The configuration of each account management data is similar to the account management data in the account management database 157A, but the data configuration of the favorite data is partially different.

Specifically, the favorite data is stored in association with, by way of example and not limitation, a favorite ID and corresponding link information, as well as, by way of example and not limitation, a corresponding category.

The corresponding category may be, by way of example and not limitation, the category to which the favorited search result belongs.
By way of example and not limitation, the categories may be determined by a messaging service provider and configured by the server 10 .
As a non-limiting example, various categories such as "recipes,""stores,""shopping,""people,""videos," and "games" may be set.

The server 10 determines (estimates) the category to which the search result to be favorited belongs based on the data stored in the search engine database 155. The server 10 then associates the determined category (category identification information) with the favorite ID and stores it in the corresponding category field.

<Display screen>
FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment.
The left side of Fig. 5-2 is a screen similar to the center of Fig. 1-8, but a category list button B31 including a "#" mark is displayed at the top of the favorites area of the search screen. When this category list button B31 is tapped, the display shown in the center of Fig. 5-2 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.

Specifically, a category list area that displays a list of categories is displayed in the place where the favorites area was displayed on the search screen.
In this example, the category list area displays buttons corresponding to each of the categories: "Recipes,""Stores,""Shopping,""People,""Videos," and "Games."

By way of example and not limitation, when the button corresponding to the category "Recipes" is tapped, the display shown on the right in FIG. 5-2 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
Specifically, based on the selection of the category "Recipes," favorite information corresponding to the category "Recipes" is selected, and as a result, of the multiple thumbnails displayed in the favorites area on the left of Figure 5-2, four thumbnails are displayed in the favorites area: a thumbnail with the title "Hamburger," a thumbnail with the title "Japanese-style Pasta," a thumbnail with the title "Steak," and a thumbnail with the title "Stew."

In the above example, the categories may include a "partial display" for displaying information such as thumbnails corresponding to some of the search results that have been favorited, as described in the first modified example (5). In this case, the terminal 20 may display information such as thumbnails corresponding to some of the search results that have been favorited, based on the selection of the category "partial display."

Also, in relation to the contents explained in the first modified example (5), it is also possible to display information such as thumbnails corresponding to some of the search results that have been selected as favorites by default.
In this case, some users may feel inconvenienced if only some of the results are displayed. Therefore, a category "Show all" may be included for displaying information such as thumbnails corresponding to all search results that have been added to favorites. In this case, the terminal 20 can display information such as thumbnails corresponding to all search results that have been added to favorites based on the selection of the category "Show all."

<Processing>
In the process of this embodiment, as an example and not a limitation, in S120 of FIG. 1-9, the control unit 11 transmits favorite information including, as an example and not a limitation, a favorite ID, corresponding link information, corresponding thumbnail, corresponding category, and favorite date and time to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 based on the favorite data of the account management data corresponding to the application ID of the user A.A in the account management database 157B and the data stored in the search engine database 155.
In response to this, the control unit 21 stores the received favorite information in the storage unit 28 .

FIG. 5C is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a category-based display process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment.
This process is, by way of example and not limitation, executed in the background after the search screen is displayed on the display unit 24 until the search screen is closed.

The control unit 21 determines whether or not a user input for displaying a category list has been detected (A4110).
If it is determined that no detection has been made (A4110: NO), the control unit 21 waits as is.
If it is determined that the category list has been detected (A4110: YES), the control unit 21 performs a category list display process (A4120). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, a category list is displayed on the search screen based on category setting information previously received from the server 10.

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not an input for selecting a category from the displayed category list has been detected (A4130).
If it is determined that no detection has been made (A4130: NO), the control unit 21 advances the process to A4170.
If it is determined that thumbnails have been detected (A4130: YES), the control unit 21 displays a list of thumbnails included in the selected category from among the favorited search results on the search screen (A4140).

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not an input to return to the category list has been detected (A4150).
If it is determined that no detection has been made (A4150: NO), the control unit 21 waits as is.
If it is determined that a category has been detected (A4150: YES), the control unit 21 returns to displaying the category list (S4160).

Next, the control unit 21 determines whether or not an input to close the category list has been detected (A4170).
If it is determined that no detection has been made (A4170: NO), the control unit 21 returns the process to A4130.
If it is determined that the category list has been detected (A4170: YES), the control unit 21 hides the display of the category list and then returns the process to A4110.

<Effects of the Fifth Example>
In this embodiment, information such as thumbnails (not limited to this, but an example of first information) is included in the first category. The terminal 20 displays in the talk room a button (not limited to this, but an example of the first display) for displaying information such as thumbnails included in the first category, and a button (not limited to this, but an example of the second display) for displaying information such as thumbnails included in a second category different from the first category, and displays information such as thumbnails included in the first category on the display unit 24 based on an input to the button for displaying information such as thumbnails included in the first category.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, first information contained in a first category can be displayed based on an input by a user of the terminal regarding a first display related to the first category, thereby improving user convenience.

<Fifth Modification>
Related to the fourth variant example, when a search term related to a category is input by a user of terminal 20 into the search term input area, favorite information corresponding to the search results included in that category may be selected from the favorite information stored in the user's favorite data and displayed in the favorite area.

As a non-limiting example, when a search term "recipe" is input into the search term input area by a user of the terminal 20, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 selects favorite information whose corresponding category is "recipes." The control unit 21 can then cause information such as thumbnails included in the selected favorite information to be displayed in the favorite area.

In this case, an identifier word for identifying a category may be defined in order to display information such as thumbnails for displaying search results included in a particular category. As a non-limiting example, the word "#" may be defined as an identifier word for identifying a category.
In this case, as a non-limiting example, when a search term "#recipe" is input into the search term field by the user of the terminal 20, the terminal 20 selects favorite information whose corresponding category is "recipes." Then, the control unit 21 can display information such as thumbnails included in the selected favorite information in the favorite field.
The identifier word is not limited to "#" and may be another word.

In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may display information such as thumbnails based on favorite information selected based on a search term related to a category entered in the search term input area, and may also display search results related to the search term entered in the search term input area in the search result list area.

As mentioned above, it is also possible to include "display all" or "display part" in a category. In this case, as a non-limiting example, when a search term such as "#part" or "#display part" is entered, it is possible to display part of the results, and when a search term such as "#all" or "#display all" is entered, it is possible to display all of the results.

<Display screen>
Fig. 5-4 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this modified example. The left side of Fig. 5-4 is the same screen as the left side of Fig. 5-2, but the category list button B31 is not displayed in the favorites area of the search screen SW.
In this example, the word "#recipe" is input in the search word input field SIR. When the execute button B2 is tapped in this state, the display shown on the right in FIG. 5-4 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

Specifically, based on the word "#Recipe" being entered, favorite information corresponding to the category "Recipe" is selected, and as a result, of the multiple thumbnails displayed in the favorites area on the left of Figure 5-4, four thumbnails are displayed in the favorites area: a thumbnail with the title "Hamburger steak," a thumbnail with the title "Japanese-style pasta," a thumbnail with the title "Steak," and a thumbnail with the title "Stew."

This modified example shows a configuration in which, based on a first search term related to a category being input by the user of terminal 20 into a search term input area (not limited to this, an example of the first area), terminal 20 displays on display unit 24 information such as thumbnails for displaying search results included in that category, from information such as thumbnails stored in association with the user of terminal 20.
As an example of an effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, by way of example and not limitation, when a user of the terminal inputs a first search term related to a category into the first area, first information for displaying search results included in the category out of the first information stored in association with the user of the terminal is displayed on the display unit of the terminal. As a result, it becomes possible to smoothly display search results related to the first search term related to the category, thereby improving user convenience.

In this case, the search terms related to the category may include a word such as "#" (not a limitation, but an example of an identifier word for identifying the category).
As an example of the effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, a device such as a terminal or a server can recognize that a user has instructed it to display first information for displaying search results included in a category, based on an identifier word for identifying the category.

<Other Examples>
(1) In the above embodiment, the method (A) is applied to display a search screen on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The above-mentioned method (B) may be applied to display a search screen on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20 .

(2) In the above embodiment, the server 10 registers favorites, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Specifically, the terminal 20 may register the favorites.

In this case, the terminal 20 can, by way of example and not limitation, store favorite data in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20, rather than acquiring favorite information from the server 10 as in the above embodiment. Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the terminal 20 can register favorites and store and update the favorite data. Then, the terminal 20 can display a search screen based on the latest favorite data stored in the storage unit 28.

As a non-limiting example, taking the search/favorite processing described in FIG. 4-3 as an example, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can register the search result as a favorite (corresponding to step S2150 in the processing of the server 10) instead of step A2160 based on detection of a favorite input for the search result (A2150: YES).
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, steps S2140 to S2160 of the processing of the server 10 can be omitted.

In this case, as one method, the terminal 20 can perform a process of generating thumbnails and content corresponding to the search results to be favorited based on the search result list received from the server 10, and store them in the storage unit 28. In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can, by way of example and not limitation, perform a thumbnail generation process or a content generation process when or after the above-mentioned favorite registration, and store the generated thumbnails and content in the storage unit 28 in association with a data ID or the like corresponding to the search results to be favorited.
The generated thumbnails and content may or may not be stored in the favorites data in association with a favorites ID.

As another method, when the server 10 transmits the search result list to the terminal 20 in S2130 of Fig. 4C, it may transmit thumbnails and content corresponding to each search result together. The terminal 20 may then store the thumbnails and content corresponding to each search result in the storage unit 28 in association with a data ID or the like.
In this way, the terminal 20 can extract thumbnails and content that correspond to the search results that have been registered as favorites by the above-mentioned favorites from among the thumbnails and content stored in the storage unit 28 .

The same applies when favorite search results based on content received from another device 20.

(3) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the search term input area (not limiting, an example of a first area) is an area different from the content input area (not limiting, an example of a second area where content is input), but this is not limited to this.
Alternatively, the search term input area may be a common input area for both the content input area and the search term input area.

In this case, the device needs to determine whether the input word entered in the input area is a search word or a content input word.
One possible method is to prescribe an identifier word for identifying a search term, based on the same concept as the identifier word for identifying a category described above. In this case, by way of example and not limitation, words such as "?" and "!" can be prescribe as identifier words. In this way, when a word containing such an identifier word is input, it can be determined to be a search term.

Note that, instead of defining an identifier word for a search word, an identifier word may be defined for a content input word.
Also, different identification words may be defined for both the search words and the content input words.

As another method, the search term may be distinguished from the content input term based on the manner in which the execution button is operated after the search term is input.
By way of example and not limitation, if the execute button is pressed within a set time (for example and not limitation, within 2 seconds), it is determined to be a content input word, whereas if the execute button is pressed beyond the set time (for example and not limitation, more than 2 seconds), it may be determined to be a search word.

In addition, by way of example and not limitation,
The search words and the content input words may be distinguished based on the following: - The number of times the execute button is pressed within a set time - The type of other button pressed together with the execute button - The direction in which the execute button is operated.

In the above case, it is not necessary to provide a separate content input area, but the content input area provided at a position such as the bottom of the screen as exemplified in the above-mentioned display screen may be left as is.

In this embodiment, a search term input area (not limited to this, but an example of the first area) is configured to include an area where content to be displayed in the talk room is input.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the first area where search terms are input and the area where content to be displayed in the chat room is input can be shared, so that the user does not have to use different areas for input, thereby improving user convenience.

(4) In the above embodiment, in addition to the information about favorites and the information about a list of search results based on the search term entered in the search term input area, the terminal 20 may also display, by way of example and not limitation, information about search results recommended to the user of the terminal 20 (hereinafter referred to as "recommended information").

The recommendation information may be expressed as, for example and without limitation, information regarding the recommendation of search results, information recommending search results to a user, and the like.
Additionally, the recommendation information may function as, for example and not limitation, information for displaying search results, or information for associating the information for displaying the search results with a user of the terminal.

One possible method is to display recommended information based on search results that are favorited by the user of the terminal 20 .
As an example and not of limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 targets the information stored in the search engine database 155 and transmits thumbnails corresponding to highly relevant search results to the terminal 20 via the communication I/F 14 based on index values such as the degree of similarity with information corresponding to search results that are favorited by the user of this terminal 20.
The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can then display the received thumbnail in a recommendation area, which is an area within the search screen and is different from the favorites area and the search result list area.

Another possible method is to display recommended information based on the history of searches made by the user of the terminal 20 in the past within a talk room.
As an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines search results whose number of searches or frequency is equal to or greater than a set value based on the history of past chat room searches by the user of the terminal 20, and sends thumbnails corresponding to those search results to the terminal 20 via the communication I/F 14.
The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can then display the received thumbnail in the recommendation area.

<Display screen>
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of transition of screens displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this modified example.
6, a recommendation area including the words "recommended for you" is displayed below the favorites area on the search screen. In this example, thumbnails corresponding to search results recommended to user A.A based on search results that user A.A has favorited and past search history are displayed in the recommendation area.

Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, a thumbnail with the title "Western-style salad" and a thumbnail with the title "Butter chicken curry" are displayed as thumbnails corresponding to recommended search results related to the category "Recipes," and a thumbnail with the title "Beautiful skin video" is displayed as thumbnails corresponding to recommended search results related to the category "Videos."

In this state, when the thumbnail of "Butter Chicken Curry" is tapped among the thumbnails displayed in the recommendation area, for example and not by way of limitation, the display in the center of FIG. 6 is shown.
In this example, based on the internal link information corresponding to the tapped thumbnail, an internal page in a messaging application containing search results for "butter chicken curry" is displayed below the area on the search screen where the search term input area, etc. are displayed.

Furthermore, in the displayed internal page, the above-mentioned favorite button B21 is displayed in the upper right corner of the image of "Butter Chicken Curry."
In this example, since user A.A has not added the search result "butter chicken curry" to his/her favorites, the favorites button B21 is displayed without coloring.

When the favorites button B21 is tapped, the search result "butter chicken curry" is added to the favorites. Specifically, the favorites process described above is executed, and as a result, the display shown on the right in FIG. 6 is displayed.
Specifically, a thumbnail corresponding to the search result "butter chicken curry" is added and displayed at the top of the favorites area on the search screen.

In this example, in order for user A.A to easily recognize the newly favorited search result, the aforementioned new mark is displayed in the upper left corner of the thumbnail corresponding to the added search result of "butter chicken curry."
It should be noted that it is not essential to display the new mark, and it may be possible not to display it.

In addition, as the search result for "butter chicken curry" has been favorited, the thumbnail for "butter chicken curry" that was displayed in the recommendations area on the left side of the screen in Figure 6 has been removed from the recommendations area.

(5) In the above embodiment, the server 10 may access an external server each time to obtain external information and return a list of search results to the terminal 20, instead of performing a search based on the search engine database 155 during the chat room search process.

In this case, information such as the contents of a search result that has been favorited by a user, link information, thumbnails, etc. may be newly added and registered in the search engine database 155.

In this case, the server 10 can use the search result additionally registered in the search engine database 155 for a subsequent search within the talk room. In other words, when a similar search is performed by another user, the server 10 can return the search result additionally registered in the search engine database 155 to the terminal 20 of that user.
In this case, the server 10 can use the search result additionally registered in the search engine database 155 for subsequent favorite registration. In other words, when another user desires to add the search result additionally registered in the search engine database 155 to his/her favorites, the server 10 can associate the registered information about the search result, such as link information and thumbnails, with the other user and register the result as a favorite.

(6) In the above embodiment, an execute button for executing a search within a chat room is provided on the search screen. However, this may not be necessary.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, the terminal 20 may transmit input terms to the server 10 as each term is entered into the search term input field. The server 10 may then return to the terminal 20 search results related to the input terms received from the terminal 20.

In this case, the server 10 may return to the terminal 20 keywords related to the input word based on the ranking of the search results or the like.
It should be noted that the keyword may be considered as a type of search result, or may be considered as something different from the search result.

Reference Signs List 1 Communication system 10 Server 20 Terminal 30 Network

Claims (8)

A program executed by a terminal that displays a chat room including content transmitted and received at least between the terminal and a first terminal,
receiving first information related to a first search result searched by the first terminal through a communication unit of the terminal;
displaying, in the chat room, a first content based on the first information and a first display relating to associating second information for displaying the first search result with a user of the terminal, the first display being displayed in association with the first content ;
displaying third information corresponding to the first search result in an area associated with a search term input area different from an area in which the content of the chat room is displayed, based on the second information and the user of the terminal being associated with each other by an input by the user of the terminal to the first display;
The terminal executes the process of displaying, in an area associated with the search term input area, second search results searched based on the search term input by a user of the terminal in the search term input area. The program according to claim 1,
the third information is displayed in a first area associated with the search term input area;
the second search result is displayed in a second area associated with the search term input area and different from the first area;
The terminal executes the process of displaying fourth information corresponding to the second search result in the first area based on an input by a user of the terminal to a second display regarding associating the second search result with the user of the terminal, which is displayed in association with the second search result. The program according to claim 1 or 2 ,
Displaying, by the terminal, a third indication regarding an association between the second information and a user of the terminal in association with the third information. The program according to claim 3 ,
When a set condition is met, the terminal stops displaying the third display. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The terminal executes displaying the first search result on a display unit of the terminal based on an input by a user of the terminal regarding the third information. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
Displaying the first search result on a display unit of the terminal based on an input by a user of the terminal for the first content is executed by the terminal. An information processing method for a terminal that displays a chat room including content transmitted and received at least between a first terminal and the terminal, comprising:
receiving first information related to a first search result searched by the first terminal through a communication unit of the terminal;
displaying, in the chat room, a first content based on the first information and a first display relating to associating second information for displaying the first search result with a user of the terminal, the first display being displayed in association with the first content ;
displaying third information corresponding to the first search result in an area associated with a search term input area different from an area in which the content of the chat room is displayed, based on the second information and the user of the terminal being associated with each other by an input by the user of the terminal to the first display;
and displaying, in an area associated with the search term input area, second search results searched for based on the search term input by the user of the terminal in the search term input area. A terminal that displays a chat room including content transmitted and received at least between a first terminal and the terminal,
A communication unit that receives first information regarding a first search result searched by the first terminal;
displaying, in the chat room, a first content based on the first information and a first display relating to associating second information for displaying the first search result with a user of the terminal, the first display being displayed in association with the first content;
displaying third information corresponding to the first search result in an area associated with a search term input area different from an area in which the content of the chat room is displayed, based on the second information and the user of the terminal being associated with each other through an input by the user of the terminal to the first display;
The display unit displays , in an area associated with the search term input area, second search results searched for based on the search term input by the user of the terminal in the search term input area .

Images