JP7744050B2 - Server device, message transmission/reception system, message transmission/reception method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a server device, a sending terminal device, a receiving terminal device, a message sending and receiving system, a message sending and receiving method, a message sending method, a message receiving method, and a program.

An instant messenger is application software (hereinafter referred to as an application program, or simply an application) for sending and receiving short messages. Its advantage is that it allows for quick communication because the time between when the sender's terminal device sends a message and when the message arrives at the recipient's terminal device is short. Despite this advantage, typical instant messengers do not control transmission based on factors such as the urgency of the message. As a result, the terminal devices of users who exchange messages with many people receive messages more frequently. As a result, the time required to check and respond to each received message increases, potentially leading to what's known as "chat fatigue."

In response to this, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology that prevents a notification sound resulting from the reception of a message, such as an email, from sounding at a time that is inconvenient for the recipient when the recipient's terminal device receives the message.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-024589

However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 involves, for example, a message sender predicting a time when the recipient will be unable to check the message, setting the time to send the message, and then the sender's terminal device sending the message at the set time. More specifically, if the sender creates the message late at night, the sender predicts that the recipient will likely be asleep during that time, and that the recipient will be able to check the message at 8:00 AM the following morning. Based on this prediction, the sender sets 8:00 AM the following morning as the time to send the message on the sender's terminal device, and the sender's terminal device sends the message to the recipient's terminal device at 8:00 AM the following morning. Therefore, when using the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, unless the sender accurately knows the time when the recipient will be able to check the message, there is a problem in that it is not possible to send a message that avoids a time when the recipient will be unable to check the message.

The object of this invention is to provide a server device, a sending terminal device, a receiving terminal device, a message sending and receiving system, a message sending and receiving method, a message sending method, a message receiving method, and a program that solve the above problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a server device comprises: confirmation request level receiving means for receiving confirmation request level data transmitted by a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating the confirmation request level of message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device; confirmation available time obtaining means for obtaining confirmation available time data from a receiving terminal device indicating the time during which the recipient is able to check the message data; scheduled transmission time selecting means for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data; message receiving means for receiving message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device and corresponding to the confirmation request level data; and message transmitting means for transmitting the message data received by the message receiving means to the receiving terminal device if the time obtained from the clocking means is after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selecting means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a message sending and receiving system comprises a sending terminal device, a receiving terminal device, and a server device, wherein the sending terminal device comprises a confirmation request level designation means for transmitting confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level for message data to be sent, designated by the sender, and a message sending means for transmitting the message data, the receiving terminal device comprises a confirmation available time designation means for designating confirmation available time data indicating a time during which the recipient is able to check the message data, and a message receiving means for receiving the message data, and the server device comprises a confirmation request level receiving means for receiving the confirmation request level data transmitted by the sending terminal device, The system comprises a confirmation available time acquisition means for acquiring the confirmation available time data from the receiving terminal device, a scheduled transmission time selection means for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data, a message receiving means for receiving message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device and corresponding to the confirmation request level data, and a message sending means for sending the message data received by the message receiving means to the receiving terminal device if the time acquired from the clocking means is after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selection means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a message transmission and reception method includes: a confirmation request level receiving step for receiving confirmation request level data transmitted by a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating the confirmation request level of message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device; a confirmation available time acquiring step for acquiring confirmation available time data from a receiving terminal device indicating the time during which the recipient is able to confirm the message data; a scheduled transmission time selecting step for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data; a message receiving step for receiving message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device and corresponding to the confirmation request level data; and a message transmitting step for transmitting the message data received in the message receiving step to the receiving terminal device if the time acquired from the clocking means is after the scheduled transmission time selected in the scheduled transmission time selecting step.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the program causes a computer to function as: confirmation request level receiving means for receiving confirmation request level data transmitted by a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating the confirmation request level of message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device; confirmation available time obtaining means for obtaining confirmation available time data from a receiving terminal device indicating the time during which the recipient is able to check the message data; scheduled transmission time selecting means for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data; message receiving means for receiving message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device and corresponding to the confirmation request level data; and message transmitting means for transmitting the message data received by the message receiving means to the receiving terminal device if the time obtained from the clocking means is after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selecting means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the program causes a computer to function as: confirmation request level designation means for designating a confirmation request level for message data to be sent in response to a selection operation by a sender and transmitting confirmation request level data indicating the designated confirmation request level to a server device; scheduled transmission time receiving means for receiving, from a receiving terminal device, confirmation available time data indicating a time during which the recipient can check the message data, the confirmation request level data and data indicating a scheduled transmission time selected based on the confirmation available time data from the server device and presenting the data to the sender; and message sending means for sending a message corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the server device in response to an operation by the sender.

This invention makes it possible for a sender to send a message avoiding times that are inconvenient for the recipient, even if the sender does not know the exact time the recipient will be able to check the message.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a message sending and receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a transmitting terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a transmitting terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a receiving-side terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a receiving-end terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a transmitting-side terminal device and a receiving-side terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the data format of a table stored in a transmission-side data storage unit included in a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and changes in the data stored in the table. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of a table stored in a confirmation-allowed time storage unit included in the server device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram (part 1) showing the flow of processing performed by a message sending and receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 2) showing the flow of processing performed by a message sending and receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a scheduled transmission time selection process performed in the process performed by the message sending and receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 10A to 10C are diagrams showing changes in the content of a message creation area displayed on the display unit of a transmitting terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A message sending and receiving system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the message sending and receiving system 100. The message sending and receiving system 100 includes a server device 1, a sending terminal device 2, a receiving terminal device 3, and a communication network 4. The communication network 4 interconnects the server device 1, the sending terminal device 2, and the receiving terminal device 3. The server device 1, the sending terminal device 2, and the receiving terminal device 3 may be connected to the communication network 4 via a wired line or via a wireless line. The communication network 4 is, for example, a communication network in which the Internet and multiple access networks connected to the server device 1, the sending terminal device 2, and the receiving terminal device 3 are interconnected. For example, if the server device 1 connects to the communication network 4 via a wireless line, the access network to which the server device 1 connects is a wireless communication network. For example, if the server device 1 connects to the communication network 4 via a wired line, the access network to which the server device 1 connects is a wired communication network.

Note that Figure 1 shows a terminal device that sends message data, called the sending terminal device 2, and a terminal device that receives message data, called the receiving terminal device 3. The reason for clearly separating the sending and receiving sides in this way is to clearly show the difference between the configuration of the terminal device that sends message data and the configuration of the terminal device that receives message data. In actual operation, the sending terminal device 2 may have the same configuration as the receiving terminal device 3 and become a terminal device that sends and receives message data, or the receiving terminal device 3 may have the same configuration as the sending terminal device 2 and become a terminal device that sends and receives message data. Furthermore, three or more terminal devices that send and receive message data in this way may exist in the message sending and receiving system 100. In Figure 1, the name of the user using the sending terminal device 2 is "User A," and the name of the user using the receiving terminal device 3 is "User B."

(Configuration of transmitting terminal device)
2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the transmitting terminal device 2. The transmitting terminal device 2 may be, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone, or a terminal device such as a personal computer. The transmitting terminal device 2 includes a transmission message processing unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a reception processing unit 24, and a transmission processing unit 25. The display unit 22 has a screen such as a liquid crystal display and displays data on the screen. The operation unit 23 is, for example, a touch panel, keyboard, or mouse, and receives operations from a user A and outputs data corresponding to the received operations. The reception processing unit 24 is connected to the communication network 4 and outputs various signals received from the server device 1 via the communication network 4 to the transmission message processing unit 21.

The transmission processing unit 25 is connected to the communication network 4 and transmits various signals output by the transmission message processing unit 21 to the server device 1 via the communication network 4. If the communication network 4 is, for example, a communication network that sends and receives data based on IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, the transmission processing unit 25 pre-stores in its internal storage an IP address corresponding to the destination information included in the data transmitted by the transmission message processing unit 21. The transmission processing unit 25 stores the IP address assigned to the transmitting terminal device 2 as its own IP address in its internal storage. When the transmission processing unit 25 imports data output by the transmission message processing unit 21, it detects from its internal storage an IP address corresponding to the destination information included in the imported data. The transmission processing unit 25 uses the detected IP address as the destination address, generates an IP packet with its own IP address stored in its internal storage as the source address, and sends the generated IP packet together with the imported data to the communication network 4.

The outgoing message processing unit 21 is a functional unit that corresponds to, for example, the sending function of an instant messenger application. The outgoing message processing unit 21 includes a message screen display processing unit 201, a confirmation request level designation unit 202, a scheduled sending time receiving unit 203, a message sending unit 204, and a memory unit 205. The memory unit 205 stores user identification information that is assigned in advance to user A, the user of the sending terminal device 2, as the user's own user identification information. The memory unit 205 also stores user identification information corresponding to users with whom messages will be exchanged. Here, the user identification information of user A, the user of the sending terminal device 2, is assumed to be user A's name, "User A," and the user identification information of user B, the user of the receiving terminal device 3, is assumed to be user B's name, "User B."

When the message screen display processing unit 201 receives a startup instruction signal from the operation unit 23 operated by user A, it displays the initial screen 50A shown in FIG. 3(a) on the display unit 22. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the initial screen 50A includes multiple user selection buttons 51A-1, 51A-2, 51A-3, ..., each displaying multiple pieces of user identification information corresponding to users with whom messages will be exchanged and stored in the memory unit 205. For example, when user A presses the user selection button 51A-1 for "user B" via the operation unit 23, the operation unit 23 outputs an instruction signal indicating that the user selection button 51A-1 has been pressed to the message screen display processing unit 201. When the message screen display processing unit 201 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 23 indicating that the user selection button 51A-1 has been pressed, it displays the message exchange screen 60 shown in FIG. 3(b) on the display unit 22.

As shown in FIG. 3(b), the message exchange screen 60 includes a message exchange partner display area 61, a message exchange history display area 62, and a message creation area 63. The message exchange partner display area 61 displays the user identification information of the person with whom messages are exchanged. The message exchange screen 60 shown in FIG. 3(b) is the screen displayed when the user selection button 51A-1 is pressed. Therefore, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays "User B" in the message exchange partner display area 61 of FIG. 3(b).

The message exchange history display area 62 displays message data sent by the sending terminal device 2 to the receiving terminal device 3 via the server device 1; in other words, message data sent by user A to user B. For example, the message data enclosed in a solid-line speech bubble indicated by reference numeral 62-2 is message data sent by user A to user B. The message data is stored in the memory unit 205, and when the message screen display processing unit 201 displays the message exchange screen 60 on the display unit 22, it reads out the message data stored in the memory unit 205 and displays it in the message exchange history display area 62.

As described above, in actual operation, the sending terminal device 2 will have the same functions as the receiving terminal device 3, and the sending terminal device 2 will receive message data sent by the receiving terminal device 3 via the server device 1. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the message exchange history display area 62 will display message data sent by user B to user A as message data surrounded by dashed bubble frames indicated by reference numerals 62-1 and 62-3.

The message creation area 63 includes a message input area 64, a confirmation request level selection button 65, a scheduled sending time display area 66, and a send button 67. When user A writes characters, symbols, etc. in the message input area 64 via the operation unit 23, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays the written characters, symbols, etc. in the message input area 64. When characters, symbols, etc. are written in the message input area 64, the message screen display processing unit 201 treats the written characters, symbols, etc. data as new message data from user A to user B. When characters, symbols, etc. are written in the message input area 64, the message screen display processing unit 201 generates new message identification information.

The message screen display processing unit 201 associates the generated message identification information with the new message data. For each piece of message data that has the same combination of sender's user identification information and receiver's user identification information, the message screen display processing unit 201 generates and associates a different message identification information that can identify the order in which the data was generated. Here, message identification information that can identify the order in which the data was generated is information indicated by a consecutive number, such as "0001", "0002", "0003", etc. By associating such user identification information with message data, it becomes possible to identify a single piece of message data by identifying the sender's user identification information, the receiver's user identification information, and the message identification information.

When User A operates the confirmation request level selection button 65 via the operation unit 23 to select one of the confirmation request levels, the confirmation request level designation unit 202 detects the selected confirmation request level. Here, the confirmation request level is information such as "immediately," "morning," "today," "this week," or "no reply required," and indicates the degree of urgency when requesting the recipient to confirm the message data to be sent. When the scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203 receives data indicating the scheduled transmission time from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 24, it displays the received data indicating the scheduled transmission time in the scheduled transmission time display area 66.

When the message sending unit 204 receives an instruction signal indicating that the send button 67 has been pressed from the operation unit 23 operated by user A, it performs the following process. At the time of receiving the instruction signal, the message sending unit 204 sends the message data displayed in the message input area 64 (hereinafter referred to as input message data) to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 25. The message sending unit 204 displays the input message data in the message exchange history display area 62. The message sending unit 204 writes and stores the input message data in the memory unit 205, associating it with the user identification information of the recipient displayed in the message exchange partner display area 61 and the message identification information corresponding to the input message data.

(Configuration of receiving terminal device)
4 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the receiving terminal device 3. The receiving terminal device 3 may be, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone, or a terminal device such as a personal computer. Note that both the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3 may be mobile terminal devices such as smartphones, or terminal devices such as personal computers. Also, one of the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3 may be a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone, and the other may be a terminal device such as a personal computer.

The receiving terminal device 3 comprises a received message processing unit 31, a display unit 32, an operation unit 33, a reception processing unit 34, and a transmission processing unit 35. The display unit 32 has a screen such as an LCD display, and displays data on the screen. The operation unit 33 is, for example, a touch panel, keyboard, or mouse, and receives operations from the user, User B, and outputs data corresponding to the received operations.

The receiving processing unit 34 has the same configuration as the receiving processing unit 24 of the sending terminal device 2. The sending processing unit 35 has the same configuration as the sending processing unit 25 of the sending terminal device 2, but the IP address assigned to the receiving terminal device 3 is stored in the internal storage area of the sending processing unit 35 as its own IP address.

The received message processing unit 31 is a functional unit that corresponds to the receiving function of, for example, an instant messenger application. The received message processing unit 31 includes a message screen display processing unit 301, a confirmation time designation unit 302, a confirmation time memory unit 303, a confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304, a message receiving unit 305, and a memory unit 306. The memory unit 306 stores "User B," which is user identification information previously assigned to User B, the user of the receiving terminal device 3, as its own user identification information. The memory unit 306 stores user identification information corresponding to users with whom messages will be exchanged.

When the message screen display processing unit 301 receives a startup instruction signal from the operation unit 33, which has been operated by user B, it displays the initial screen 50B shown in FIG. 5(a) on the display unit 32. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the initial screen 50B includes a plurality of user selection buttons 51B-1, 51B-2, 51B-3, ..., which display a plurality of user identification information corresponding to users with whom messages will be exchanged that are stored in the memory unit 306, and a confirmation time setting button 52B. For example, when user B presses the user selection button 51B-1 for "User A" via the operation unit 33, the operation unit 33 outputs an instruction signal indicating that user selection button 51B-1 has been pressed to the message screen display processing unit 301. When the message screen display processing unit 301 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 33 indicating that the user selection button 51B-1 has been pressed, it displays on the display unit 32 a screen that includes at least an area similar to the message exchange partner display area 61 and the message exchange history display area 62 of the message exchange screen 60 shown in FIG. 3(b). The message screen display processing unit 301 displays the message data from user A in an area equivalent to the message exchange history display area 62 on the displayed screen. This allows user B to check the content of the message received from user A.

When the confirmation time designation unit 302 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 33, which has received operation from user B, indicating that the confirmation time setting button 52B on the initial screen 50B has been pressed, it displays the confirmation time setting screen 70 shown in FIG. 5(b) on the display unit 32. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the confirmation time setting screen 70 includes a confirmation time input area 71 and a setting button 72. When user B uses the operation unit 33 to enter a start time and end time indicating the time during which the message can be confirmed, such as "10:00-11:00," the confirmation time designation unit 302 displays the entered time in the confirmation time input area 71. User B can use the operation unit 33 to enter multiple times as available confirmation times in the available confirmation time input area 71, such as "10:00-11:00," "13:00-13:30," and "16:00-17:00" shown in FIG. 5(b). Furthermore, the start time and end time are not limited to times specified by hours and minutes, but may also be times that include the year, month, day, or date in addition to hours and minutes.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the term "time" refers to a time expressed in terms of year, month, day, hour, and minute, such as "December 31, 2022, 23:59," or a time expressed in terms of month, day, hour, and minute, such as "December 31, 23:59," or a time expressed in terms of day, hour, and minute, such as "31st, 23:59," or a time expressed in terms of hour and minute, such as "23:59." Note that if "year" is not specified, it is interpreted as a time without year restrictions, if "month" is not specified, it is interpreted as a time without month restrictions, and if "day" is not specified, it is interpreted as a time without day restrictions. Furthermore, the term "time" refers to the length of time between two times.

When the confirmation time designation unit 302 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 33, which has received user B's operation, indicating that the setting button 72 on the confirmation time setting screen 70 has been pressed, it imports the time written on the confirmation time setting screen 70 at the time the instruction signal is received as data indicating the confirmation time (hereinafter referred to as confirmation time data). The confirmation time memory unit 303 stores the confirmation time data imported by the confirmation time designation unit 302. When the confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304 receives a confirmation time acquisition request signal from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 34, it reads out the confirmation time data stored in the confirmation time memory unit 303. The confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304 transmits the read confirmation time data to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 35. When the message reception unit 305 receives message data from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 34, it writes the received message data to the memory unit 306.

(Hardware configuration of transmitting terminal device and receiving terminal device)
6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3. The transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3 are computers including, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) 411, a random access memory (RAM) 412, a read only memory (ROM) 413, an auxiliary storage device 414, a communication module 415, an output module 416, and an input module 417. The components of the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3, namely the CPU 411, the RAM 412, the ROM 413, the auxiliary storage device 414, the communication module 415, the output module 416, and the input module 417, are each indicated by the same reference numeral, but the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3 may include the same types of components or different types of components. The CPU 411, RAM 412, ROM 413, auxiliary storage device 414, communication module 415, output module 416, and input module 417 are interconnected by a bus. The auxiliary storage device 414 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SDD). The communication module 415 corresponds to the receiving processing unit 24, 34 and the transmitting processing unit 25, 35. The output module 416 corresponds to the display unit 22, 32, and the input module 417 corresponds to the operation unit 23, 33. If the transmitting terminal device 2 and the receiving terminal device 3 are, for example, personal computers, an output interface may be provided instead of the output module 416, and an external display device such as a liquid crystal display may be connected to the output interface. Alternatively, an input interface may be provided instead of the input module 417, and an input device such as a keyboard or mouse may be connected to the input interface.

In the case of the sending terminal device 2, the CPU 411 executes an application program pre-stored in the ROM 413 or auxiliary storage device 414 to configure the functional units of the message screen display processing unit 201, confirmation request level designation unit 202, scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203, and message sending unit 204 of the transmission message processing unit 21, and allocates a storage area in the RAM 412 or auxiliary storage device 414 corresponding to the storage unit 205.

In the case of the receiving terminal device 3, the CPU 411 executes an application program pre-stored in the ROM 413 or auxiliary storage device 414 to configure the functional units of the received message processing unit 31: the message screen display processing unit 301, the available confirmation time designation unit 302, the available confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304, and the message receiving unit 305, and in the RAM 412 or auxiliary storage device 414, memory areas corresponding to the available confirmation time memory unit 303 and the memory unit 306 are allocated.

(Configuration of the server device)
7 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the server device 1. The server device 1 includes a sending data storage unit 11, a confirmation request level receiving unit 12, a scheduled sending time selecting unit 13, a confirmation available time storage unit 14, a confirmation available time acquiring unit 15, a message receiving unit 16, a message sending unit 17, a timing unit 18, a message open notification forwarding processing unit 19, a receiving processing unit 41, and a sending processing unit 42.

The timing unit 18 is, for example, a clock adjusted to display the correct time. Upon receiving a time acquisition request signal, it outputs time data indicating the year, month, date, day of the week, hour, and minute at the time the time acquisition request signal was received to the functional unit that output the time acquisition request signal. The reception processing unit 41 has the same configuration as the reception processing unit 24 of the sending terminal device 2 and the reception processing unit 34 of the receiving terminal device 3. The transmission processing unit 42 has the same configuration as the transmission processing unit 25 of the sending terminal device 2 and the transmission processing unit 35 of the receiving terminal device 3, but the IP address assigned to the server device 1 is stored in the internal memory area of the transmission processing unit 42 as its own IP address.

The sending-side data storage unit 11 stores, for example, a table in the data format shown in FIG. 8(a). As shown in FIG. 8(a), the table stored in the sending-side data storage unit 11 has the following fields: "Sender Identification Information," "Recipient Identification Information," "Message Identification Information," "Confirmation Request Level," "Message," and "Scheduled Transmission Time." The "Sender Identification Information" field contains the user identification information of the sender of the message data. The "Recipient Identification Information" field contains the user identification information of the recipient of the message data. The "Message Identification Information" field contains the message identification information generated for the message data. The "Confirmation Request Level" field contains the confirmation request level data received by the confirmation request level receiving unit 12. The "Message" field contains the message data received by the message receiving unit 16. The "Scheduled Transmission Time" field contains data indicating the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13.

The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 receives a scheduled transmission time request signal from the transmitting terminal device 2 via the receiving processing unit 41. Upon receiving the scheduled transmission time request signal, the confirmation request level receiving unit 12 creates a new record in the table of the transmitting data storage unit 11. The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 writes the sender identification information, recipient identification information, message identification information, and confirmation request level data contained in the scheduled transmission time request signal into the created record. The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 outputs a selection disclosure instruction signal containing the sender identification information, recipient identification information, and message identification information contained in the scheduled transmission time request signal to the scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13.

The message receiving unit 16 receives a message transmission request signal from the transmitting terminal device 2 via the receiving processing unit 41. The message receiving unit 16 detects one record stored in the table of the transmitting data storage unit 11 based on the sender identification information, recipient identification information, and message identification information contained in the received message transmission request signal. The message receiving unit 16 writes the message data contained in the received message transmission request signal in the "Message" field of the detected record.

The confirmation time storage unit 14 stores, for example, a table in the data format shown in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 9, the table stored in the confirmation time storage unit 14 has the fields "User identification information" and "Confirmation time." User identification information is written in the "User identification information" field. Confirmation time data is written in the "Confirmation time" field.

The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 transmits a confirmation time acquisition request signal to the receiving terminal device 3 via the transmission processing unit 42, and receives a confirmation time acquisition response signal from the receiving terminal device 3 via the reception processing unit 41. The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 writes the user identification information and confirmation time data contained in the received confirmation time acquisition response signal to a table in the confirmation time storage unit 14.

When the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 receives a selective disclosure instruction signal from the confirmation request level receiving unit 12, it detects a record in the table of the sending data storage unit 11 that corresponds to the sender identification information, recipient identification information, and message identification information included in the received selective disclosure instruction signal. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 reads the confirmation request level data written in the "confirmation request level" field of the detected record. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 detects the confirmation available time data corresponding to the user identification information included as recipient identification information in the selective disclosure instruction signal from the table of the confirmation available time storage unit 14. Based on the read confirmation request level data and the detected confirmation available time data, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 selects a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device 3 that corresponds to the recipient identification information. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 writes data indicating the selected scheduled transmission time in the "scheduled transmission time" field of the record detected from the table of the sending data storage unit 11.

The message sending unit 17 acquires time data from the clock unit 18 at regular intervals. Each time the message sending unit 17 acquires time data from the clock unit 18, it references the scheduled transmission time written in the "Scheduled Transmission Time" field of each record in the table of the sending data storage unit 11. The message sending unit 17 detects from the table of the sending data storage unit 11 records in which the referenced scheduled transmission time is after the time indicated by the time data acquired from the clock unit 18. The message sending unit 17 generates a message transmission signal based on the detected record and outputs the generated message transmission signal to the transmission processing unit 42.

The message open notification forwarding processing unit 19 receives a message open notification signal via the receiving processing unit 41. The message open notification forwarding processing unit 19 forwards the received message open notification signal via the sending processing unit 42, with the user identification information indicated as the recipient identification information in the received message open notification signal as the destination.

(Hardware configuration of server device)
10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the server device 1. The server device 1 is a computer including, for example, a CPU 421, a RAM 422, a ROM 423, an auxiliary storage device 424, a communication module 425, and a clock module 426. The CPU 421, RAM 422, ROM 423, auxiliary storage device 424, communication module 425, and clock module 426 are interconnected by a bus. Here, the auxiliary storage device 424 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SDD). The communication module 425 corresponds to the reception processing unit 41 and the transmission processing unit 42. The clock module 426 corresponds to the timekeeping unit 18. When an application program pre-stored in ROM 423 or auxiliary storage device 424 is executed by CPU 421, functional units including confirmation request level receiving unit 12, scheduled sending time selection unit 13, confirmation available time acquisition unit 15, message receiving unit 16, message sending unit 17, and message open notification transfer processing unit 19 are configured, and memory areas corresponding to the sending side data memory unit 11 and confirmation available time memory unit 14 are allocated in RAM 422 or auxiliary storage device 424.

(Processing performed by the message sending and receiving system)
11 to 13, the processing performed by the message transmitting/receiving system 100 will be described. User B, who is the user of the receiving terminal device 3, performs an operation to output a start-up instruction signal to the message screen display processing unit 301 via the operation unit 33 of the receiving terminal device 3. Upon receiving the start-up instruction signal from the operation unit 33, the message screen display processing unit 301 displays the initial screen 50B shown in FIG. 5A on the display unit 32. User B performs an operation to press the confirmation-allowed time setting button 52B on the initial screen 50B via the operation unit 33. Upon receiving an instruction signal from the operation unit 33 indicating that the confirmation-allowed time setting button 52B has been pressed, the confirmation-allowed time designation unit 302 displays the confirmation-allowed time setting screen 70 shown in FIG. 5B on the display unit 32. User B performs an operation to write the confirmation-allowed time in the confirmation-allowed time input area 71 via the operation unit 33. Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, it is assumed that user B has performed an operation to write "10:00-11:00", "13:00-13:30", and "16:00-17:00" in the available time input area 71.

User B presses the setting button 72 on the confirmation time setting screen 70 via the operation unit 33. When the confirmation time designation unit 302 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 33 indicating that the setting button 72 on the confirmation time setting screen 70 has been pressed, it imports the time written on the confirmation time setting screen 70 as confirmation time data at the time the instruction signal is received. After importing the confirmation time data, the confirmation time designation unit 302 erases the confirmation time setting screen 70 from the display unit 32. The confirmation time designation unit 302 writes and stores the imported confirmation time data in the confirmation time memory unit 303. If previous confirmation time data has been written in the confirmation time memory unit 303, the confirmation time designation unit 302 overwrites the previous confirmation time data with the imported confirmation time data (step S1).

The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 of the server device 1 generates a confirmation time acquisition request signal with the destination user identification information of "User B" and transmits the generated confirmation time acquisition request signal to the receiving terminal device 3 via the transmission processing unit 42 (step S2). When the confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304 of the receiving terminal device 3 receives the confirmation time acquisition request signal from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 34, it reads the confirmation time data from the confirmation time memory unit 303. The confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304 generates a confirmation time acquisition response signal with the destination server device 1, including the read confirmation time data and the user identification information of "User B" stored in the memory unit 306 as its own user identification information. The confirmation time acquisition request acceptance unit 304 transmits the generated confirmation time acquisition response signal to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 35 (step S3).

The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 of the server device 1 receives a confirmation time acquisition response signal from the receiving terminal device 3 via the reception processing unit 41. The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 determines whether a record corresponding to "User B," the user identification information included in the received confirmation time acquisition response signal, exists in the table of the confirmation time storage unit 14. If the confirmation time acquisition unit 15 determines that a record corresponding to "User B" does not exist, it creates a new record. The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 writes the user identification information and confirmation time data included in the received confirmation time acquisition response signal into the corresponding fields of the created record. On the other hand, if the confirmation time acquisition unit 15 determines that a record corresponding to "User B" exists, it rewrites the previous confirmation time data written in the "Confirmation Time" field of that record with the confirmation time data included in the received confirmation time acquisition response signal (step S4). The confirmation time acquisition unit 15 performs the process of step S2 at predetermined intervals. This periodically updates the confirmation time data in the table of the confirmation time storage unit 14.

User A, the user of the transmitting terminal device 2, performs an operation to output a startup instruction signal to the message screen display processing unit 201 via the operation unit 23 of the transmitting terminal device 2. Upon receiving the startup instruction signal from the operation unit 23, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays the initial screen 50A shown in FIG. 3(a) on the display unit 22. When User A performs an operation to press the user selection button 51A-1 for "User B" via the operation unit 23, the operation unit 23 outputs an instruction signal indicating that the user selection button 51A-1 has been pressed to the message screen display processing unit 201. Upon receiving an instruction signal indicating that the user selection button 51A-1 has been pressed from the operation unit 23, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays the message exchange screen 60 shown in FIG. 3(b) on the display unit 22 (step S10).

Figure 14 is a diagram showing the message creation area 63 of the message exchange screen 60. When user A writes characters, symbols, etc. in the message input area 64 via the operation unit 23, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays the written characters, symbols, etc. in the message input area 64, as shown in Figure 14(a). Figure 14(a) shows an example in which the character string "Today's meeting will start at 14:00. Please let us know whether you will attend." When characters, symbols, etc. are written in the message input area 64, the message screen display processing unit 201 generates new message identification information and associates it with the message data written in the message input area 64. Here, it is assumed that the message screen display processing unit 201 generates "0010" as the message identification information (step S11).

When user A presses the confirmation request level selection button 65 in the message creation area 63 via the operation unit 23, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays a pull-down menu 65a displaying each of multiple confirmation request levels, instead of the confirmation request level selection button 65, as shown in FIG. 14(b). User A performs an operation via the operation unit 23 to select one of the confirmation request levels shown in the pull-down menu 65a. Here, it is assumed that user A selects "morning" as the confirmation request level. When the message screen display processing unit 201 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 23 indicating that "morning" has been selected as the confirmation request level, it erases the pull-down menu 65a. As shown in FIG. 14(c), the message screen display processing unit 201 displays a character string indicating the selected confirmation request level, i.e., "morning," at the position of the confirmation request level selection button 65.

When one of the confirmation request levels shown in the pull-down menu 65a is selected, the confirmation request level designation unit 202 detects and acquires the selected confirmation request level, i.e., the confirmation request level displayed at the position of the confirmation request level selection button 65. In the example shown in Figure 14(c), the confirmation request level designation unit 202 detects and acquires the confirmation request level data for "morning."

The confirmation request level designation unit 202 acquires the user identification information of "User B" displayed in the message exchange partner display area 61 of the message exchange screen 60 as the recipient identification information. The confirmation request level designation unit 202 acquires "User A" stored in the memory unit 205 as its own user identification information as the sender identification information. The confirmation request level designation unit 202 acquires the message identification information of "0010" associated with the message data displayed in the message input area 64 from the message screen display processing unit 201. The confirmation request level designation unit 202 generates a scheduled transmission time request signal that includes the acquired confirmation request level data of "morning," the sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010," and that has the destination set to server device 1. The confirmation request level designation unit 202 transmits the generated scheduled transmission time request signal to server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 25 (step S12).

The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 of the server device 1 receives a scheduled transmission time request signal from the sending terminal device 2 via the receiving processing unit 41. Upon receiving the scheduled transmission time request signal, the confirmation request level receiving unit 12 generates a new record in the table of the sending data storage unit 11. The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 writes the sender identification information of "User A," the receiver identification information of "User B," the message identification information of "0010," and the confirmation request level data of "morning," contained in the scheduled transmission time request signal, into the corresponding fields of the generated record, as shown in FIG. 8(a) (step S13).

The confirmation request level receiving unit 12 outputs a selective disclosure instruction signal including the sender identification information, recipient identification information, and message identification information included in the scheduled transmission time request signal to the scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13. The scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13 captures the selective disclosure instruction signal output by the confirmation request level receiving unit 12. The scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13 outputs a confirmation available time acquisition instruction signal including the recipient identification information of "User B" included in the captured selective disclosure instruction signal to the confirmation available time acquiring unit 15. Upon receiving the confirmation available time acquisition instruction signal from the scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13, the confirmation available time acquiring unit 15 reads the recipient identification information of "User B" included in the received confirmation available time acquisition instruction signal. The confirmation available time acquiring unit 15 generates a confirmation available time acquisition request signal with the read user identification information of "User B" as the destination, and transmits the generated confirmation available time acquisition request signal via the transmission processing unit 42 to the receiving terminal device 3 (step S14).

Then, the receiving terminal device 3 executes the same process as step S3 as step S15. After step S15, the confirmation time acquisition unit 15 of the server device 1 executes the same process as step S4. After writing to the table in the confirmation time storage unit 14 is complete, the confirmation time acquisition completion signal is output to the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 (step S16). Note that if the receiving terminal device 3 is offline, for example, step S15 is not executed, and the confirmation time acquisition unit 15 of the server device 1 will not receive the confirmation time acquisition response signal from the receiving terminal device 3. Therefore, if the confirmation time acquisition unit 15 does not receive the confirmation time acquisition response signal even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since transmitting the confirmation time acquisition request signal, it outputs the confirmation time acquisition completion signal to the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13. In this case, the confirmation time data for "User B" stored in the table in the confirmation time storage unit 14 will not be updated.

When the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 receives a confirmation time acquisition completion signal from the confirmation time acquisition unit 15, it starts the scheduled transmission time selection process subroutine shown in FIG. 13 (step S17). The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 detects a record from the table in the sender data storage unit 11 that corresponds to the combination of the sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010," which are included in the selection disclosure instruction signal acquired in step S14. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 reads the confirmation request level data written in the "Confirmation Request Level" field of the detected record (step Sa1). The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 detects a record from the table in the confirmation time storage unit 14 that corresponds to the recipient identification information of "User B," which is included in the selection disclosure instruction signal acquired. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 reads the confirmation time data written in the "Confirmation Time" field of the detected record (step Sa2).

The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines whether the confirmation request level indicated by the confirmation request level data read in step Sa1 is "immediately," "morning," "today," "this week," or "no reply required" (step Sa3). The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "immediately" (step Sa3, "immediately"). "Immediately" means immediate confirmation, or in other words, a request to confirm the message as soon as possible. Therefore, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 outputs a time acquisition request signal to the timing unit 18 to acquire time data from the timing unit 18. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 sets the time indicated by the time data acquired from the timing unit 18, i.e., the time specified by the year, month, day, hour, and minute, as the scheduled transmission time (step Sa4), and ends the subroutine.

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "morning" (step Sa3, morning), it determines whether the confirmation available time data read in step Sa2 includes any morning hours, i.e., 0:00 to 12:00 (step Sa5).

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the available confirmation times include a time in the morning (step Sa5, Yes), it sets the earliest time among the available confirmation times as the scheduled transmission time (step Sa6) and ends the subroutine. On the other hand, if the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the available confirmation times do not include a time in the morning (step Sa5, No), it proceeds to step Sa4.

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "today" (step Sa3, today), it determines whether the confirmation available time data read in step Sa2 includes any time within today, i.e., between 0:00 and 24:00 (step Sa7).

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that a time within today is included in the available confirmation times (step Sa7, Yes), it sets the earliest time within the available confirmation times as the scheduled transmission time (step Sa8) and ends the subroutine. On the other hand, if the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that a time within today is not included in the available confirmation times (step Sa7, No), it proceeds to step Sa4.

Note that in the determination processes of steps Sa5 and Sa7, if the confirmation available time indicated by the confirmation available time data is specified as a year, month, and day, month, and day, or day, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 outputs a time acquisition request signal to the clock unit 18 and acquires time data from the clock unit 18. In the determination process of step Sa5, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines whether the confirmation available time includes a time period from 0:00 to 12:00 on the same day as the year, month, and day indicated by the acquired time data. In the determination process of step Sa7, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines whether the confirmation available time includes a time period from 0:00 to 24:00 on the same day as the year, month, and day indicated by the acquired time data. Note that in the determination processes of steps Sa5 and Sa7, if the confirmation available time does not include a year but does include a month and day, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 will consider the confirmation available time to be the same day if the month and day indicated in the acquired time data match. In the determination process of steps Sa5 and Sa7, if the available confirmation time does not indicate a year and month, but only a day, and the date indicated in the acquired time data matches, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 will consider it to be the same day.

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "This week" (step Sa3, This week), it outputs a time acquisition request signal to the clock unit 18 and acquires time data from the clock unit 18. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 reads the information about the day of the week indicated in the acquired time data and identifies the remaining dates of the week, including the current day. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines whether the available confirmation times indicated by the available confirmation time data read in step Sa2 include a time within the week, i.e., a time between 0:00 and 24:00 on each day of the same week (step Sa9). Note that in the determination process of step Sa9, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 performs the following process depending on the year, month, and day specified in the available confirmation time. That is, if the available confirmation time does not specify a year but does specify a month and day, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the year of the available confirmation time is the same as the year indicated by the acquired time data. If the year and month are not specified for the confirmation time but a day is specified, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 makes a judgment assuming that the year and month of the confirmation time are the same as the year and month indicated by the acquired time data. If the year, month, and day are not specified for the confirmation time, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 makes a judgment assuming that the year, month, and day of the confirmation time are the same as the year, month, and day indicated by the acquired time data.

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that a time within this week is included in the available confirmation times (step Sa9, Yes), it sets the information indicating the earliest time within the available confirmation times as the scheduled transmission time (step Sa10) and ends the processing of the subroutine. On the other hand, if the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that a time within this week is not included in the available confirmation times (step Sa9, No), it proceeds to step Sa4.

If the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "reply not required" (step Sa3, reply not required), it determines whether a confirmation time exists (step Sa11). That is, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines whether confirmation time data was successfully read in the processing of step Sa2. Assume that the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that confirmation time data was successfully read in the processing of step Sa2 (step Sa11, Yes). In this case, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 sets the earliest time among the confirmation times indicated by the confirmation time data that was successfully read as the scheduled transmission time (step Sa12), and ends the processing of the subroutine. On the other hand, if the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that confirmation time data was not successfully read during the confirmation time in the processing of step Sa2 (step Sa9, No), it proceeds to step Sa4.

In this example, the confirmation request level indicated by the confirmation request level data read by the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 in step Sa1 is "morning," and the confirmation available times indicated by the confirmation available time data read by the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 in step Sa2 are "10:00-11:00," "13:00-13:30," and "16:00-17:00," with no date specified. Therefore, in step Sa3, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 determines that the confirmation request level is "morning," and in step Sa5, it determines that the confirmation available times include morning. In the subsequent step Sa6, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 sets the earliest possible time, "10:00," as the scheduled transmission time.

When the subroutine for the scheduled transmission time selection process in Figure 13 is completed, the process returns to the process in Figure 11. In the processes of steps Sa6, Sa8, Sa10, and Sa12 other than step Sa4, the data indicating the scheduled transmission time may not include information indicating the year, month, and day. In this case, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 outputs a time acquisition request signal to the timing unit 18 to acquire time data from the timing unit 18, and adds the missing part of the year, month, and day indicated in the acquired time data to the data indicating the scheduled transmission time. Note that in the processes of steps Sa5, Sa7, and Sa9, if the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 has acquired time data from the timing unit 18, it may reuse the already acquired time data rather than acquiring new time data.

For example, if the data indicating the scheduled transmission time is "10:00" and the acquired time data is "January 15, 2022, Saturday, 6:10," the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 adds the portion "January 15, 2022" to set the data indicating the scheduled transmission time to "January 15, 2022, 10:00." For example, if the data indicating the scheduled transmission time is "15th, 10:00," the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 adds the portion "January 2022" to set the data indicating the scheduled transmission time to "January 15, 2022, 10:00." For example, if the data indicating the scheduled transmission time is "January 15, 10:00," the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 adds the portion "2022" to set the data indicating the scheduled transmission time to "January 15, 2022, 10:00." Here, the following explanation will be given assuming that the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 adds "January 15, 2022" to "10:00" to obtain "January 15, 2022, 10:00" as data indicating the scheduled transmission time.

Based on the data indicating the scheduled transmission time, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 writes "2022, 1/15, 10:00" in the "Scheduled Transmission Time" field of the record found from the table of the sending data storage unit 11 in step Sa1, as shown in FIG. 8(b). Based on the written "2022, 1/15, 10:00," the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 generates the string "This message will be sent at 10:00 on 1/15." The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 generates a scheduled transmission time response signal containing the string "This message will be sent at 10:00 on 1/15," with the user identification information of "User A" written in the "Sender Identification Information" field of the record found from the table of the sending data storage unit 11 as the destination in step Sa1. The scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 transmits the generated scheduled transmission time response signal to the sending terminal device 2 via the transmission processing unit 42 (step S18).

The scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203 of the transmitting terminal device 2 receives the scheduled transmission time response signal from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 24. The scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203 reads the character string "This message will be sent at 10:00 on January 15th" contained in the received scheduled transmission time response signal. As shown in FIG. 14(c), the scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203 displays the read character string "This message will be sent at 10:00 on January 15th" in the scheduled transmission time display area 66 of the message creation area 63 of the message exchange screen 60 displayed on the display unit 22 (step S19).

After the process shown in FIG. 11, the process shown in FIG. 12 is performed. User A sees "This message will be sent at 10:00 on January 15th" displayed in the scheduled sending time display area 66, and then presses the send button 67 via the operation unit 23. Note that when User A sees "This message will be sent at 10:00 on January 15th" displayed in the scheduled sending time display area 66, if it is inconvenient for the message data to be sent to the receiving terminal device 3 at 10:00 on January 15th, for example, User A may again use the operation unit 23 to press the confirmation request level selection button 65 in the message creation area 63 to change the confirmation request level to be specified. In this case, the process from step S12 onwards is performed again.

When the message sending unit 204 of the sending terminal device 2 receives an instruction signal from the operation unit 23 indicating that the send button 67 has been pressed, it performs the following processing. That is, the message sending unit 204 acquires the user identification information of "User B" displayed in the message exchange partner display area 61 of the message exchange screen 60 as the recipient identification information. The message sending unit 204 acquires "User A" stored in the memory unit 205 as its own user identification information as the sender identification information. The message sending unit 204 acquires the message data displayed in the message input area 64. The message sending unit 204 acquires the message identification information of "0010" associated with the message data displayed in the message input area 64 from the message screen display processing unit 201. The message sending unit 204 acquires the confirmation request level data of "morning", which indicates the confirmation request level displayed in the position of the confirmation request level selection button 65. The message sending unit 204 generates a message sending request signal that includes the acquired sender identification information of "User A," recipient identification information of "User B," message identification information of "0010," message data, and confirmation request level data of "morning," and that is addressed to the server device 1. The message sending unit 204 sends the generated message sending request signal to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 25 (step S20).

The message receiving unit 16 of the server device 1 receives a message transmission request signal from the transmitting terminal device 2 via the receiving processing unit 41. The message receiving unit 16 detects a record from the table in the transmitting data storage unit 11 that corresponds to the combination of the sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010" contained in the received message transmission request signal. As shown in Figure 8 (c), the message receiving unit 16 writes the message data contained in the message transmission request signal in the "Message" field of the detected record. The message receiving unit 16 rewrites the confirmation request level data written in the "Confirmation Request Level" field of the detected record with the confirmation request level data contained in the message transmission request signal.

The message receiving unit 16 generates a message transmission request acknowledgment signal that includes the recipient identification information of "User B" contained in the message transmission request signal and the message identification information of "0010," and that has the user identification information of "User B" as the destination. The message receiving unit 16 transmits the generated message transmission request acknowledgment signal to the transmitting terminal device 2 via the transmission processing unit 42 (step S21). When the message transmitting unit 204 of the transmitting terminal device 2 receives the message transmission request acknowledgment signal from the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 24, it displays information indicating that the message has been sent, superimposed on the message exchange screen 60 displayed on the display unit 22 (step S22).

The message sending unit 17 of the server device 1 performs the following process as scheduled transmission time monitoring processing. That is, the message sending unit 17 outputs a time acquisition request signal to the timing unit 18 at regular intervals to acquire time data. Each time the message sending unit 17 acquires time data from the timing unit 18, it determines whether there is a record in the table of the sending side data storage unit 11 in which the scheduled transmission time written in the "Scheduled Transmission Time" field of each record is after the time indicated in the time data acquired from the timing unit 18. If the message sending unit 17 determines that no such record exists, it repeatedly outputs a time acquisition request signal to the timing unit 18 at regular intervals (step S30).

If the message sending unit 17 determines that a matching record exists, it performs the following processing. For example, assume that at a certain timing, the time indicated by the time data acquired by the message sending unit 17 from the timing unit 18 is "January 15, 2022, 10:00." In this case, if the message sending unit 17 determines that a matching record exists, the message sending unit 17 will determine that a matching record exists if the record to be determined has the following indices: "User A" in the "Sender Identification Information" field; "User B" in the "Recipient Identification Information" field; "0010" in the "Message Identification Information" field; and "2022, 1/15, 10:00" as shown in FIG. 8(c). The message sending unit 17 reads the user identification information of "User A" written in the "Sender Identification Information" field of the record to be determined, the message identification information of "0010" written in the "Message Identification Information" field, and the message data included in the "Message" field. The message sending unit 17 sends the user identification information of "User B" written in the "Recipient Identification Information" field of the record being evaluated to the destination, and generates a message sending signal containing the read user identification information of "User A," the message identification information of "0010," and the message data. The message sending unit 17 sends the generated message sending signal to the receiving terminal device 3 via the transmission processing unit 42 (step S31).

The message receiving unit 305 of the receiving terminal device 3 receives the message transmission signal transmitted by the server device 1 via the reception processing unit 34. The message receiving unit 305 reads the user identification information of "User A," the message identification information of "0010," and the message data contained in the message transmission signal. The message receiving unit 305 associates the read user identification information of "User A," the message identification information of "0010," and the message data, further associates information indicating an unread status, writes the association to the memory unit 306, and displays information indicating that the message has arrived on the display unit 32. Based on the received message transmission signal and its own user identification information stored in the memory unit 306, the message receiving unit 305 generates a message reception notification signal containing the sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010," and with the server device 1 as the destination. The message receiving unit 305 transmits the generated message reception notification signal to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 35 (step S32).

The message sending unit 17 of the server device 1 receives a message reception notification signal sent by the receiving terminal device 3 via the receiving processing unit 41. The message sending unit 17 reads the sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010" contained in the received message reception notification signal. The message sending unit 17 detects a record from the table of the sending data storage unit 11 based on the read sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010," and rewrites the "Scheduled Sending Time" field of the detected record (2022, 1/15, 10:00) to information indicating that the message has been sent (step S33). The table of the sending data storage unit 11 may further include a "Sent Time" field, and the actual time at which the message data of the record that has been sent may be written in the "Sent Time" field. In this way, the order in which message data was sent can be determined by referencing the table in the sending data storage unit 11.

By rewriting the contents of the "Scheduled Sending Time" field with information indicating that the record has been sent, processing for that record is completed, and the message sending unit 17 will not detect that record in the scheduled sending time monitoring process that is subsequently performed in step S30. Note that if the receiving terminal device 3 is offline, for example, step S32 will not be performed, and the message sending unit 17 will not receive a message reception notification signal. In this case, the message sending unit 17 will again detect that record in the scheduled sending time monitoring process that is subsequently performed in step S30, and the processing from step S31 onwards will be performed.

User B, seeing the information displayed on display unit 32 indicating that a message has arrived, presses user selection button 51B-1 for "User A" via operation unit 33 on initial screen 50B shown in FIG. 5(a) displayed on display unit 32. When message screen display processing unit 301 receives an instruction signal from operation unit 33 indicating that user selection button 51B-1 has been pressed, it reads message data and message identification information associated with user identification information for "User A" from storage unit 306. Message screen display processing unit 301 displays the message data on display unit 32 in order according to the message identification information. This allows user B to check the content of the message received from user A.

When the message screen display processing unit 301 displays the message data associated with the information indicating the unread status, the user identification information of "User A," and the message identification information of "0010" on the display unit 32, it performs the following processing. The message screen display processing unit 301 deletes the information indicating the unread status associated with the message data in the memory unit 306. The message screen display processing unit 301 acquires the user identification information of "User A" associated with the message data in the memory unit 306 as sender identification information. The message screen display processing unit 301 acquires the message identification information of "0010" associated with the message data in the memory unit 306. The message screen display processing unit 301 acquires the user identification information of "User B," which is stored in the memory unit 306 as its own user identification information, as recipient identification information. The message screen display processing unit 301 generates a message open notification signal that includes the acquired sender identification information of "User A," the recipient identification information of "User B," and the message identification information of "0010," and has server device 1 as its destination. The message screen display processing unit 301 transmits the generated message opening notification signal to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 35 (step S34).

The message open notification forwarding processing unit 19 of the server device 1 receives the message open notification signal sent by the receiving terminal device 3 via the receiving processing unit 41. The message open notification forwarding processing unit 19 sets the user identification information of "User A" included as sender identification information in the received message open notification signal as the destination, and sends the received message open notification signal to the sending terminal device 2 via the sending processing unit 42 (step S35).

The message screen display processing unit 201 of the sending terminal device 2 receives the message open notification signal from the server device 1 via the receiving processing unit 24. Based on the recipient identification information of "User B" and the message identification information of "0010" contained in the received message open notification signal, the message screen display processing unit 201 displays information on the display unit 22 indicating that User B has confirmed the message data whose message identification information is "0010" (step S36). This allows User A to know that User B has confirmed the message data that User A sent.

When the sending terminal device 2 sends message data to the receiving terminal device 3 via the server device 1, the following becomes possible. Specifically, user A, the sender of the message data, can set a confirmation request level to the server device 1, indicating the urgency of the message data, such as a deadline for confirmation. user B, the recipient of the message data, can set a confirmation time for confirmation to the server device 1 in advance. The server device 1 can select the optimal scheduled transmission time for the message data, taking into account the confirmation request level and confirmation time. In other words, the server device 1 can vary the time for sending message data to the receiving terminal device 3, taking into account the sender's convenience, such as the deadline for confirmation of the message data, and the recipient's convenience, such as the time when the message data can be confirmed. This allows, for example, recipient user B to receive non-urgent message data all at once during the confirmation time he or she has set. This reduces the decline in work efficiency and forgetting to reply that can occur due to frequent message data arrival, and prevents recipient user B from becoming so-called "chat fatigue." In contrast, the sender, User A, can send message data at a time that is convenient for them. This makes it possible to send messages that avoid times that are inconvenient for the recipient, even if the sender does not know exactly when the recipient will be able to check the message.

In addition, because the server device 1 notifies the sending terminal device 2 of the selected scheduled transmission time, the sender, user A, can know when the message data will be received by the receiving terminal device 3 before sending the message data. This allows the sender, user A, to know when the recipient, user B, plans to check the message data, and the sender, user A, can change the confirmation request level using the notified scheduled transmission time as a guide.

In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, message sending and receiving application software installed on the sender's terminal device determines whether the set sending time has passed. Therefore, if the sender's terminal device is not running and connected to the communication network at the sending time, the message cannot be sent at the sending time. In contrast, in the above embodiment, the server device 1 temporarily stores the message data sent by the sending terminal device 2. Even if the sending terminal device 2 is not running, the server device 1 transmits the stored message data to the receiving terminal device 3 at a time after the scheduled sending time. Therefore, the message sending and receiving system 100 including the server device 1 solves the problem inherent in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, in that a message cannot be sent at the sending time unless the sender's terminal device is running and connected to the communication network at the sending time.

(Other configuration examples)
In the above embodiment, examples of confirmation request levels designated by the sender, user A, on the sending terminal device 2 include "immediately,""in the morning,""today,""thisweek," and "no reply required." Among these, "in the morning,""today," and "this week" are confirmation request levels indicating a period during which the recipient is requested to check the message data, and various periods may be applied. For example, confirmation request levels such as "this month" may be included, or confirmation request levels such as "by a specified time" or "by a specified date" may be included.

In the above embodiment, the available confirmation time set by the recipient, user B, on the receiving terminal device 3 is a time expressed by a start time and an end time, such as "10:00-11:00." Furthermore, the start time and end time are not limited to times specified by hours and minutes, but may be times that add the year, month, and day, month, and day, or date, to the hours and minutes. Furthermore, the day of the week may be added, and seconds may be included. If seconds are included, the timing unit 18 must output time data indicating the year, month, and day, hour, minute, and second at the time the time acquisition request signal is received, so that the message sending unit 17 can compare the time with the scheduled sending time, including seconds.

Furthermore, in the confirmation time, the year may be expressed in the Gregorian calendar, such as "2022," or in the Japanese calendar, such as "Reiwa 4," and the hour may be expressed in the 24-hour format, such as "11:00 PM," or in the 12-hour format, such as "11:00 PM." In this case, when performing the determination processes of steps Sa5, Sa7, and Sa9 of the scheduled transmission time selection process shown in FIG. 13, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 must convert the Japanese calendar format into the Gregorian calendar format if the confirmation time data contains the Japanese calendar format, and convert the 12-hour format into the 24-hour format if it contains the 12-hour format.

In the above embodiment, the available confirmation time is set by the recipient, user B, operating the operation unit 33. Alternatively, the available confirmation time designation unit 302 of the receiving terminal device 3 may access a schedule management application that stores recipient user B's calendar data and select the available confirmation time from user B's free time. The schedule management application may be installed on the receiving terminal device 3, or it may be installed on an external device that the receiving terminal device 3 can access.

The confirmation time designation unit 302 of the receiving terminal device 3 may, for example, access a presence detection application installed on the receiving terminal device 3 to obtain the location of the recipient, user B, and select the confirmation time based on information indicating user B's location. The confirmation time designation unit 302 of the receiving terminal device 3 may also periodically access a schedule management application or presence detection application and overwrite the confirmation time selected in the confirmation time storage unit 303. This makes it possible to dynamically change the confirmation time in response to changes in user B's situation.

In the above embodiment, assume that the time when the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 of the server device 1 performs the determination process in step Sa5 of the scheduled transmission time selection process shown in Figure 13 is already in the afternoon. In this case, the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 may perform the determination process by interpreting the period indicated by "morning" in the confirmation request level data as the period of "morning" the following day. Furthermore, in this case, when the scheduled transmission time selection unit 13 adds date information to the scheduled transmission time written in the "scheduled transmission time" field of the corresponding record in the table of the sending side data storage unit 11 in the process of step S18, it needs to add the date of the following day, not the date of the day on which the process is being performed.

In the above embodiment, the message sending unit 204 of the sending terminal device 2 may generate a message sending request signal that does not include a confirmation request level in the processing of step S20, and transmit the generated message sending request signal to the server device 1 via the transmission processing unit 25. In this case, the message receiving unit 16 of the server device 1 will not perform processing to rewrite the confirmation request level data written in the "Confirmation Request Level" field of the detected record.

In the above embodiment, the server device 1 is implemented as a single device. However, the functional units of the server device 1 may be distributed across multiple server devices, and the server device 1 may be implemented as a server system including multiple such server devices, as shown below. For example, the server system may include a first server device including a sending data storage unit 11, a second server device including a confirmation available time storage unit 14, a third server device including a confirmation request level receiving unit 12, a scheduled sending time selecting unit 13, a confirmation available time acquiring unit 15, and a timing unit 18, and a fourth server device including a message receiving unit 16, a message sending unit 17, a timing unit 18, and a message open notification forwarding processing unit 19. Each of the first to fourth server devices may include a receiving processing unit 41 and a sending processing unit 42 and be connected to the communication network 4.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server device 500 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the server device 500. As shown in FIG. 15, the server device 500 includes a confirmation request level receiving means 501, a confirmation available time acquisition means 502 (confirmation available time receiving means), a scheduled transmission time selection means 503, a message receiving means 504, and a message transmitting means 505. As shown in FIG. 16, in the server device 500, the confirmation request level receiving means 501 receives confirmation request level data transmitted by a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating the confirmation request level of message data transmitted by the transmitting terminal device (step S511). The confirmation available time acquisition means 502 acquires confirmation available time data from a receiving terminal device, indicating the time during which the receiver can confirm the message data (step S512). The scheduled transmission time selection means 503 selects the scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data (step S513). The message receiving means 504 receives message data sent by the sending terminal device and corresponding to the confirmation request level data (step S514). If the time acquired from the clocking means is a time after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selection means 503, the message sending means 505 sends the message data received by the message receiving means 504 to the receiving terminal device (step S515).

The above-mentioned server device 1, sending terminal device 2, and receiving terminal device 3 each have an internal computer system, and a program for implementing the functions of the confirmation request level receiving unit 12, scheduled transmission time selecting unit 13, available confirmation time acquisition unit 15, message receiving unit 16, message sending unit 17, message open notification forwarding processing unit 19, and the message screen display processing unit 201, confirmation request level specifying unit 202, scheduled transmission time receiving unit 203, message sending unit 204 of the sent message processing unit 21, and the message screen display processing unit 301, available confirmation time specifying unit 302, available confirmation time acquisition request accepting unit 304, and message receiving unit 305 of the received message processing unit 31 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be read into and executed by the computer system to perform the processing described with reference to Figures 11 to 13.

The above program may be one that realizes some of the functions described above. Furthermore, it may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can realize the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded on the computer system.

The above describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment and includes designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as, but are not limited to, the following notes.

(Appendix 1)
a confirmation request level receiving means for receiving confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data transmitted by a transmitting terminal device from the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving means for receiving confirmation time data indicating a time during which the recipient can confirm the message data from the receiving terminal device;
a scheduled transmission time selection means for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data; a message receiving means for receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the sending terminal device;
a message transmitting means for transmitting the message data received by the message receiving means to the receiving-side terminal device when the time acquired from the clocking means is a time after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selecting means;
A server device comprising:

(Appendix 2)
2. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the scheduled transmission time selection means selects the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time when the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation.

(Appendix 3)
The server device described in Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the scheduled transmission time selection means, when the confirmation request level data indicates a period and the range of the period includes the time indicated by the confirmation available time data, selects the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation available time data as the scheduled transmission time.

(Appendix 4)
The server device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the scheduled transmission time selection means selects the time obtained from the timing means as the scheduled transmission time when the confirmation request level data indicates a period and the range of the period does not include the time indicated by the confirmation available time data.

(Appendix 5)
A server device described in any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein the scheduled transmission time selection means selects the earliest time indicated by the confirmation available time data as the scheduled transmission time when the confirmation request level data indicates that a reply is not required.

(Appendix 6)
6. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the scheduled transmission time selection means transmits the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device.

(Appendix 7)
a confirmation request level designation means for transmitting confirmation request level data to the server device, the confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level for message data to be transmitted, designated by the sender;
a message sending means for sending the message data to the server device;
A transmitting terminal device comprising:

(Appendix 8)
The sending terminal device described in Appendix 7 further comprises a scheduled sending time receiving means for receiving from the receiving terminal device confirmation available time data indicating the time during which the recipient can check the message data, the server device receiving from the server device data indicating the scheduled sending time of the message data selected based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data, and presenting the data to the sender.

(Appendix 9)
a confirmation time designation means for transmitting confirmation time data indicating a time during which the recipient can confirm the message data to the server device;
a message receiving means for receiving the message data;
A receiving terminal device comprising:

(Appendix 10)
A server device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6;
A transmitting terminal device according to Supplementary Note 7 or 8;
a receiving terminal device according to Supplementary Note 9;
A message sending and receiving system comprising:

(Appendix 11)
a confirmation request level receiving step of receiving confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted from the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving step of receiving confirmation time data indicating a time during which the recipient can confirm the message data from the receiving terminal device;
a scheduled transmission time selection step of selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data;
a message receiving step of receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the transmitting side terminal device;
a message transmitting step of transmitting the message data received in the message receiving step to the receiving-side terminal device when the time acquired from the clock means is a time after the scheduled transmission time selected in the scheduled transmission time selecting step;
A message transmission and reception method for a server device, comprising:

(Appendix 12)
the scheduled transmission time selection step selects the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time when the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation;
12. A message transmission and reception method for a server device according to claim 11.

(Appendix 13)
13. The message sending and receiving method of a server device according to claim 11, wherein the scheduled sending time selection step selects, when the confirmation request level data indicates a period and the range of the period includes the time indicated by the confirmation available time data, the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation available time data as the scheduled sending time.

(Appendix 14)
the scheduled transmission time selection step, when the confirmation request level data indicates a period and the range of the period does not include the time indicated by the confirmation available time data, selects the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
14. A message transmission and reception method for a server device according to any one of appendices 11 to 13.

(Appendix 15)
the scheduled transmission time selection step, when the confirmation request level data indicates that a reply is not required, selects the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation available time data as the scheduled transmission time;
A message transmission/reception method for a server device according to any one of appendices 11 to 14.

(Appendix 16)
the scheduled transmission time selection step transmits the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device;
16. A message transmission and reception method for a server device according to any one of appendices 11 to 15.

(Appendix 17)
a confirmation request level designation step of transmitting confirmation request level data to the server device, the confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted, designated by the sender;
a message sending step of sending the message data to the server device;
A message transmission method for a transmitting terminal device, comprising:

(Appendix 18)
The message sending method for a sending terminal device described in Appendix 17 further comprises a scheduled sending time receiving step in which the server device receives confirmation available time data from the receiving terminal device, the confirmation available time data indicating the time during which the recipient can check the message data, receives from the server device data indicating the scheduled sending time of the message data selected based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data, and presents the data to the sender.

(Appendix 19)
a confirmation time designation step of transmitting confirmation time data indicating a time during which the recipient can confirm the message data to the server device;
a message receiving step of receiving the message data;
A message receiving method for a receiving terminal device, comprising:

(Appendix 20)
A message transmission/reception method for a server device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 11 to 16;
A message transmission method for a transmitting terminal device according to Supplementary Note 17 or 18;
A message receiving method for a receiving terminal device according to claim 19;
A message sending and receiving method for a message sending and receiving system comprising:

(Appendix 21)
A program causing a computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

Can be applied to instant messengers.

100...Message sending and receiving system, 1...Server device, 11...Sending side data storage unit, 12...Confirmation request level receiving unit, 13...Scheduled transmission time selection unit, 14...Confirmation possible time storage unit, 15...Confirmation possible time acquisition unit, 16...Message receiving unit, 17...Message sending unit, 18...Timekeeping unit, 19...Message open notification transfer processing unit, 41...Receiving processing unit, 42...Transmitting processing unit, 2...Sending side terminal device, 21...Transmitted message processing unit, 22...Display unit, 23...Operation unit, 24...Receiving processing unit, 25...Transmitting Processing unit, 201... Message screen display processing unit, 202... Confirmation request level designation unit, 203... Scheduled transmission time receiving unit, 204... Message sending unit, 205... Storage unit, 3... Receiving terminal device, 31... Received message processing unit, 32... Display unit, 33... Operation unit, 34... Reception processing unit, 35... Transmission processing unit, 301... Message screen display processing unit, 302... Confirmation available time designation unit, 303... Confirmation available time storage unit, 304... Confirmation available time acquisition request receiving unit, 305... Message receiving unit, 306... Storage unit

Claims (9)

a confirmation request level receiving means for receiving confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted from the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving means for receiving confirmation time data indicating a time during which the recipient can confirm the message data from the receiving terminal device;
Based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data,
a scheduled transmission time selection means for selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device;
a message receiving means for receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the transmitting terminal device;
The time obtained from the timing means is
If the time is after the scheduled transmission time selected by the scheduled transmission time selection means,
a message sending means for sending the message data received by the message receiving means to the receiving-side terminal device;
Equipped with
The scheduled transmission time selection means
If the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
When the confirmation request level data indicates a period,
If the period range includes the time indicated by the confirmation time data,
selecting the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation time data as the scheduled transmission time;
Server device. The scheduled transmission time selection means
When the confirmation request level data indicates a period,
If the time indicated by the confirmation time data is not included in the range of the period,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
The server device according to claim 1 . The scheduled transmission time selection means
If the confirmation request level data indicates that a reply is not required,
selecting the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation time data as the scheduled transmission time;
The server device according to claim 1 . The scheduled transmission time selection means
transmitting the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device;
The server device according to claim 1 . The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
a transmitting terminal device;
a receiving terminal device;
A message sending and receiving system comprising: a confirmation request level receiving step of receiving confirmation request level data from a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted by the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving step of receiving confirmation time data from a receiving-side terminal device, the confirmation time data indicating a time when the recipient can confirm the message data;
Based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data,
selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device;
transmitting the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device;
a scheduled transmission time selection step;
a message receiving step of receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the transmitting side terminal device;
The time obtained from the timing means is
If the time is after the scheduled transmission time selected in the scheduled transmission time selection step,
a message sending step of sending the message data received in the message receiving step to the receiving-side terminal device;
Including,
The scheduled transmission time selection step includes:
If the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
When the confirmation request level data indicates a period,
If the period range includes the time indicated by the confirmation time data,
selecting the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation time data as the scheduled transmission time;
A method for transmitting and receiving messages from a server device. a confirmation request level receiving step of receiving confirmation request level data from a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted by the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving step of receiving confirmation time data from a receiving-side terminal device, the confirmation time data indicating a time when the recipient can confirm the message data;
Based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data,
selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device;
transmitting the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device;
a scheduled transmission time selection step;
a message receiving step of receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the transmitting side terminal device;
The time obtained from the timing means is
If the time is after the scheduled transmission time selected in the scheduled transmission time selection step,
a message sending step of sending the message data received in the message receiving step to the receiving-side terminal device;
Including,
The scheduled transmission time selection step includes:
If the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
When the confirmation request level data indicates a period,
If the time indicated by the confirmation time data is not included in the range of the period,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
A method for transmitting and receiving messages from a server device. a confirmation request level receiving step of receiving confirmation request level data from a transmitting terminal device, the confirmation request level data indicating a confirmation request level of message data to be transmitted by the transmitting terminal device;
a confirmation time receiving step of receiving confirmation time data from a receiving-side terminal device, the confirmation time data indicating a time when the recipient can confirm the message data;
Based on the confirmation request level data and the confirmation available time data,
selecting a scheduled transmission time for transmitting message data to the receiving terminal device;
transmitting the selected scheduled transmission time to the transmitting terminal device;
a scheduled transmission time selection step;
a message receiving step of receiving message data corresponding to the confirmation request level data from the transmitting side terminal device;
The time obtained from the timing means is
If the time is after the scheduled transmission time selected in the scheduled transmission time selection step,
a message sending step of sending the message data received in the message receiving step to the receiving-side terminal device;
Including,
The scheduled transmission time selection step includes:
If the confirmation request level data indicates immediate confirmation,
selecting the time acquired from the clock means as the scheduled transmission time;
If the confirmation request level data indicates that a reply is not required,
selecting the earliest time among the times indicated by the confirmation time data as the scheduled transmission time;
A method for transmitting and receiving messages from a server device. A program that causes a computer to execute the message sending and receiving method according to any one of claims 6 to 8 .