JP7795661B2 - Program, information processing method, terminal - Google Patents

Description

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

There are services (e.g., messaging services) that allow content to be exchanged between accounts. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology for distributing advertisements using official accounts.

JP 2016-53929 A

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a program executed by a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of the first terminal is executed by the terminal to display the chat room on a display unit of the terminal, display image information in the chat room with search conditions set thereon based on input to the chat room by the user of the terminal, control the transmission of search results searched based on the search conditions set in the image information to the first terminal by a communication unit of the terminal, and control the display of the search results in the chat room by a control unit of the terminal.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an information processing method for a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of a first terminal includes displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal, displaying image information in the chat room with search conditions set based on input to the chat room by the user of the terminal, controlling a communication unit of the terminal to send search results searched based on the search conditions set in the image information to the first terminal, and controlling a control unit of the terminal to display the search results in the chat room.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of a first terminal includes a display unit that displays the chat room and a control unit that controls the display of image information, for which search conditions are set, in the chat room based on input by the user of the terminal into the chat room, and the control unit controls the transmission of search results searched based on the search conditions set in the image information to the first terminal via a communication unit of the terminal, and controls the display of the search results in the chat room.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of a first terminal includes a processor that reads a program stored in a memory and executes processing based on the program, and the processor executes the following operations: displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal; displaying image information in the chat room with search conditions set thereon based on input by a user of the terminal into the chat room; controlling the transmission of search results searched based on the search conditions set in the image information to the first terminal via a communication unit of the terminal; and controlling the display of the search results in the chat room.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of a server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of account registration data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting stamp database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting stamp database according to a first modified example. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting stamp database according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second modified example. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a second modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting stamp management database according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a third embodiment. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of search condition setting stamp data according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a seventh embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of search condition setting stamp data according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display unit of a terminal according to a seventh embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the seventh embodiment.

<Compliance with legal matters>
It should be noted that the disclosures set forth herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications privacy, as required for the implementation of the disclosures.

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

Embodiments for implementing the programs and the like related to this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

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

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

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

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

Specifically, the server is configured to have at least one processor (for example, but not limited to, a CPU: Central Processing Unit, a GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, an APU: Accelerated Processing Unit, a DSP: Digital Signal Processor (for example, but not limited to, an ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, an FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.), a computer device (processor + memory), a control device, an arithmetic device, a processing device, etc., and may be configured to have multiple of the same type of device (for example, but not limited to, a CPU + CPU, a homogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or multiple of different types of device (for example, but not limited to, a CPU + DSP, a heterogeneous multi-core processor, etc.), or may be a combination of multiple devices (for example, but not limited to, a processor + computer device, a processor + arithmetic device, a heterogeneous combination of multiple devices, etc.).
The processor may be a virtual processor.

Furthermore, when a server performs some processing, if the server is configured with a single device, the processing described in the embodiments is performed by the single device. Furthermore, if the server is configured with multiple devices, some processing may be performed by one device, and other processing may be performed by another device. For example, and not by way of limitation, if the server is configured with a processor and an arithmetic device, the processor may perform a first processing, and the arithmetic device may perform a second processing.
Furthermore, when a plurality of devices are used, the devices may be located at positions physically separated from one another.

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

Furthermore, the system control unit can be at least either the terminal control unit or the server control unit. In other words, by way of example and not limitation, the system control unit can be either (1A) the terminal control unit alone, (1B) the server control unit alone, or (1C) both the terminal control unit and the server control unit.

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

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

(2) By way of example and not limitation, it can be a system consisting of multiple servers (hereinafter referred to as a "server system"). In this case, the configuration of each server can be similarly applied as described above.

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

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

Note that the above applies not only to the control unit, but also to each functional unit that may be a component of the system, such as the input/output unit, communication unit, memory unit, clock unit, etc.

In the following embodiment, a system including a terminal and a server (a client-server system) is illustrated as an example and not as a limitation.
It is also possible to apply the server system described in (2) above as the server.

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

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

Furthermore, throughout this specification, the expression "through a communication I/F" is used where appropriate. This is not intended to be limiting, but may also mean, by way of example, that a device sends and receives various types of information and data through a communication I/F (through a communication unit) based on the control of a control unit (e.g., a processor).

In addition, in this specification, the terms "related to" and "associated" are used, but are not limited to, for example, when used in expressions such as "B related to A" or "B related to A," they may mean "B" that has some kind of relationship with "A." Specific examples of this will be given later.

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

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

In the following embodiments, a messaging service will be exemplified as an example of a service that allows users to chat (hereinafter referred to as a "chat service"). An application that realizes the chat service will be referred to as a "chat application," and an application that realizes the messaging service will be referred to as a "messaging application."
For example and not limitation, a chat application may allow users to chat in chat rooms.

Messaging services (MS) (including instant messaging services (IMS)) can also be considered a form of social networking services (SNS). Therefore, a distinction may or may not be made between messaging services and social networking services. In other words, messaging services may be included in social networking services.

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

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

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

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

In this specification, content may refer to information transmitted from a source to a destination. Content may also refer to one or more pieces of content.

The content may include, by way of example and not limitation, text content in text format, image content in image format (including at least one of still images and moving images), and sound content in sound format (including voice).
In addition, the content may also include operational content such as buttons and icons for user operation, and link content such as link information (including, but not limited to, URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers)).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Note that there is no limit to the number of servers 10 or terminals 20 connected to the network 30.

Terminal 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, etc.) may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), computers (including, but not limited to, desktops, laptops, tablets, etc.), media computer platforms (including, but not limited to, cable and satellite set-top boxes, digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (including, but not limited to, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, etc.), wearable devices (glasses-type devices, watch-type devices, etc.), virtual reality (VR) terminals, smart speakers (voice recognition devices), or other types of computers or communication platforms. Terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

For example, the configurations of terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C may be the same, but are not limited to these. Furthermore, as needed, the terminal used by user X may be referred to as terminal 20X, and user information in a predetermined service associated with user X or terminal 20X may or may not be referred to as user information X.
The user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in a predetermined service. The user information includes, but is not limited to, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, an icon image of the user, the user's age, the user's gender, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, and a user identifier, which is input by the user or assigned by the predetermined service, and may be any one of these, or a combination thereof, or may not be the same.

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

One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be a wired network or a wireless network. Network 30 may include, by way of example and not limitation, an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth (registered trademark), satellite communications, etc., or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

The server 10 (which is an example, but not limited to, of a server, information processing device, or information management device) has the function of providing a predetermined service (messaging service in this embodiment) to the terminal 20. The server 10 may be any information processing device that can implement the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of the server 10 include, but are not limited to, a server device, a computer (such as, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, or tablet), a media computer platform (such as, but not limited to, a cable or satellite set-top box or digital video recorder), a handheld computer device (such as, but not limited to, a PDA or email client), or other types of computers or communication platforms. The server 10 may also be referred to as an information processing device. If there is no need to distinguish between the server 10 and the terminal 20, the server 10 and the terminal 20 may or may not each be referred to as an information processing device.

[Hardware (HW) configuration of each device]
The HW configuration of each device included in the communication system 1 will be described.

(1) HW Configuration of Terminal FIG. 1A shows an example of the HW configuration of the terminal 20.
The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a storage unit 28, a communication I/F 22 (interface), an input/output unit 23, a clock unit 29A, and a position calculation information detection unit 29B. The HW components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus B, for example and not as a limitation. It is not essential that the HW configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not as a limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components or multiple components are detachable.

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

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

The input unit is realized by any one or combination of devices of any type that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of input units include, but are not limited to, hardware keys such as a touch panel, touch display, and keyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse, a camera (for inputting operations via moving images), and a microphone (for inputting operations via voice).

The output unit may be any one of or a combination of any type of device capable of outputting the results of processing performed by the control unit 21. Examples of output units include, but are not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (audio output), lenses (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output and hologram output), printers, etc.

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

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

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

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

The clock unit 29A is a built-in clock of the terminal 20 and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 29A is configured, for example and without limitation, with a clock that uses a crystal oscillator. The clock unit 29A can also be referred to, for example and without limitation, as a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit.

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

The position calculation information detection unit 29B is a functional unit that detects (measures) information (hereinafter referred to as "position calculation information") necessary for the control unit 21 to calculate (measure) the position of its own terminal 20. The position calculation information detection unit 29B can also be expressed as a position calculation sensor unit, for example and without limitation.

The position calculation information detection unit 29B includes, but is not limited to, a satellite positioning sensor (satellite positioning unit), which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), an inertial measurement sensor (inertial measurement unit (IMU)), which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using an inertial navigation system, a UWB positioning sensor (UWB positioning unit), which is a sensor or unit for calculating the position of the terminal 20 using UWB (Ultra Wide Band), and so forth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The storage unit 28 has the function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), flash memory, random access memory (RAM), and read-only memory (ROM). Furthermore, the storage unit 28 may or may not be referred to as memory.

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

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

The control unit 11 has circuits physically structured to execute the functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized, for example but not limited to, by a data processing device built into hardware.

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

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

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

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

The input unit is realized by any one or combination of devices of any type that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input unit is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input unit may or may not include, for example and without limitation, a touch panel, a camera (for inputting operations via video images), or a microphone (for inputting operations via voice).

The output unit may be any one or a combination of any type of device capable of outputting the results of processing performed by the control unit 11. Examples of output units include, but are not limited to, touch panels, touch displays, speakers (sound output), lenses (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output and hologram output), printers, etc.

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

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

The clock unit 19 is a built-in clock of the server 10 and outputs time information (timekeeping information). The clock unit 19 is configured to include, for example and without limitation, an RTC (Real Time Clock) as a hardware clock, a system clock, etc. The clock unit 19 can also be referred to as, for example and without limitation, a timekeeping unit or a time information detection unit.

(3) Others The server 10 stores the program P in the storage unit 15, and by executing this program P, the control unit 11 executes the processes of each unit included in the control unit 11. In other words, the program P stored in the storage unit 15 causes the server 10 to realize each function executed by the control unit 11. This program P may or may not be expressed as a program module.
The same applies to other devices.

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

The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 and/or the control unit 11 of the server 10 may, or may not, implement each process not only by a CPU with a control circuit, but also by a logic circuit (hardware) formed on an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may, or may not, be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, and the multiple processes shown in each embodiment may, or may not, be implemented by a single integrated circuit. LSIs are also sometimes referred to as VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc., depending on the level of integration. Therefore, the control unit 21 may, or may not, be referred to as a control circuit.

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

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

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

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

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

In addition, each embodiment of the present disclosure may be realized in the form of a data signal in which the program P is embodied by electronic transmission.
At least a part of the processing in the server 10 and/or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing configured by one or more computers.
At least a part or all of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10.
At least a part or all of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part or all of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20.

Unless explicitly stated, the determination configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a predetermined process may or may not be performed when the determination condition is met, or when the determination condition is not met.

The programs disclosed herein may be implemented using, but are not limited to, scripting languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), compiler languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages such as HTML5.

First Example
In the first embodiment, by way of example and not limitation, the terminal 20 displays a talk room (an example of a chat room, not a limitation) in a messaging application. Then, stamp content (an example of image information, not a limitation) for which search conditions are set based on an input to the talk room by a user of the terminal 20 itself is displayed in the talk room. Search results searched based on the search conditions set in the stamp content are sent to the terminal 20 of a user who is a talk partner included in the talk room, and are displayed in the talk room displayed on the terminal 20 itself.

For example, but not limited to, users who are chatting in a chat room of a messaging application may want to hold various events, such as a dinner party or a drinking party, and may search for information about the event.
In this embodiment, search conditions are set in advance in the stamp content, and the transmission of the stamp content with the set search conditions is used as an opportunity to present the search results to the user.

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

Search results may be displayed based on at least one of the following, by way of example and not limitation:
(1) Data in a database on an external server (hereinafter referred to as "external data" for convenience)
(2) Data in the database of the server 10 (hereinafter referred to as “internal data” for convenience)

In the following, it is assumed that the internal data is stored in the database of server 10, but as a non-limiting example, the internal data may be stored in the database of a server other than server 10, managed by a messaging service provider.

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

FIG. 1C is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment.
The memory unit 15 stores, by way of example and not limitation, an application management processing program 151 executed as messaging application management processing, account registration data 153, a search engine database 155, a search condition setting stamp management database 157, and an account management database 159.

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

The user name is the name of the account of the terminal 20 that uses the application. As a non-limiting example, the name registered by the user of the terminal 20 when using the application is stored.

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

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

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

Furthermore, for an application in which only one account can be registered per terminal 20, as an example and not a limitation, the "identification information for identifying the terminal 20 = identification information for identifying the user of the terminal 20 = application ID" can be used.

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

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

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

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

By way of example and not limitation, the server 10 can analyze the acquired external information, convert it into searchable data, and register (index) it in the search engine database 155. In this way, the server 10 can perform search processing.

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

The link information may be, for example and without limitation, a "URI."
In this case, the external link information can be information for accessing an external server different from server 10, for example, but not limited to, information for accessing an external server to obtain data from the external server's database.
Various devices can access an external server based on the external link information and display an external page containing the target external information.

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

In addition, a terminal 20 on which a messaging application is installed can display an external page using, for example and without limitation, the messaging application's browser (hereinafter referred to as an "in-app browser (internal browser)") based on link information being specified while the messaging application is running.

However, it is also possible to display external pages using an external browser (hereinafter referred to as an "external browser") that is not an in-app browser.

In addition to or instead of the external data, the search engine database 155 may also store the aforementioned (2) internal data based on at least one of the following information, by way of example and not limitation:
(2-1) Internal original information (2-2) External organized information (2-3) Composite information

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

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

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

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

Note that it is not necessary to organize the external information; you may or may not reuse the external information (use it as is).

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

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

The search condition setting stamp management database 157 is a database for managing search condition setting stamps.
As a non-limiting example, the search condition setting stamp data described below, which is sent to terminal 20 based on a download request from terminal 20, can be stored, and various information such as stamp ID, stamp content, search conditions, stamp thumbnail, stamp category, search category, etc., is associated with and stored for each search condition setting stamp.
The details of this information will be explained in the section on the data configuration of the terminal 20.

As a non-limiting example, the server 10 may generate content related to the search conditions (hereinafter referred to as "search condition content"), such as content that is associated with the stamp ID to notify the user of the search conditions or to enable the user to recognize the search conditions, and store this content in the search condition setting stamp management database 157.

For example, but not by way of limitation, the server 10 generates search condition content based on the search conditions of the search condition setting stamp, and stores the generated search condition content in the search condition setting stamp management database 157 in association with the stamp ID.
The search condition content will be described later with a specific example.

The account management database 159 is a database of management data related to accounts stored in the account registration data 153. For example, but not limited to, for each account (application ID), it stores friend registration data related to accounts with friend registrations, group registration data related to accounts with group registrations, and content transmission and reception history data related to the transmission and reception of content.

(2) Terminal FIG. 1-5 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
The control unit 21 includes, as a functional unit, an application processing unit 211 for executing messaging application processing in accordance with an application processing program 281 stored in the storage unit 28, for example and not by way of limitation.

FIG. 1-6 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
The memory unit 28 stores, by way of example and not limitation, an application processing program 281 executed as messaging application processing, an application ID 283 of the user's own terminal 20 or the user of the user's own terminal 20, and a search condition setting stamp database 287.

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

The search condition setting stamp database 287 is a database related to search condition setting stamps, and an example of the data structure of the search condition setting stamp database 287A is shown in Figure 1-7.

Stamps are, by way of example and not limitation, a type of content used in messaging applications, and can be used to convey to other users feelings that are difficult to express in words through illustrations, etc.

Hereinafter, stamps as content used for display, transmission, and reception in messaging applications will be referred to as "stamp content."
In the technique of the present disclosure, unlike ordinary stamps (stamp contents), search conditions are set in advance in the stamp contents or can be set based on user input.

In this embodiment, the search conditions can be, by way of example and not limitation, conditions under which the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 or the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a search.

"Search criteria set on stamp content" may refer to at least one of the following, by way of example and not limitation:
(A1) Only search words, keywords, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "search words") are set in the stamp content.
(A2) A search category (hereinafter referred to as a "search category") is set in the stamp content, and the corresponding search word is also set in the stamp content.

The search category may be, for example and without limitation, a conceptual division for performing a search, such as genre, place, time, number of people, situation, etc.
By way of example and not limitation, the search category "location" may be a comprehensive category that includes prefectures, cities, towns, villages, countries, and the like.

(A2) can be, by way of example and not limitation, a search category along with a search word corresponding to that search category that is preset. As an example and not limitation, this can include a case where the search category is "location" and "Tokyo," one of Japan's prefectures, is preset as a search word corresponding to the search category "location."

That is, the search conditions can be conditions determined based on search words, search categories, etc., by way of example and not limitation.
The elements for determining the search conditions may include the stamp categories listed below.
Furthermore, the search words input by the user to set search conditions may be referred to as a "search query."

In this embodiment, the search condition setting stamp database 287A stores search condition setting stamp data as data for each search condition setting stamp.
Each search condition setting stamp data stores, by way of example and not limitation, a stamp category and one or more stamp-specific data relating to stamps to which this stamp category is commonly applied.

The stamp category is the category of this stamp, and by way of example and not limitation, conceptual classifications of stamps according to the purpose for which the user uses the stamp or the use of the stamp are stored, such as "Dining (Stores)," "Recipes," "Videos," "Shopping," and "Games."

By way of example, but not limitation, stamp-specific data may include stamp ID, stamp content, stamp thumbnail, and search conditions.

The stamp ID is an ID used to identify this search condition setting stamp, and as a non-limiting example, a unique ID set by the server 10 is stored.

The stamp content is the data of the stamp content described above, and includes data such as illustrations of stamps made up of characters and images (including images in which characters are part of the image).
In the following description, the term "search condition setting stamp" may be used synonymously with "stamp content."

Stamp thumbnails are data of thumbnails of stamp content (hereinafter referred to as "stamp thumbnails"). Stamp thumbnails are an example of reduced images of image information, and are used, for example but not limited to, to display a list of stamp thumbnails to allow the user to select stamp content to send.

The search conditions are search conditions set for this stamp content.
In this embodiment, the search conditions are preset with the above-mentioned search words as examples and not as limitations.

By way of example and not limitation, the search condition setting stamp data at the front of Figure 1-7 is data related to the search condition setting stamp with stamp ID "ST001," and the search condition set is "Western food," a word that indicates the food genre within the stamp category "food."

In the following, the stamp category "meals" is used as an example, not a limitation, to search for restaurants where to eat, and an example is shown in which restaurants where to eat are searched for by the server 10.
In this data example, the stamp category may be "Store" or "Meal &Store," etc. Also, in this data example, the search criteria may be "Western Food &Store," etc.

Furthermore, in this example, for the convenience of users, the search condition setting stamp data stores a "stamp category" in each search condition setting stamp data, allowing users to select stamps by stamp category, but storing the stamp category is not required, and it may be possible not to store it. The same applies below.

By way of example and not limitation, the search condition setting stamp data can be downloaded from the server 10 and stored in the search condition setting stamp database 287A of the memory unit 28 of the terminal 20.

In this embodiment, the terminal 20 acquires search condition setting stamp data including data of stamp content in which search conditions are set from the server 10 by downloading it or the like.
That is, the search conditions are set for the image information before the stamp content (which is an example of image information, but is not limited to it) is received by the terminal.

Note that "search conditions are set for image information before the image information is received by the terminal" can be a concept that includes, but is not limited to, the following examples.
(a) The search conditions are not set based on user input. (b) Based on (a), the underlying conditions are not set based on user input, but the specific conditions can be set based on user input. (c) Apart from (b), the search conditions are set in a hard-coded manner without being based on user input.

(b) can include, by way of example and not limitation, that basic conditions such as the search category "location" or the search category "genre" are not set based on user input (they are set by the server 10, for example and not limitation), but that specific conditions corresponding to the search category "location" (for example and not limitation, Tokyo) and specific conditions corresponding to the search category "genre" (for example and not limitation, Western food) can be set based on user input. Details of this will be described later in the second example.

(c) may include the fact that the search conditions are set in advance by the server 10, etc., including the above-mentioned basic conditions and specific conditions, etc.

In this embodiment, the terminal 20 may acquire search condition setting stamp data including search condition content from the server 10 and store it in the search condition setting stamp database 287A of the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20.

In addition, the terminal 20 may or may not perform processing to generate search condition content based on the search conditions included in the search condition setting stamp data acquired from the server 10, without acquiring the search condition content from the server 10, by way of example and not limitation.

Furthermore, without the terminal 20 acquiring stamp thumbnails from the server 10, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not perform processing to generate stamp thumbnails based on the stamp content included in the search condition setting stamp data acquired from the server 10, for example and without limitation.

Here, in the messaging application, there may be cases where ordinary stamps with no search conditions set are downloaded from the server 10 .
Although not shown in the figures, the data relating to the normal stamp may be stored in a normal stamp database that stores normal stamps in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20, for example and not by way of limitation.

Alternatively, search condition setting stamps and normal stamps may be stored in the same database.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, a stamp type can be stored for each stamp data. By way of example and not limitation, a search condition setting stamp can be associated with the stamp type "search condition setting" and stored, and a normal stamp can be associated with the stamp type "normal."
Furthermore, search condition setting stamps and normal stamps may be distinguished by stamp IDs. In this case, the range of numbers or the like assigned as stamp IDs may be different between search condition setting stamps and normal stamps.

In the following, the user who sends the stamp content will be referred to as the "sender user," and the user to whom the stamp content is sent will be referred to as the "destination user."

<Display screen>
In the following, the display screen of the terminal 20 will be exemplified as a smartphone having a vertically long display display unit 24, by way of example and not limitation.

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

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

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

Figures 1-8 and 1-9 show an example of the transition of screens displayed on the display unit 24A of terminal 20A in this embodiment. Here, we will explain the case where stamp content for which search conditions have been set is displayed and transmitted.

On the screen displaying the chat room, the name of the messaging application, "Messaging App," is displayed in the top center of the screen. Also, the icon image and user name (in this example, user A.A.) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20A are displayed in the top right of the screen.

On the left screen of Figure 1-8, below the area at the top of the screen where the name of the messaging application and the like are displayed, there is provided, by way of example and not limitation, a talk room name display area CLR containing the name of the talk room (hereinafter referred to as the "talk room name") as a type of area that indicates which page (in this example, the talk room) within the messaging application is currently displayed. The talk room name display area CLR can also be considered an area that indicates the page (in this example, the talk room) within the messaging application on which the user is currently located.

In this example, the chat room name display area CLR displays, by way of example and not limitation, text (in this example, "B.B.") indicating that this is a chat room in which user A.A. can chat with user B.B.

Below that is a talk area TR where users A.A. and B.B. can talk interactively, with the content (message) of the other user, user B.B., displayed on the left side of the screen, and the content (message) of user A.A. displayed on the right side of the screen.

In this example, text content containing the text "Would you like to go out for dinner tomorrow?" is displayed in a speech bubble on the right side of the screen as content sent by user A.A.

Below the talk area TR is an area where the user can select and enter content to send, and below that is an area where information about the search condition setting stamp is displayed.

Specifically, a stamp category display area SCR is provided in which one or more stamp categories are displayed so that the user can select a stamp category. In this example, icon images representing the stamp categories are displayed.
Below that, there is provided a stamp thumbnail display area STR in which one or more stamp thumbnails are displayed, configured so that the user can select a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content included in a stamp category selected by the user from the stamp categories in the stamp category display area SCR.

The stamp thumbnails displayed in the stamp thumbnail display area STR are, by way of example and not limitation, stamp thumbnails that can be used by the user of terminal 20A (user A.A.).
In this example, by way of example and not limitation, the user has selected the "Meals" stamp category, represented by the spoon and fork icon image, and multiple stamp thumbnails are displayed as stamp thumbnails corresponding to the stamp content included in this stamp category, including, by way of example and not limitation, a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content with an illustration of sushi, a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content with an illustration of hamburger steak, and a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content with an illustration of gyoza.

In this example, these stamp thumbnails are, by way of example and not limitation, stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search criteria have been pre-set.
As a non-limiting example, stamp content with an illustration of sushi has the search criterion set as "Japanese food," stamp content with an illustration of hamburger has the search criterion set as "Western food," and stamp content with an illustration of gyoza has the search criterion set as "Chinese food."

The screen on the left of Figure 1-8 shows, by way of example and not limitation, a state in which one of multiple stamp thumbnails, a stamp thumbnail corresponding to the stamp content of a hamburger illustration, has been tapped. As a result, the screen shown on the right of Figure 1-8 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

On the right screen of FIG. 1-8, for example and not by way of limitation, a preview display area PVR including a preview image of the stamp content corresponding to the tapped stamp thumbnail is provided so as to be superimposed on the talk area TR.
In this example, by way of example and not limitation, a preview image of the stamp content of the illustration of a hamburger is displayed in the preview display area PVR based on a tap by user A.A on a stamp thumbnail corresponding to the stamp content of the illustration of a hamburger.

For example, but not by way of limitation, when the preview is tapped on the right screen of FIG. 1-8, the screen shown on the left of FIG. 1-9 is displayed.
Specifically, the preview display area PVR, stamp category display area SCR, and stamp thumbnail display area STR are cleared, and the talk area TR is displayed in a large area. Furthermore, in the talk area TR, stamp content SCT10 with an illustration of a hamburger is displayed on the right side of the screen as a message sent from user A.A.

Furthermore, when a request for transmission of stamp content SCT10 is made from terminal 20 to server 10, search processing is performed by server 10, and the search results are transmitted to terminal 20A. As a result, the screen shown on the right of FIG. 1-9 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
On this screen, in the talk area TR, below the stamp content SCT10 of an illustration of a hamburger, which is the latest content, information indicating that the server 10 has conducted a search based on the search criteria (for example, but not limited to, the words "Recommended restaurants") is displayed, and below that, a list of search results is displayed.

In this example, the list of search results is displayed in a carousel format on the left and right sides of the chat room, and is configured to be able to scroll horizontally based on a user swipe or automatically, by way of example and not limitation.

In this example, a search is performed based on the search criterion "Western food," and search results for Western restaurants are displayed in the chat room as an example, not a limitation. Specifically, search results for multiple Western restaurants without location limitations, such as Western Restaurant A located in Tokyo and Western Restaurant B located in Kanagawa Prefecture, are displayed in a list.

In this example, each search result is a complex one that includes a linked banner image for the store, the store's location, genre, budget, a reservation button for making a reservation at the store, etc.

By way of example and not limitation, when a banner image relating to a store is tapped, the home page of the store is displayed on the display unit 24 based on the corresponding link information.
Furthermore, when the reservation button is tapped, the reservation page for this store is displayed on the display unit 24 based on the corresponding link information.

FIG. 1-10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24B of the terminal 20B in the above example.
At the top right of the screen, an icon image and a user name (user B.B. in this example) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20B are displayed.

The chat room name display area CLR displays, by way of example and not limitation, text (in this example, "A.A.") indicating that this is a chat room for user B.B. to chat with user A.A.

Below that is a talk area TR where users B.B. and A.A. can talk interactively, with the content (message) of the other user, user A.A., displayed on the left side of the screen, and the content (message) of user B.B. displayed on the right side of the screen.

The screen of FIG. 1-10 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state after the stamp content SCT10 of the illustration of the hamburger described above has been transmitted from the terminal 20A to the terminal 20B.
The talk room of terminal 20B displays information similar to the information displayed in the talk room of terminal 20A, which is described on the right screen of FIG. 1-9.

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

It is assumed that prior to this process, user A.A has already registered user B.B as a friend, and that user A.A will then chat with user B.B. This process will also illustrate the case where user A.A is the source user and user B.B is the destination user.

Note that the messaging application does not necessarily have to be running on the destination user's terminal 20 when the stamp content is received, but for simplicity's sake, the process described below will assume that the messaging application is running on the destination user's terminal 20.

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

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

Then, based on the input to the input/output unit 23 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A references the search condition setting stamp database 287A stored in the memory unit 28, displays a list of stamp thumbnails on the display unit 24, and determines whether a stamp thumbnail has been selected by user A.A (A115).

If it is determined that a stamp thumbnail has been selected (A115: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a preview process (A120). Specifically, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a preview image of the stamp content corresponding to the selected stamp thumbnail.

Note that the preview image may represent the image of the stamp content displayed in the preview display area, or it may represent the entire preview display area as an image.

The control unit 21 of terminal 20A then determines whether or not to send the selected stamp content to the destination user (A125). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, it determines whether or not an operation on the preview image has been detected.

If it is determined that the stamp content should be sent (A125: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the corresponding stamp content in the talk room on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A (A130).

Next, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends stamp transmission request information, including the stamp ID associated with the stamp content, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (A135).

The control unit 11 determines whether stamp transmission request information has been received (S110), and if it determines that it has been received (S110: YES), it transmits the stamp content associated with the stamp ID included in the received stamp transmission request information to the destination user's terminal 20 (terminal 20B in this example) via the communication I/F 14 (S120).

The control unit 11 then performs a search process (S130). Specifically, it references the search condition setting stamp management database 157 of the storage unit 15 to obtain search conditions associated with the stamp ID included in the received stamp transmission request information. It then references the search engine database 155 of the storage unit 15 to perform a search based on the obtained search conditions. Note that in this case, the control unit 11 may also perform a search that includes the stamp category as a search condition.

Note that the order of steps S120 and S130 may be reversed.

Next, the control unit 11 transmits search result list information including the search results found in the search process to each of the terminals 20A and 20B via the communication I/F 14 (S140).
In this case, the control unit 11 may, for example and without limitation, transmit a data ID, link information, and searched information in association with each other for each search result.

When the search result list information is received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the received search result list information in the above-mentioned talk room (A140).

The control unit 21 of terminal 20A then determines whether a search result has been selected from the displayed search result list information (A145), and if it determines that a search result has been selected (A145: YES), then, by way of example and not limitation, it accesses an external server or server 10 based on link information associated with the selected search result, and displays on the display unit 24 a page (external page or internal page) containing information corresponding to the selected search result.

Next, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether to close the currently displayed talk room (A190).
If it is determined that the talk room should not be closed (A190: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A returns the process to A115.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the talk room is to be closed (A190: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs control to hide the currently displayed talk room, and then ends the processing.

The control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines whether stamp content has been received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (B120), and if it determines that stamp content has been received (B120: YES), it displays the received stamp content in the talk room with user A.A as the talk partner on the display unit 24 (B130).

In addition, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays the search result list information received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 in the above-mentioned talk room (B140).

Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines whether a search result has been selected from the displayed search result list information (B145), and if it determines that a search result has been selected (B145: YES), similar to A150, by way of example and not limitation, it accesses an external server or server 10 based on link information associated with the selected search result, and displays a page (external page or internal page) containing information corresponding to the selected search result on the display unit 24 (B150).

Next, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B determines whether or not to end the process (B190).
If it is determined that the process should be continued (B190: NO), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B returns the process to B120.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the process is to be ended (B190: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B ends the process.

In the above process, conceptually, the search results are displayed on the destination user's terminal 20 based on the stamp content transmitted from the source user's terminal 20 to the destination user's terminal 20, so the transmitted stamp content may be considered as information for displaying the search results. Also, the stamp transmission request information transmitted from the source user's terminal 20 to the server 10 may be considered as information for displaying the search results.
In addition, since a search is performed based on the search conditions set in the stamp content and the search results are displayed on the destination user's terminal 20, it can be considered that the search results are sent from the sending user's terminal 20 to the destination user's terminal 20.

Also, in A130, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A may or may not display the corresponding search condition content in the talk room along with the stamp content. In this case, as described above, the search condition content can be obtained in advance from the server 10 and stored in the memory unit 28, or the search condition content can be generated on terminal 20 and stored in the memory unit 28, and then read out and displayed in the talk room.

In addition, in S120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not transmit the corresponding search condition content together with the stamp content to the terminal 20B.
In this case, in B130, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may or may not display the corresponding search condition content together with the stamp content in the talk room.

<Effects of the First Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 of the source user, which displays a talk room (not limited to, but an example of a chat room) including a destination user (not limited to, but an example of a first user), displays the talk room on the display unit 24. The terminal 20 of the source user also displays stamp content (not limited to, but an example of image information with search conditions set) in the talk room based on an input to the talk room by the user of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 of the source user then uses the control unit 21 to control the transmission of search results, searched based on the search conditions set in the stamp content, to the terminal 20 of the destination user (first user) included in the talk room (not limited to, but an example of a first terminal), via the communication I/F 22, and the display of the search results, searched based on the search conditions set in the stamp content, in the talk room.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, based on image information for which search conditions have been set, the search results searched based on those search conditions can be confirmed by the first user, and can also be confirmed by the user of the terminal.

In this case, the search conditions are set in advance, i.e., the search conditions can be set for the stamp content before the stamp content is received by the terminal 20 by downloading or the like.
As an example of the effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, image information for which search conditions have already been set can be received by the terminal.

In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays a stamp thumbnail (not limited to a stamp thumbnail, but an example of a reduced image of image information) on the display unit 24. Based on an input to the stamp thumbnail, the terminal 20 controls, via the communication I/F 22, to transmit the corresponding stamp content to the terminal 20 of a destination user included in the talk room, and controls to display the corresponding stamp content in the talk room, using the control unit 21.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a reduced image of the image information can be viewed by the user of the terminal, and then, based on input by the user of the terminal regarding the reduced image, the image information can be sent to a first terminal so that the first user can confirm it, and the user of the terminal can also confirm it.

In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the sending user's terminal 20 displays a preview image of the corresponding stamp content (not limited to, but an example of a preview image related to a reduced image) on the display unit 24 based on input for the stamp thumbnail.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, a preview image related to a reduced image can be displayed on the display unit based on input by the user of the terminal regarding the reduced image, allowing the user of the terminal to check the input reduced image or the image information corresponding to that reduced image.

<First Modification Example (1)>
In the above embodiment, the search results searched by the server 10 are displayed in the talk room, but this is not limiting. For example, and not limiting, the search results may be displayed on a search result display screen displayed by one of the following methods.
(A) Displaying the search results display screen using an external browser. (B) Displaying the search results display screen using an in-app browser.

In the method (A), for example and not by way of limitation, the search result display screen may be displayed by an external browser (web application browser) that runs on a messaging application as a platform.
Specifically, based on receiving the search results, the terminal 20 can launch an external browser that can refer to various information including account information of the messaging application, and display a search result display screen.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, the search result display screen can be displayed so as to be superimposed on at least a portion of the chat room (overlay).

The size (or height) of the search result display screen can be set arbitrarily.
If the search result display screen is set to full size, it can be displayed so that it completely overlays the chat room. In this case, the chat room will be completely obscured by the search result display screen, making it impossible to see the chat room.
On the other hand, if the search result display screen is smaller than full size, the search result display screen can be displayed so that it is overlaid on part of the chat room. In this case, part of the chat room will be obscured, but the unobscured area will remain visible.

In the method (B), by way of example and not limitation, the terminal 20 may launch an in-app browser of the messaging application and display a search result display screen based on receiving the search results.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation,
Either of the following methods can be applied: (B-1) A method of moving (transitioning) from the chat room screen to display the search result display screen; or (B-2) A method of displaying the search result display screen in parallel with the chat room screen.

In addition, in the method (B-2), the following is an example, but not a limitation:
(B-2a) Similar to the method (A), a search result display screen is displayed so as to be superimposed on at least a part of the chat room (overlay).
(B-2b) Splitting the screen into two sections, one for the chat room and one for searching (Split)
Any of the methods above can be applied.

Note that the same method as (B-2b) Split may or may not be applied to method (A).

<First Modification Example (2)>
In the above embodiment, one search condition is set for one stamp content, but this is not limiting. For example, multiple search conditions may be set for one stamp content.
In this case, a plurality of search conditions may be stored in the search condition setting stamp data in the search condition setting stamp database 287A in FIG. 1-7.

The number of search conditions to be set can be set arbitrarily, and data for stamp content with different numbers of search conditions set, such as stamp content with one search condition set, stamp content with two search conditions set, or stamp content with three search conditions set, may be stored in the search condition setting stamp database 287.

Furthermore, for a single search condition, multiple search condition setting stamps may be created that share that search condition as a common search condition.

FIG. 1-12 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a search condition setting stamp database 287B, which is an example of the search condition setting stamp database 287 in this modified example.
Each search condition setting stamp data includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a stamp category, a search category, and a plurality of stamp-specific data.

In this example, the search category under the stamp category can be a search condition (hereinafter referred to as a "common search condition") that is commonly applied to the stamps in each stamp-specific data. In this example, the search category "genre" and the corresponding search word "Western food" are stored as common search conditions.

Stamp-specific data is data related to search condition setting stamps to which common search conditions are applied, and each piece of data stores, by way of example and not limitation, the stamp ID, stamp content, stamp thumbnail, and search category.

In this example, each stamp-specific data has a search category of "location" as an individual search condition, and different prefectures are stored as corresponding search words.
As a non-limiting example, the stamp-specific data at the front of FIG. 1-12 is a stamp with stamp ID "ST011," and the search category "location" and the corresponding search word "Hokkaido" are stored as individual search conditions. Because common search conditions are applied, the search condition setting stamp with stamp ID "ST011" can be configured to perform a search using the words "Western food Hokkaido."

Second Example
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the terminal 20 sets search conditions for stamp content based on input by the user. Then, the transmission of the stamp content for which the search conditions have been set in this manner is used as an opportunity to present search results to the user. In other words, this embodiment allows the user of the terminal 20 to set search conditions themselves.

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

In this embodiment, the search condition settings can include patterns such as setting search words based on user input for stamp content that does not have a search category set, or setting corresponding search words based on user input for stamp content that has a search category set.

In this embodiment, the input method for the user to set search conditions is as follows:
Two types are shown as examples: (1) direct input method and (2) selective input method.

(1) Direct Input Method In this method, by way of example and not limitation, at least some of the search conditions stored in each search condition setting stamp data in the search condition setting stamp database 287A in FIG. 1-7 are set to "not set" (unset) by default. In other words, the terminal 20 can download data related to stamps for which at least some of the search conditions are set to "not set" from the server 10.
Then, information directly input by the sender user to the terminal 20 using a keyboard or the like can be stored in the storage unit 28 as set search conditions.

<Display screen>
2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24A of the terminal 20A when the (1) direct input method is applied.

The left screen in Figure 2-1 shows a state in which, after a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content containing an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is tapped from among multiple stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which the user can set any search criteria, a preview of the stamp content corresponding to this stamp thumbnail is displayed in the preview display area PVR.

Note that, unlike the first embodiment, in this example, the search condition setting stamp is a generic illustration stamp so that the user can set any search conditions.

In the stamp thumbnail display area STR, stamp thumbnails available to the user of terminal 20A (user A.A.) are displayed as a list, by way of example and not limitation.
In this example, by way of example and not limitation, multiple stamp thumbnails are displayed, including a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!", a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Dinner please", and a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "I'm hungry...".

In this example, these stamp thumbnails correspond to stamp content for which the user can set any search criteria. By way of example and not limitation, search criteria for these stamp contents are set by entering search terms.

By way of example and not limitation, when user A.A taps a stamp thumbnail corresponding to stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!", a preview of the stamp content corresponding to the stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed in the preview display area PVR.

In addition, in this example, by way of example and not limitation, a search condition setting icon IC20, represented by a magnifying glass icon, is displayed in the upper left corner of the preview display area PVR as an example of search condition setting information for setting search conditions.

The left screen in Figure 2-1 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the search condition setting icon IC20 has been tapped. As a result, the search condition setting screen shown on the right side of Figure 2-1 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

On this search condition setting screen, by way of example and not limitation, a preview similar to the stamp content preview displayed in the preview display area PVR is displayed in the center of the screen.

Furthermore, below this, by way of example and not limitation, there is a search word input field SWR where you can input a search word as a search condition for the stamp content corresponding to this preview; in this example, the word "Western food" is displayed based on the input of "Western food."

Also displayed below this is a save button BT20 for saving the search word entered in the search word input field SWR.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 displays the search condition setting screen, it performs processing to reduce the visibility of information that is not related to the search condition setting screen among the screens related to the messaging application, so that information that is not related to the search condition setting screen (for example, but not limited to, the contents of the chat) is displayed in a manner that makes it difficult for the user to recognize it.
As a non-limiting example, information on a screen related to a messaging application that is not related to the search condition setting screen may be rendered less visible by mosaic processing, hatching, or the like.

The screen on the right of Figure 2-1 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the Save button BT20 has been tapped. As a result, the screen shown on the left of Figure 2-2 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

On this screen, the preview display area PVR displays a preview image of the stamp content, including a cat illustration and the words "Let's eat!", similar to the screen shown on the left in Figure 2-1.

On the search condition setting screen, when the user enters a search word in the search word input field SWR and taps the save button BT20, the search condition is associated with the stamp content corresponding to the preview.

The screen on the left of Figure 2-2 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which a preview image of stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" has been tapped. As a result, the screen shown on the right of Figure 2-2 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

On this screen, by way of example and not limitation, stamp content SCT20 containing an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed as a message from user A.A. on the right side of the screen in the talk area TR.

Below this, search condition content CCT20 indicating the search conditions set in this stamp content SCT20 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
In this example, the search condition content CCT20 includes, by way of example and not limitation, the characters "Search for a restaurant!" and the characters "Search word: Western food."

Below that, search results are displayed in a list along with the text content "Recommended shops here" sent from the server 10.
The search results displayed in this example are the same as those shown in the right screen of Figure 1-9.

<Processing>
2-3 and 2-4 are flowcharts showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment. The drawings should be read as described above.

After A120, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A determines whether user A.A. has selected to input search conditions and has input the search conditions (A210). Specifically, and by way of example and not limitation, it determines whether an icon or the like for inputting search conditions has been operated, and whether the search conditions have been input by direct input using a keyboard or the like.

If it is determined that search conditions have been input (A210: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a search condition setting process (A220). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the input search conditions are stored as set search conditions in the search condition setting stamp data in which the stamp ID is stored.
It is also possible to set the search condition to "no setting."

On the other hand, if it is determined that no search conditions have been entered (A210: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A proceeds to A125.

At A135, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A, for example and not by way of limitation, sends stamp transmission request information including the stamp ID and set search conditions for the selected search condition setting stamp to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

In the search process of S130, the control unit 11 of the server 10 references the search condition setting stamp management database 157 of the memory unit 15 to determine the set search conditions included in the received stamp transmission request information. Then, using the search engine database 155 of the memory unit 15, a search is performed based on the determined set search conditions.

If the set search condition is "not set", the control unit 11 can skip steps S130 and S140.
In this case, the stamp content sent to the destination user's terminal 20 in step S120 is stamp content for which no search conditions are set, that is, normal stamp content.
In this case, steps A140 to A150 are skipped in the source user's terminal 20, and steps B140 to B150 are skipped in the destination user's terminal 20.

Furthermore, after A130, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not display the corresponding search condition content in the talk room.
In this case, search condition content based on the set search conditions can be obtained from the server 10, or search condition content can be generated on the terminal 20 side based on the set search conditions and template data for the search condition content, and displayed in the talk room.

Furthermore, in S120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not send the corresponding search condition content to terminal 20B along with the stamp content. In this case, in B130, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may or may not display the corresponding search condition content in the talk room along with the stamp content.

(2) Selection Input Method FIG. 2-5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a search condition setting stamp database 287C, which is an example of the search condition setting stamp database 287 stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
In this search condition setting stamp database 287C, each search condition setting stamp data stores, by way of example and not limitation, a stamp category, a search category, search category selection candidates, and stamp-specific data.

The search category stores conceptual divisions for searching using stamps in this stamp category. In this example, the two search categories stored are "location" and "genre," as mentioned above.
The search category is an example of a category set in the search conditions.

The search category selection candidates store one or more pieces of information that can be selected by the user for each category included in this search category.

In this example, a plurality of pieces of information that can be selected by the user are stored for each of the two items "location" and "genre" mentioned above.
For "location," prefectures are stored as selection candidates, by way of example and not limitation.
In the "genre" field, food genres such as "Japanese food,""Westernfood," and "Chinese food" are stored as selection candidates, but are not limited to these, for example.

Stamp-specific data is data related to multiple search condition setting stamps that apply the above stamp categories and search categories, and by way of example, but not limitation, the stamp ID, stamp content, and set search conditions are stored.

The set search conditions store information selected by the user from among the search category selection candidates for each search category.
In this example, "Tokyo" is selected and stored for the search category "location," and "Western food" is selected as a condition for the search category "genre."

In consideration of user convenience, this data stores a "stamp category" in each search condition setting stamp data, allowing stamps to be selected for each stamp category, but storing the stamp category is not required, and it is also possible to choose not to store it.

<Display screen>
2-6 and 2-7 are diagrams showing an example of transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24A of the terminal 20A when the above-mentioned (2) selective input method is applied.

The left screen of FIG. 2-6 shows a screen similar to the one shown on the left of FIG. 2-1, in which the search condition setting icon IC20 at the top left of the preview display area PVR has been tapped.
In the center of the screen, a preview similar to the preview of the stamp content displayed in the preview display area PVR is displayed.
Below this, for example and not by way of limitation, there is configured a search criteria selection area for selecting search criteria for the stamp content corresponding to this preview.

Specifically, the selection fields displayed for setting search conditions include a "Genre" selection field SJR, which allows the user to select any genre from within the search category (Japanese, Western, Chinese, etc.) using a drum roll, and a "Location" selection field SPR, which allows the user to select any location from within the search category (such as the prefecture where the store is located) using a drum roll.

The left screen of Figure 2-6 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the selection field SJR for the search category "Genre" has been tapped. As a result, the screen shown on the right of Figure 2-6 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation. On this screen, genre candidates are displayed in a drum roll format, and the state in which "Western food" has been tapped by the user is shown.

Furthermore, if the selection field SPR for the search category "Location" is subsequently tapped, the screen shown on the right of Figure 2-6 will be displayed. On this screen, location candidates are displayed in a drum roll format, and the screen shows the state in which the user has tapped "Tokyo."

Then, the screen shown on the left of Figure 2-7 will be displayed. On this screen, "Western food" has been entered in the search category "Genre" and "Tokyo" has been entered in the search category "Location." When the save button BT20 is tapped in this state, the screen shown in the center of Figure 2-7 will be displayed, as an example and not a limitation.

The screen in the center of Figure 2-7 shows, by way of example and not limitation, a state in which a preview image of stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" in the preview display area PVR has been tapped. As a result, by way of example and not limitation, the screen shown on the right of Figure 2-7 is displayed.

On this screen, by way of example and not limitation, stamp content SCT20 containing an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed as a message from user A.A. on the right side of the screen in the talk area TR.

Below that, search condition content CCT22 indicating the search conditions set in this stamp content SCT20 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.
In this example, the search condition content includes, by way of example and not limitation, the words "Search for a restaurant!", the words "Genre: Western food", and the words "Location: Tokyo".

Below that, search results are displayed in a list along with the text content "Recommended shops here" sent from the server 10.
In this example, the search is performed with the search category "genre" set to "Western food" and the search category "location" set to "Tokyo," so the search results for multiple Western restaurants located in Tokyo, such as Western Restaurant A and Western Restaurant X, are displayed in a list.

FIG. 2-8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24B of the terminal 20B in the above example.
This screen shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state after the stamp content SCT20 including the cat illustration and the words "Let's eat!" described above has been transmitted from terminal 20A to terminal 20B.
The talk room of this terminal 20B displays information similar to the information displayed in the talk room of terminal 20A as described on the right screen of FIG. 2-7.

<Processing>
The processing will be described with reference again to the above-mentioned FIGS.
After A120, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not the user has selected to input search conditions and the search conditions have been input (A210). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, it determines whether or not an icon or the like for inputting search conditions has been operated and information has been selected from the search category selection candidates for the search category associated with the search condition setting stamp.

If it is determined that search conditions have been input (A210: YES), the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a search condition setting process (A220). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the search category selection candidate selected as described above is stored in the search category field corresponding to the set search conditions in the stamp-specific data for that stamp ID.
As mentioned above, it is possible to set some of the search categories to "not set," and in this case, the search category corresponding to the set search condition can be set to "not set."

On the other hand, if it is determined that no search conditions have been entered (A210: NO), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A proceeds to A125.

At A135, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends stamp transmission request information, which includes, by way of example and not limitation, the stamp ID of the selected search condition setting stamp and the set search conditions, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

In the search process at S130, the control unit 11 of the server 10 refers to the search condition setting stamp management database 157 of the storage unit 15 to determine whether the search category associated with the stamp of the stamp ID included in the received stamp transmission request information corresponds to the search category of the set search conditions included in the received stamp transmission request information. If it is determined that they correspond, the control unit 11 refers to the search engine database 155 of the storage unit 15 to perform a search based on the set search conditions.
Then, the control unit 11 advances the process to S140.

Note that if the set search conditions for some search categories are "not set," the control unit 11 can perform a search using the set search conditions corresponding to the other search categories as search conditions.

Furthermore, if the set search conditions for all search categories are "not set," the control unit 11 can skip steps S130 and S140.
In this case, the stamp content sent to the destination user's terminal 20 in step S120 is stamp content for which no search conditions are set, that is, normal stamp content.
In this case, steps A140 to A150 are skipped in the source user's terminal 20, and steps B140 to B150 are skipped in the destination user's terminal 20.

Furthermore, after A130, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may or may not display the corresponding search condition content in the talk room.
In this case, search condition content based on the set search conditions can be obtained from the server 10, or search condition content can be generated on the terminal 20 side based on the set search conditions and template data for the search condition content, and displayed in the talk room.

Furthermore, in S120, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not send the corresponding search condition content to terminal 20B along with the stamp content. In this case, in B130, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B may or may not display the corresponding search condition content in the talk room along with the stamp content.

<Effects of the Second Example>
In this embodiment, the search conditions set for stamp content (not limited to stamp content, but an example of image information) are input by the user of the terminal 20 .
As an example of the effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to enable the user of the terminal to set search conditions, thereby improving convenience.

In this case, the search conditions are set to a plurality of search categories (not limited to, but an example of a category), and the user of the terminal 20 can input conditions for each of the plurality of search categories.
As an example of the effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the user of the terminal can input search conditions according to categories, thereby improving convenience.

<Second Modification Example (1)>
Unlike the example shown in the above embodiment, some search conditions are set in advance in the stamp content, but other search conditions are not set in the stamp content, and these unset search conditions may be set based on user input.

As a non-limiting example, in the data example in Figure 1-12, the search word "Western food" corresponding to the search category "genre" is preset, but the search word corresponding to the search category "location" in each stamp-specific data is set to "not set" by default. Then, the search word corresponding to this search category "location" (for example, prefecture, not limiting) can be set based on user input.

As a non-limiting example, when sending stamp content of an illustration of a hamburger steak with "Western food" set as the search criterion, as shown in Figure 1-8, the sending user may input the prefecture as the location to search for Western restaurants.
The search conditions can be input using either the (1) direct input method or the (2) selective input method described above.

<Second Modification Example (2)>
In the above embodiment, the terminal 20 may be able to set search conditions for the stamp content based on user input, as well as set a message such as text content to be sent together with the stamp content based on user input.

<Display screen>
Here, the case of transmitting stamp content of an illustration of a hamburger, as described in the second modified example (1), will be described with reference to an example of a display screen.

2-9 and 2-10 are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this modified example.
On the left side of FIG. 2-9, a preview image of stamp content with an illustration of a hamburger steak for which the search criterion (search category) "Western food" is set is displayed in the preview display area PVR, similar to the screen on the right side of FIG. 1-8. Then, by way of example and not limitation, to the right of the search criterion setting icon IC20 in the upper left corner of the preview display area PVR, a text setting icon IC30 for inputting and setting text to be sent as text content together with the stamp content is displayed. When the text setting icon IC30 is tapped, by way of example and not limitation, the text setting screen shown on the right side of FIG. 2-9 is displayed.

On this text setting screen, by way of example and not limitation, a preview image similar to the preview image of the stamp content displayed in the preview display area PVR is displayed in the center of the screen. Below this, by way of example and not limitation, a text input area TXR is configured for entering text to be sent along with the stamp content corresponding to this preview image; in this example, the text "Let's go out to dinner tomorrow" is displayed based on the user's input of "Let's go out to dinner tomorrow." Also displayed below this is a save button BT20 for saving and setting the text entered in the text input area TXR.

When the Save button BT20 is tapped, the entered text is saved and set, and the screen returns to the left screen in Figure 2-9. Then, based on the stamp content preview image being tapped, the screen shown in Figure 2-10 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

FIG. 2-10 shows an example of displaying two patterns (pattern 1 and pattern 2).
In the display example of Pattern 1 on the left of Figure 2-10, based on the set text "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow," text content indicating "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow" and stamp content SCT10 with an illustration of a hamburger are displayed separately as content sent from user A. In other words, the display example of Pattern 1 is an example in which content corresponding to the set text and stamp content are displayed separately in the chat room.

On the other hand, in the display example of pattern 2 on the right of Figure 2-10, stamp content SCT22 is displayed, in which an illustrated image of the text "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow" is combined with stamp content of a hamburger steak as content sent from user A.A, based on the set text "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow." In other words, the display example of pattern 2 is an example in which the set text is displayed in the chat room as part of the stamp content.

When realizing the display example of Pattern 2, by way of example and not limitation, based on the set text, the terminal 20 or the server 10 can generate stamp content that includes the text as part of the illustration.
When this is realized on the terminal 20, as an example and not by way of limitation, illustration material data such as hiragana, katakana, kanji, alphabet, and numbers can be associated with stamps, obtained from the server 10, and stored in the memory unit 28, and stamp content can be generated using the stamp content data and the illustration material data.
Also, when realizing this on the server 10, as an example and not a limitation, the set text can be received from the terminal 20, and stamp content can be generated on the server 10 side in the same manner as above, and then transmitted to the terminal 20.

Also, if no text is entered or set as described above, the text will not be displayed or sent, and only the stamp content will be displayed or sent.

It is also possible to generate stamp content by omitting some characters from the set text. Specifically, in the above example, stamp content may be generated that includes the text "Let's go out for dinner" by omitting the character "tomorrow" from the set text "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow."
Furthermore, stamp content may be generated by changing the character type of at least a part of the set text. Specifically, in the above example, the character type of "rice" in the set text "Let's go out to eat tomorrow" may be changed to generate stamp content including the text "Let's go out to eat tomorrow."

In the display example of FIG. 2-9, the text setting icon IC30 is displayed separately from the search condition setting icon IC20, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As a non-limiting example, when the search condition setting icon IC20 is tapped, a search condition setting screen may be displayed, and the text setting icon IC30 may be displayed on this search condition setting screen.
In addition, information for inputting and setting search conditions and information for inputting and setting text may be displayed on a search condition setting screen, and the search conditions and text may be input and set on this search condition setting screen.

<Second Modification Example (3)>
In the above embodiment, it is also possible not to distinguish between search condition setting stamps and normal stamps.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, one stamp database can be configured in the server 10 or the terminal 20. As described above, if at least some of the search conditions are set to "set" based on the user's input, the terminal 20 or the server 10 processes the stamp as a "search condition setting stamp." On the other hand, if all of the search conditions are set to "not set" based on the user's input, the terminal 20 or the server 10 can process the stamp as a "normal stamp."

<Third Example>
The third embodiment is an embodiment in which the information to be searched for in the search process (which can also be called the search result) in the above-mentioned embodiment is determined based on the search conditions set in the stamp content (not limited to, but an example of image information) and the information input by the destination user's terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of first information).

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

<Data structure>
The search condition setting stamp database 287 stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 may be similar to the search condition setting stamp database 287C shown in FIG. 2-5, for example, but not limited to.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the search condition setting stamp management database 157 stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment.
The search condition setting stamp management database 157 stores, by way of example and not limitation, a plurality of search condition setting stamp management data.

Each search condition setting stamp management data stores, by way of example and not limitation, a stamp category, a search category, question data, and management data for each stamp.
The stamp category and the search category may be the same as those in the search condition setting stamp database 287C stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20.

The question data is sent to the terminal 20 (first terminal) of the user (first user) to whom the search condition setting stamp is sent, and is data related to a question to which the user is requested to answer. By way of example, and not limitation, the question ID and the question content are stored in association with each other.

The question ID is an ID for uniquely identifying a question.
The question content is the content of the question associated with this question ID. The question content may be, by way of example and not limitation, created based on at least a stamp category, and more specifically, a question that has a relationship with a stamp category.

In the data at the front of Figure 3-1, the stamp category is "meals." Therefore, the question data includes multiple questions related to "meals." By way of example and not limitation, the following types of questions may be included:
(a) Questions about restaurants (b) Questions about food types (c) Questions about meal costs

In consideration of the effort required to answer, the questions may be, for example and not by way of limitation, multiple choice questions, such as "YES/NO,""Good/Bad," or "Good/Bad."
Also, for ease of understanding, the questions may be, by way of example and not limitation, questions that reflect the user's preference when selected in the affirmative.

More specifically, as questions of type (a), questions such as, but not limited to, "Is it a restaurant with a night view?", "A stylish restaurant?", "A restaurant for the masses?", "A family restaurant?", "A stylish cafe?", and "A bar where you can have fun and party?" can be prepared.
Furthermore, as non-limiting examples of questions of type (b), questions such as "Are you in the mood for Japanese food?", "Are you in the mood for Western food?", "Are you in the mood for Chinese food?", "Are you in the mood for junk food?", and "Are you in the mood for something sweet?" can be prepared.
Furthermore, as questions of type (c), questions such as "Do you feel rich?", "Do you want to stay at a moderate price?", and "Do you feel like staying on a budget?" can be prepared as examples, but are not limited to these.

Having users answer (respond) to such questions can be thought of as asking users to express their opinion when conducting a search, in other words, as having them vote.

The stamp management data stores, by way of example and not limitation, stamp IDs, stamp contents, stamp thumbnails, and search category selection candidates.
These may be the same as those in the search condition setting stamp database 287C stored in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20.

<Display screen>
3-2 to 3-4 are diagrams showing an example of the transition of screens displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B in this embodiment. Continuing from the previous embodiment, this example shows a case where the source user is user A.A and the destination user is user B.B.

The left screen in Figure 3-2 shows an example of a talk room screen displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B, displaying stamp content SCT20 and search criteria content CCT30 sent from user A.A.

Search condition content CCT30 indicates that the search category "genre" is set to "Not Set" and the search category "Location" is set to "Tokyo." In other words, this example shows the state in which stamp content SCT20 was sent to user B.B. based on input from user A.A., with the search category "genre" set to "Not Set" and the search category "Location" set to "Tokyo."

In addition to the search conditions, the search condition content CCT30 includes a participation button BT30 containing the word "participate" for participating in the search for restaurants to eat at by answering questions.
When this participation button BT30 is tapped, the question and answer page shown on the right of FIG. 3-2 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.

This question and answer page displays the words "Restaurant Matching Search" and text beginning with "Five questions will be asked next," as well as a Good button BT31 and a Bad button BT32 for answering the questions with two choices: "Good!/Bad....". Also, at the bottom of the page, a Start Answer button BT33 containing the word "START" for starting to answer the question is displayed. When the Start Answer button BT33 is tapped, the question and answer page shown on the left in Figure 3-3 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

The question and answer page on the left of FIG. 3-3 displays, by way of example and not limitation, the question "Q1: Restaurant with a night view?" along with a Good button BT31 and a Bad button BT32. This question, by way of example and not limitation, is intended to ask the user whether they would like to dine at a restaurant with a nice atmosphere.
In this example, the Good button BT31 is shown to have been tapped, which moves to the next question and displays the question and answer page shown in the center of FIG. 3-3.

The question and answer page in the center of FIG. 3-3 displays, by way of example and not limitation, the question "Q2 Are you in the mood for Western food?" along with a Good BT31 button and a Bad BT32 button. This question, by way of example and not limitation, is intended to ask the user whether they would like to go out to eat Western food.
In this example, the Good button BT31 is shown to have been tapped, which moves to the next question and displays the question and answer page shown on the right of FIG. 3-3.

The question and answer page on the right side of FIG. 3-3 displays, by way of example and not limitation, the question "Q3 Do you feel like trying something spicy?" along with a Good button BT31 and a Bad button BT32. This question, by way of example and not limitation, is intended to ask the user whether they would like to go out to eat Chinese food.
In this example, the Bad button BT32 is shown to be tapped, which moves to the next question.

In addition, each of the above question pages displays a back button BT34 containing the words "Return to previous question" to return to the previous question page if you want to change your answer.

Once the five questions have been answered in this way, the page shown on the left in Figure 3-4 will be displayed, by way of example and not limitation. This page displays text beginning with "This concludes the questions" and an illustration indicating the ability to search for a store (a combination of an illustration of a store and an illustration of a magnifying glass). Also, at the bottom of the page is a close button BT35 containing the word "close" for closing the page and returning to the chat room.

When the close button BT35 is tapped, the talk room screen shown on the right in FIG. 3-4 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.
Below the search condition content CCT30, a list of search results sent from the server 10 is displayed. In this example, search results for multiple Western restaurants located in Tokyo, such as Western restaurant Y and Western restaurant X, are displayed. Unlike the previous example, the displayed search results reflect not only the search conditions but also the answers of user B.B. to the questions.

3-5 is a diagram showing an example of a talk room screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A of user A. A, who is the sender user in the above example, after the search results have been received from the server 10.
On this talk room screen, search condition content CCT32 that does not include a join button BT30 is displayed below stamp content SCT20. In this embodiment, user A.A, the sender user, is set not to answer questions, and therefore the join button BT30 is not provided in the search condition content CCT32.

Below the search condition content CCT32, a bar containing the text "B.B. answered" is displayed, indicating that user B.B. answered the question. Also below that, a list of search results received from server 10 is displayed.
The search results are the same as those displayed on the talk room screen of the terminal 20B on the right side of FIG. 3-4.

<Processing>
Figure 3-6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment, and illustrates the part corresponding to Figure 2-3. The diagram should be read as described above.

At A135, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A sends stamp transmission request information, which includes, by way of example and not limitation, the stamp ID of the selected search condition setting stamp and the set search conditions, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

If it is determined in S110 that stamp transmission request information has been received (S110: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a question determination process (S315). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 11 refers to the search condition setting stamp management database 157A of the storage unit 15 to determine whether the search category associated with the stamp of the stamp ID included in the received stamp transmission request information corresponds to the set search conditions included in the received stamp transmission request information. If it is determined that there is a correspondence, the control unit 11 refers to the search condition setting stamp management database 157A to select a first set number of questions (for example, and not by way of limitation, "five") based on the stamp category of the search condition setting stamp of that stamp ID and the set search conditions included in the received stamp transmission request information.

More specifically, the question content that is relevant to the set search criteria is identified from the question data stored in the search criteria setting stamp management data corresponding to the stamp category in the search criteria setting stamp management database 157A. In this case, the question content may be identified based on the set search criteria that correspond to all search categories, or the question content may be identified based on the set search criteria that correspond to some of the search categories.

For example, and not by way of limitation, if the search category includes "location" and "genre," and "Tokyo" is specified as "location," questions related to Tokyo may be identified. Because Tokyo has a relatively large number of stylish and delicious restaurants, questions such as "A restaurant with a night view?" and "A stylish restaurant?" may be identified by way of example, and not by way of limitation.
Furthermore, as a non-limiting example, if "Western food" is specified as the "genre," question content related to Western food may be identified.
In this case, questions related to Tokyo may not be specified, and only questions related to Western food may be specified. For example, but not limited to, questions such as "Are you in the mood for hamburger steak?" or "Are you in the mood for pasta?" may be specified.

As mentioned above, it is also possible to set the search criteria to "No Setting." In this case, the number of questions related to the "No Setting" search category can be set to be larger than the number of questions related to the other search categories.
As a non-limiting example, if "Genre" is set to "Not Set," a larger number of questions related to genre may be selected. As a non-limiting example, if the first set number is set to "5,""3" to "4" questions related to genre may be selected. As a non-limiting example, questions such as "Are you in the mood for Japanese food?", "Are you in the mood for Western food?", "Are you in the mood for Chinese food?", and "Are you in the mood for junk food?" may be selected in larger numbers than questions related to other search categories.

Then, the control unit 11 generates search condition content for the sending user's terminal 20 based on the set search conditions and template data of the search condition content, and transmits the generated search condition content to the terminal 20A via the communication I/F 14 (S320).
In this embodiment, by way of example and not limitation, user A. A, the source user, may choose not to respond to the question. In this case, control unit 11 may generate search condition content including the search condition and transmit the content together with the content ID to terminal 20A.

In addition, as an example, but not limited to, the control unit 11 generates search condition content for the destination user's terminal 20 based on the set search conditions and template data of the search condition content, and transmits the generated search condition content and stamp content to terminal 20B via communication I/F 14 (S330).
In this embodiment, the destination user, user B.B., is made to answer the question. For this reason, the control unit 11 can generate search condition content including the search conditions and information for answering the question (for example, but not limited to, an object such as the participation button BT30 described above), and then transmit the search condition content together with the content ID to terminal 20B.

After step A135, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays the search condition content received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 in the talk room on the display unit 24 of terminal 20A (A330). In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A can, by way of example and not limitation, display the search condition content in the talk room as content originating from user A.A.

The control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines whether the stamp content and search condition content have been received from the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (B320), and if it determines that they have been received (B320: YES), displays the received stamp content and search condition content in the talk room on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B (B330). In this case, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B can, by way of example and not limitation, display the stamp content and search condition content in the talk room as content sent from user A.A.

Then, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B determines whether to answer the question (B340). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, it determines whether an operation has been detected on information for answering the question included in the search condition content displayed in B130 (by way of example and not limitation, an object such as the aforementioned participation button BT30).

If it is determined that the question should be answered (B340: YES), the control unit 21 of terminal 20B performs question answer processing (B350). Specifically, question answer request information including the content ID received together with the search condition content is sent to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22. In response, the control unit 11 sends page information regarding a page for answering the question determined in S315 (hereinafter referred to as the "question answer page") to terminal 20B via the communication I/F 14. In response, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays the question answer page on the display unit 24. The control unit 21 of terminal 20B then answers the question based on the user's input to the input/output unit 23.

In this case, the control unit 11 also performs a question and answer counting process (S350). In this process, since only user B.B. will be answering the question, the answer to the question is stored in the storage unit 15 in association with user B.B.'s application ID.

The control unit 11 then determines whether the search execution conditions are met (S360). The search execution conditions in this process are not limited to, but may be, for example, that an answer to a question has been received from terminal 20B.

It should be noted that an option to skip the question without answering it may be provided.
In this case, the control unit 11 may determine that the search execution conditions are met when answers to more than a set number of questions are received, even if answers to all questions are not received, or it may not do so.

The control unit 11 waits until the search execution condition is met (S360: NO).
If it is determined that the search execution conditions are met (S360: YES), the control unit 11 performs a search process (S130). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, a search can be performed using search words included in the set search conditions and search words related to the content of questions to which affirmative answers have been given among the answers stored in the storage unit 15.
Then, the control unit 11 advances the process to S140.

In the above process, the server 10 generates the search condition content that the sending user's terminal 20 (terminal 20A in the above example) displays in the talk room in step A330, but this is not limited to this.
For example, but not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 of the source user's terminal 20 may generate search condition content based on the set search conditions and template data for the search condition content. In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may display the generated search condition content in the talk room at or after step A130.

<Effects of the Third Embodiment>
This embodiment shows a configuration in which the search results are determined based on search conditions associated with the stamp content (not limited to, but an example of image information) and the first information entered into the terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of the first terminal) of the destination user (not limited to, but an example of the first user).
As an example of an effect of the embodiment obtained by such a configuration, search results that reflect the first user's intentions can be presented to the user.

In this case, the first information may include information on an answer to a question displayed on the terminal 20 of the destination user based on the search conditions.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, appropriate search results that reflect the first user's intentions can be presented to the user based on the first user's answers to questions posed to the first user.

<Third Modification Example (1)>
In the above embodiment, the sending user ("User A.A." in the above example) does not reply to the question, but this is not limiting.
The source user may also answer the question. In other words, the search results may or may not be determined based on the search conditions set in the stamp content, the information input to the terminal 20 of the source user (not limited to, but an example of a user of the terminal), and the first information input to the terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of a first terminal) of the destination user ("User B.B." in the above example).

In this case, in step S320 of the processing in Figure 3-6, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can send to terminal 20A, via the communication I/F 14, search condition content similar to the search condition content sent to terminal 20B in step S330.

Note that questions may or may not be asked to the destination user, and only the source user may answer questions, but this is not required.

In this modified example, the search results are determined based on the search conditions set in the stamp content and information (not limited to, but an example of third information) entered by the sending user (not limited to, but an example of a terminal user) into their own terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of a terminal), and are displayed in the chat room.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, search results that reflect not only the intentions of the user of the first terminal but also the intentions of the user of the terminal can be determined and presented.

<Third Modification (2)>
In the above embodiment, the place where the question is displayed is not limited to the question and answer page.
For example, but not by way of limitation, a question sent from the server 10 may be displayed in a talk room. Alternatively, the question may be displayed in the talk room, but the answer may be provided outside the talk room. In this case, for example, but not by way of limitation, the terminal 20 may display the question sent from the server 10 in the talk room, and may also display information for accessing an answer page sent from the server 10 (for example, but not by way of limitation, link information, etc.) in the talk room. The terminal 20 may then access the answer page based on a tap on this information.

Furthermore, the terminal 20 is configured as described in the first modified example.
The question screen, answer screen, etc. may be displayed on the display unit 24 in a similar manner to (A) a method of displaying a search result display screen using an external browser, or (B) a method of displaying a search result display screen using an in-app browser.

<Fourth Example>
The fourth embodiment is an embodiment in which search results and the like are displayed in a group chat room of a group in a messaging application including a plurality of users.

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

In the following description, it will be assumed that when a search condition setting stamp or the like is sent from one group user's device 20 as the sender, the search condition setting stamp or the like and search results are displayed on the display unit 24 of the destination group user's device 20 (as an example, and not a limitation, a talk room displayed on the display unit 24 of the destination group user's device 20).

As an example and not a limitation, a group includes two or more users, and for convenience, the number of people in the group (total number of users included in the group) is set to "N".
For convenience, a group user who is the sender of a search condition setting stamp or the like is referred to as a "sender group user," and a group user who is the destination of the stamp is referred to as a "destination group user."
Also, one group user will be the source group user at each time, and the other group users will be the destination group users, and the number of destination group users will be "N-1".

<Display screen>
The display screen in this embodiment is not limited to the display screens described in the first to third embodiments, but is an example in which the display screen of user A.A's terminal 20A is the display screen of a source group user, and user B.B's terminal 20B is the display screen of a destination group user, and the display screens of the terminals 20 of the other destination group users are configured in the same way as the display screen of terminal 20B, thereby making it possible to expand to a group. For this reason, basic screen diagrams are omitted, and the illustrations and explanations are provided in modified examples.

<Processing>
The processing in this embodiment is, by way of example and not limitation, the processing described above in FIGS. 1-11, 2-3 to 2-4, 3-6, etc., with user A.A of terminal 20A as the source group user and other group users including user B.B of terminal 20B as the destination group users, so that the contents of the first to third embodiments can be similarly applied to groups.
Here, as an example and not a limitation, a process in which the content of the third embodiment is applied to a group will be illustrated.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.
In this figure, from the left, an example of a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of user A. A, a process executed by the control unit 11 of the server 10, and a process executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A of user B. B is shown, and the parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 3-6 are illustrated.

In this process, the source group user is assumed to be user A.A of terminal 20A, and the destination group users are assumed to be users in the same group as user A.A.
Here, user B.B of terminal 20B is one of the destination group users, and only the processing of terminal 20B is illustrated, but the processing executed by terminals 20 of other destination group users can also be similar to that of terminal 20B.

First, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the group talk room on the display unit 24 (A410). Hereinafter, the talk room in this process refers to the group talk room.

At S330, the control unit 11 of the server 10, by way of example and not limitation, transmits the stamp content and the aforementioned search condition content to the terminals 20 of each destination group user via the communication I/F 14.

In the question and answer aggregation process of S350, the control unit 11 stores the answers to questions from all destination group users in association with each user's application ID. Furthermore, by way of example and not limitation, questions with a high number of affirmative answers (as an example and not limitation, questions with a set number of affirmative answers or more) are identified and stored in the memory unit 15.

In S360, the control unit 11 determines whether the search execution conditions are met. The search execution conditions in this process are not limited to, but may be set, for example, to a condition such as receiving answers to a question from all users in the destination group.

In the search process of S140, the control unit 11 performs a search based on, by way of example and not limitation, the set search criteria and the answers to the questions. Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the search can be performed using search words included in the set search criteria and search words related to the content of the questions identified in S350 that had a high number of positive answers. This increases the likelihood of obtaining search results that reflect not only the set search criteria but also the intentions (voting results) of multiple users.

The control unit 21 of the destination group user's terminal 20 displays the group talk room on the display unit 24, similar to terminal 20A. By way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays the group talk room on the display unit 24. Then, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 of the destination group user's terminal 20 proceeds to B320.

<Effects of the Fourth Embodiment>
In this embodiment, a talk room (a non-limiting example of a chat room) includes, as group users, a source group user (a non-limiting example of a user of a terminal), a first destination group user (a non-limiting example of a first user of a first terminal), and a second destination group user (a non-limiting example of a second user of a second terminal). Search results are determined based on search criteria set in the stamp content, first information input to the terminal 20 of the first destination group user (a non-limiting example of a first terminal), and second information input to the terminal 20 of the second destination group user (a non-limiting example of a second terminal).
As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, search results that reflect the intentions of multiple users (first user, second user) other than the users of the terminals included in the chat room can be determined and presented.

<Fourth Modification Example (1)>
As a non-limiting example of the search execution conditions determined in step S360 of FIG. 4A, the following condition (a) may or may not be applied. However, in this example, it is assumed that an option to skip the question without answering it is provided.
(a) More than the second set number of questions have been answered by all recipient group users. Note that the number of questions is the "first set number," and as an example, but not limited to, the second set number can be set to be less than the first set number.

Furthermore, the condition (a) above may or may not include any of the following:
(a-1) All destination group users have answered all questions. (a-2) Even if there is a destination group user who has not answered all questions, at least a second set number of questions have been answered.

<Fourth Modification Example (2)>
Furthermore, as a search execution condition determined in step S360 of FIG. 4A, the following condition (b) may or may not be applied, but is not limited thereto. However, in this example, it is assumed that an option to skip the question without answering it is provided.
(b) The number of destination group users who have answered the second set number or more of questions reaches a third set number. Note that, as a non-limiting example, the third set number may be set to be less than N-1. In this case, the search execution condition may be met even if at least one destination group user among the N-1 destination group users does not answer a question.

In this variation, a talk room (an example of a chat room, not a limitation) includes as group users a source group user (an example of a terminal user, not a limitation), a first destination group user (an example of a first user of a first terminal, not a limitation), and a second destination group user (an example of a second user of a second terminal, not a limitation). Search results are determined based on input by the source group user, based on search criteria set in the stamp content and first information input to the terminal 20 of the first destination group user (an example of a first terminal, not a limitation), without second information being input by the terminal 20 of the second destination group user (an example of a second terminal, not a limitation), and are displayed in the talk room.
As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, search results that reflect the intentions of some of the users (first user, second user) other than the users of the terminals included in the chat room can be determined and presented. Furthermore, since the search results can be determined without requiring information to be input by the terminals of all users other than the users of the terminals included in the chat room, the search results can be presented quickly.

<Fourth Modification Example (3)>
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, by way of example and not limitation, the source group user may or may not be able to select and designate a destination group user from among the destination group users who will answer the question.

As a non-limiting example, when holding a group event as mentioned above, there may be group users who do not or cannot participate in the event. It may be possible to not request answers to questions from such group users.

<Display screen>
4B and 4C are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on the display unit 24A of the terminal 20A in this modified example.

In the left screen of Figure 4-2, the icon image and user name (user A.A. in this example) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20A are displayed in the top right corner of the screen where the group talk room is displayed.

In the talk room name display area CLR, for example and not by way of limitation, characters (in this example, the group name "Seminar Friends (4)") are displayed indicating that this is a group talk room in which user A.A. can talk with other group users (in this example, users B.B., C.C., and D.D.).
The number in parentheses to the right of the group name indicates the number of users "N" that make up this group.

In this example, user A.A. sends text content to other group users suggesting that they all go out to eat tomorrow, but user C.C. sends text content to other group users stating that they cannot participate.

Under this premise, a stamp thumbnail is selected by user A.A, and a preview image of the stamp content corresponding to the selected stamp thumbnail is displayed in the preview display area.
Furthermore, in the upper left corner of the preview display region PVR, a user selection icon IC40 is displayed to the right of the search condition setting icon IC20 described above.

The left screen of Figure 4-2 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the search condition setting icon IC20 has been tapped. As a result, the search condition setting screen shown on the right of Figure 4-2 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

This screen shows that "No Setting" has been selected and entered in the selection field SJR for the search category "Genre," and "Tokyo" has been selected and entered in the selection field SPR for the search category "Location." When the Save button BT20 is tapped in this state, the screen shown on the left of Figure 4-3 will be displayed, as an example and not a limitation.

This screen shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the user selection icon IC40 has been tapped. As a result, by way of example and not limitation, the member selection screen shown on the right of Figure 4-3 is displayed.

This screen, by way of example and not limitation, includes a destination user selection area SUR for selecting the destination user for search results corresponding to stamp content for which search criteria have been set.

Specifically, a selection field for selecting the destination user is displayed, allowing the user to select any member from the group of users (user B.B., user C.C., user D.D.) using a checkbox.

In this example, by way of example and not limitation, the Save button BT20 is shown tapped with the checkboxes for user B.B. and user D.D. checked. As a result, by way of example and not limitation, user B.B. and user D.D. are set as destination users of the search results corresponding to this stamp content.
This is because user C.C. sent a message to the group stating that he was unable to attend the meal, and user A.A. therefore intended to exclude user C.C. from having his question answered.

FIG. 4D is a diagram showing an example of a group talk room screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20B, the terminal 20C, and the terminal 20D in this modification.
The screen shown on the left side of FIG. 4-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24B of the terminal 20B in the above example.
At the top right of the screen, an icon image and a user name (user B.B. in this example) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20B are displayed.

The chat room name display area CLR displays, by way of example and not limitation, text (in this example, the group name "Seminar Friends (4)") indicating that this is a group chat room in which user B.B. can chat with group users (user A.A., user C.C., and user D.D.).

Below that is a talk area TR where user B.B. and group users can talk interactively, with messages from the other group users displayed on the left side of the screen and messages from user B.B. displayed on the right side.

This screen shows stamp content with search criteria set that has been sent by user A.A.

By way of example and not limitation, stamp content SCT20 including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed as a message from user A.A. on the left side of the talk area TR as viewed from the screen.

Below this, by way of example and not limitation, search condition content CCT40 indicating the search conditions set for this stamp content is displayed.
In this example, by way of example and not limitation, the search condition contents displayed are "Search for a store!", "Genre: Not set", and "Location: Tokyo".

The screen shown in the center of FIG. 4-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24C of the terminal 20C in the above example.
At the top right of the screen, an icon image and a user name (user C.C. in this example) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20C are displayed.

The chat room name display area CLR displays, by way of example and not limitation, text (in this example, the group name "Seminar Friends (4)") indicating that this is a group chat room in which user C.C. can chat with group users (user A.A., user B.B., and user D.D.).

Below that is a talk area TR where user C.C. and group users can talk interactively, with messages from the other group users displayed on the left side of the screen and messages from user C.C. displayed on the right side.

This screen shows the stamp content for which search conditions have been set, sent by user A.A.
As a non-limiting example, stamp content SCT20 including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed as a message from user A.A. on the left side of the talk area TR as viewed from the screen.

However, unlike terminal 20B and terminal 20D, search condition content CCT40 is not displayed in the group talk room displayed on display unit 24 of terminal 20C. This is because search condition content CCT40 was not sent from server 10 to terminal 20C based on the fact that user C.C. was excluded from responding to the question.

The screen shown on the right side of FIG. 4-4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24D of the terminal 20D in the above example.
At the top right of the screen, an icon image and user name (user D.D. in this example) of the messaging application of the user of terminal 20D are displayed.

The chat room name display area CLR displays, by way of example and not limitation, text (in this example, the group name "Seminar Friends (4)") indicating that this is a group chat room in which user D.D. can chat with group users (user A.A., user B.B., and user C.C.).

Below that is a talk area TR where user D.D. and group users can talk interactively, with messages from the other group users displayed on the left side of the screen and messages from user D.D. displayed on the right side.

This screen shows stamp content with search criteria set that has been sent by user A.A.

By way of example and not limitation, stamp content SCT20 including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" is displayed as a message from user A.A. on the left side of the talk area TR as viewed from the screen.

Below this, by way of example and not limitation, search condition content CCT40 indicating the search conditions set for this stamp content is displayed.
In this example, by way of example and not limitation, the search condition contents displayed are "Search for a store!", "Genre: Not set", and "Location: Tokyo".

<Processing>
In the process of this modification, by way of example and not limitation, in the process of FIG. 4A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A performs a question answering user selection setting process after A220.
Specifically, the selection (designation) of a destination group user to be asked to answer the question is accepted based on an input to the input/output unit 23. Then, the application ID of the selected destination group user (hereinafter referred to as the "question answer selection group user") is temporarily stored in the storage unit 28.

Note that not all question and answer selection group users will necessarily answer the question, and it is possible that the search execution conditions will be met even if not all question and answer selection group users answer the question. For this reason, group users who actually answer the question will be referred to as "question answerers."

In step A135, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A, by way of example and not limitation, includes the application ID of the question and answer selection group user temporarily stored in the memory unit 28 in the stamp transmission request information and transmits it to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

In S330, the control unit 11 of the server 10 identifies the question and answer selection group users based on the application ID included in the stamp transmission request information received from the terminal 20A, for example and not by way of limitation.
Then, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 11 transmits stamp content and search condition content including information for enabling access to the question and answer page to the terminal 20 of the question and answer selection group user via the communication I/F 14.
On the other hand, the control unit 11 transmits only the stamp content via the communication I/F 14 to the terminals 20 of the destination group users other than the question and answer selection group users, for example and not as a limitation.
In this way, it is possible to prevent users in the destination group who are not selected from answering the question.

Alternatively, the control unit 11 may transmit stamp content and search condition content that does not include information for answering questions (for example, but not limited to, objects such as the participation button BT30) to the terminals 20 of destination group users other than the question and answer selection group users via the communication I/F 14.
Even in this way, it is possible to prevent users in the destination group who are not selected from answering the question.

In this variation, a talk room (one example of a chat room, not limited to this) includes, as group users, a source group user (one example of a terminal user, not limited to this), a first destination group user (one example of a first terminal user, not limited to this), and a second destination group user (one example of a second terminal user, not limited to this), and the search results are determined based on first information entered by a destination group user (one example of a terminal user, not limited to this) selected by the source group user and search criteria set in the stamp content, and are displayed in the talk room.
As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to determine and present search results that reflect the intentions of a first user selected by a user of a terminal among multiple users (first user, second user) other than the users of the terminals included in the chat room. Furthermore, since search results can be determined without requiring information to be input by the terminals of all users other than the users of the terminals included in the chat room, it is possible to quickly present search results.

<Fourth Modification Example (4)>
In the above embodiment, the sending group user (in the above example, "User A.A.") does not answer questions, but as in the third variant example (1), the sending group user may also answer questions.
In this case, in the question/answer group user selection process, the terminal 20 of the sending group user can set the user of its own terminal 20 to be included in the question/answer group users based on input by the user of its own terminal 20.

Also, as with the third variant example (1), questions may not be asked to users in the destination group, and only users in the source group may answer questions.

In this variation, a talk room (one example of a chat room, not limited to this) includes, as group users, a source group user (one example of a terminal user, not limited to this), a first destination group user (one example of a first terminal user, not limited to this), and a second destination group user (one example of a second terminal user, not limited to this), and the search results are determined based on information input by the source group user, first information input by a destination group user (one example of a terminal user, not limited to this) selected by the source group user, and search conditions set in the stamp content, and are displayed in the talk room.
As an example of the effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to determine and present search results that reflect not only the first user selected by the user of the terminal among multiple users (first user, second user) who are different from the user of the terminal included in the chat room, but also the intentions of the user of the terminal.

Fifth Example
The fifth embodiment is an embodiment relating to a method for dealing with a case where there is a user who has not yet answered a question.
As mentioned above, when requesting answers to a question from all destination users, there is a possibility that some destination users will not respond or will take a long time to respond, and it may take a long time for the search execution conditions to be met. The same applies when specifying destination users to have answers to a question.
As mentioned above, the search process will not be executed until the search execution conditions are met, so in the above case, it may not be possible to display the search results until the answers of the unanswered users are provided.

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

In this embodiment, a time limit is set for inputting information for determining search results, such as inputting a destination user's answer to a question from a source user.
In addition, this embodiment will be described taking as an example the group described in the fourth embodiment.

<Display screen>
5A is a diagram showing an example of the transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment. This example is an example in which the user A.A. proposes to go out to dinner with a group user, similar to the fourth embodiment.

On the left screen of Figure 5-1, by way of example and not limitation, a time limit setting icon IC50 for setting a time limit is displayed to the right of the search condition setting icon IC20 in the upper left corner of the preview display area PVR. When this time limit setting icon IC50 is tapped, the screen in the center of Figure 5-1 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

Specifically, the text "Please set a time limit for answering the question" is displayed in the center of the screen, and below that is a time limit input area TSR for displaying the time limit entered via a keyboard or the like.
In this example, a state is shown in which "6 hours (6:00:00)" has been input as the time limit by user A. A. When the save button is tapped in this state, the time limit is set.

Thereafter, based on an operation to send stamp content by user A.A, the group talk room screen on the right side of FIG. 5-1 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.
On this group talk room screen, the set time limit is displayed in countdown format at the bottom of the search condition content CCT50 displayed in the talk area TR.

5B is a diagram showing an example of a group talk room screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the device 20B of user B. B, who is one of the destination group users in the above example.
In the group talk room screen on the left of FIG. 5-2, stamp content SCT20 and search condition content CCT52 are displayed in the talk area TR as content sent from user A.A. In this example, a time limit set based on input by user A.A. is displayed in countdown format below a join button BT30 in the search condition content CCT52.

After that, the time limit has elapsed and the count reaches "0:00:00", as shown in the center of FIG. 5-2.
In this state, when the participation button included in the search condition content is tapped by user B.B, the screen on the right of FIG. 5B is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.
This screen displays an error screen containing a message indicating that the time limit has expired and the question cannot be answered.

<Processing>
In this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the source group user's terminal 20 performs, by way of example and not limitation, a time limit setting process to set a time limit for answering a question, based on an input by the source group user to his or her own terminal 20, at or before or after step A220 in Figures 3-6 and 4-1. Specifically, the time limit input via the input/output unit 23 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 28 as time limit setting information.
In this case, the time limit may be set as one type of search condition setting in the search condition setting process of step A220, or the time limit may be set separately from the search condition setting in the search condition setting process of step A220.

In addition, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 of the source group user, by way of example and not limitation, in step A330 of Figures 3-6 and 4-1, displays a time limit based on the time limit setting information temporarily stored in the memory unit 28, by way of example and not limitation, in association with the stamp content or search condition content.
The time limit may be displayed in a countdown format based on the timekeeping information of the clock unit 29A of the terminal 20A, for example, and not by way of limitation. In this case, the time limit may be displayed in any one of the following locations, for example, within the search condition content, next to the search condition content, or next to the stamp content.

In addition, the control unit 21 of the source group user's terminal 20, by way of example and not limitation, in step A135 of Figures 3-6 and 4-1, includes the time limit setting information temporarily stored in the memory unit 28 in the stamp transmission request information and transmits it to the server 10.

As a non-limiting example, in step S330 of Figure 3-6 and Figure 4-1, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits the stamp content, search condition content, and time limit setting information to the terminal 20 of the destination group user via the communication I/F 14.
In this case, search condition content configured to display the time limit may be transmitted to the terminal 20 of the destination group user.

The control unit 21 of the terminal 20 of the destination group user, by way of example and not limitation, in step B330 of Figures 3-6 and 4-1, displays the time limit based on the received time limit setting information in association with the received stamp content or the received search condition content.
The time limit can be displayed in a countdown format, for example, based on timekeeping information from the clock unit 29A of the terminal 20 of each destination group user, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, in the question and answer process of B350, the destination group user's terminal 20 transmits question and answer request information including the content ID of the search condition content to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

In this case, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether the time limit has passed. If it determines that the time limit has not passed, it transmits information about the question and answer page to the destination group user's terminal 20. On the other hand, if it determines that the time limit has passed, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits error information to the destination group user's terminal 20 indicating that the question cannot be answered because the time limit has passed.
By doing so, it is possible to prevent the question from being answered once the time limit has elapsed.

Furthermore, if the time limit has elapsed, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can proceed to step S360 and determine that the search execution conditions have been met.

In the above example, the terminal 20 sets a time limit when transmitting the stamp content, but it is also possible to not set a time limit when transmitting the stamp content, but to set a time limit after transmitting the stamp content.
In this case, as an example and not a limitation, a conductor for setting a time limit may be provided in the search condition content generated by the sending user's terminal 20, or in the search condition content generated by the server 10 and sent to the sending user's terminal 20, and the time limit may be set from this conductor.

In this embodiment, the terminal 20 of the sending group user is configured to display time limit information in the talk room regarding the time limit for inputting answers to questions (not a limitation, but an example of information for determining search results).
As an example of the effect of this embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the time limit for inputting information for determining search results can be displayed in the chat room to allow the terminal user to confirm it.

In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the terminal 20 of the sending group user uses the control unit 21 to set a time limit for answering a question (not a limitation, but an example of information for determining search results) based on input to the user's own terminal 20.
As an example of the effect of this embodiment obtained by such a configuration, the time limit for inputting information for determining search results can be appropriately set based on input to the terminal.

<Fifth Modification Example (1)>
In the above embodiment, the time limit set in the terminal 20 of the sending user may be changed later.

Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, between steps A330 and A140 in Figures 3-6 and 4-1, the source group user's terminal 20 determines whether an input to change the set time limit has been made to its own terminal 20. If it determines that an input has been made, it performs time limit change processing. Specifically, the time limit input via the input/output unit 23 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 28 as time limit change information.

The time limit can be changed by the user who set the time limit (i.e., the sending user) tapping on the time limit display displayed in the search condition content, as shown on the right of Figure 5-1, or the time limit display displayed next to the search condition content or stamp content, for example, but not by way of limitation. Specifically, the sending user's terminal 20 displays a display for changing the time limit when the time limit display is tapped. Then, when the user performs an operation to change the time limit and then performs an operation to save it, the time limit is changed.

As with setting the time limit, the time limit may be changed from a line for setting the time limit that is provided in the search condition content generated by the sending user's terminal 20 or in the search condition content generated by the server 10 and transmitted to the sending user's terminal 20.

Then, the control unit 21 of the source group user's terminal 20, for example and not by way of limitation, transmits the time limit change information temporarily stored in the memory unit 28 to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22. In response, the control unit 11 of the server 10 stores the time limit change information in the memory unit 15. The control unit 11 of the server 10 also transmits the time limit change information to the destination group user's terminal 20 via the communication I/F 14.

The control unit 21 of the destination group user's terminal 20 updates the time limit display based on the time limit change information received from the server 10.

In this modified example, the terminal 20 of the source group user has a configuration in which the control unit 21 controls the change of the time limit based on an input by the user of the terminal 20 itself.
As an example of the effect of this modified example obtained by such a configuration, the time limit for inputting information for determining search results can be easily and appropriately changed based on input by the user of the terminal.

<Fifth Modification Example (2)>
In the above embodiment, a time limit for answering a question is set in consideration of the possibility that search results may not be displayed until an answer is provided by a user who has not yet answered the question, but this is not limited to this.
As a non-limiting example, a source group user may input, via the input/output unit 23, to his/her own terminal 20, an input for changing, adding, or deleting a destination group user who will answer the question. Then, based on the input, the terminal 20 may use the control unit 21 to control at least one of changing, adding, or deleting a destination group user who will answer the question.

More specifically, after stamp content, etc. is sent to the destination group user's terminal 20, the source group user may input, via the input/output unit 23, into their own terminal 20 to change, add, or delete the destination group user who will answer the question.

In this case, by way of example and not limitation, between steps A330 and A140 in Figures 3-6 and 4-1, the terminal 20 of the source group user determines whether an input has been made to its own terminal 20 to change, add, or delete a destination group user who will answer the question. If it is determined that an input has been made, the control unit 21 performs control corresponding to the input that has been made.

As a non-limiting example, if there is a destination group user who has not responded after a certain amount of time has passed, the source group user can make an input to delete the destination group user from the question and answer selection group users.
In this case, the terminal 20 of the source group user transmits answerer deletion request information, including the application ID of the destination group user designated to be deleted, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22. In response to this, the server 10 deletes the destination group user with the application ID included in the received answerer deletion request information from the question and answer selection group users, and then determines whether the search execution condition is met in step S360.

In this modified example, a talk room (one example of a chat room, not limited to this) includes as group users a source group user (one example of a terminal user, not limited to this), a first destination group user (one example of a first user of a first terminal, not limited to this), and a second destination group user (one example of a second user of a second terminal, not limited to this). The source group user's terminal 20 is configured to use the control unit 21 to control at least one of changing, adding, and deleting destination group users who input answers to questions from the source group user (one example of information for determining search results, not limited to this) based on input from the source group user.
As an example of the effect of the modified example obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to target multiple users (first user, second user) who are different from the user of the terminal included in the chat room, and based on input by the user of the terminal, to change, add, or delete at least one of the users who input information to determine search results, thereby improving user convenience.

<Fifth Modification Example (3)>
In addition, without setting a time limit, the source group user who requests an answer to a question may input information into his/her own terminal 20 and be able to view the answers of the destination group users who have answered, even if there are group users who have not answered yet.

In this case, by way of example and not limitation, between steps A330 and A140 in Figures 3-6 and 4-1, the terminal 20 of the source group user determines whether an input to view the answer has been made to its own terminal 20. If it determines that an input has been made, the terminal 20 of the source group user transmits answer view request information to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22.

In response to this, the server 10, by way of example and not limitation, determines the sender group users whose answers have already been tallied in the question and answer tallying process in step S350 of Figure 3-6 or Figure 4-1, and sends the answer results of these sender group users to the sender group user's terminal 20 via the communication I/F 14. The sender group user's terminal 20 then displays the received answer results on the display unit 24.

This allows users in the sending group to understand what other members want based on the responses of users in the destination group who have already responded, before receiving the search results.

Sixth Example
The sixth embodiment is an embodiment that makes it possible to notify the user that search conditions have been set for stamp content for which search conditions have been set.

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

<Display screen>
FIG. 6 shows an example of transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24A of the terminal 20A when informing the user that the search conditions have been set for stamp content for which the search conditions have been set.

The left screen of FIG. 6 shows a state in which a plurality of stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp contents are displayed in the stamp thumbnail display area STR.
In this example, even if a search category is associated with a stamp, if all search categories are "not set," it is assumed that no search conditions are set.

In this example, for stamp content for which search conditions have been set based on user input, a search conditions set mark MK60, represented by an image of a magnifying glass, is displayed in the upper left corner of the area in the stamp thumbnail display area STR where the stamp thumbnail is displayed, by way of example and not limitation. In other words, stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search conditions have been set are displayed with information indicating that search conditions have been set. In contrast, stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search conditions have not been set do not display the search conditions set mark MK60.

The search condition setting mark MK60 may be considered part of the stamp thumbnail, or may be considered separate from the stamp thumbnail.

The screen on the left of Figure 6 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the top-left stamp thumbnail in the stamp thumbnail display area STR, to which the search criteria set mark MK60 has been added, has been tapped. As a result, by way of example and not limitation, the screen shown in the center of Figure 6 is displayed.

On this screen, as an example and not a limitation, a preview image of stamp content including an illustration of a cat and the words "Let's eat!" and a search condition setting icon IC20 are displayed in the preview display area PVR.
The search condition setting icon IC20 may be regarded as a part of the preview image of the stamp content, or may be regarded as a separate entity from the preview image of the stamp content.

The screen in the center of Figure 6 shows, by way of example and not limitation, the state in which the search condition setting icon IC20 has been tapped. As a result, by way of example and not limitation, the screen shown on the right of Figure 6 is displayed.

This screen notifies the user of the search conditions that have been set for this stamp content. In this example, it shows that "Western food" has been set in the selection field SJR for the search category "genre," and "Tokyo" has been set in the selection field SPR for the search category "location."

Also, on the right screen of Figure 6, an icon similar to the search condition setting icon IC20 on the center screen of Figure 6 is displayed to the left of the stamp content. This icon can function as an icon for changing search conditions (or an icon for resetting search conditions). In other words, when this icon is tapped, the user can, by way of example and not limitation, reselect any genre from the selection field SJR for the search category "genre" using a drum roll, and also reselect any location from the selection field SPR for the search category "location". Furthermore, the aforementioned save button BT20 is displayed, and when this save button BT20 is tapped, the search conditions can be changed to the reselected search conditions.

<Processing>
In the processing in this embodiment, by way of example and not limitation, in the various processes such as those described above in Figures 1-11, 2-3 to 2-4, 3-6, and 4-1, when making a judgment in step A115, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays a list of stamp thumbnails in the stamp thumbnail list area.

At this time, the control unit 21 displays stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search conditions have been set by adding, for example but not limited to, information indicating that search conditions have been set (hereinafter referred to as "search condition setting notification information") to the stamp thumbnail.

The search condition setting notification information may be, for example and without limitation, text indicating that search conditions have been set, or an image such as the magnifying glass icon described above.
In contrast, the control unit 21 displays the stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp contents for which no search conditions are set as they are.

Furthermore, based on detecting an input to select a stamp thumbnail, the control unit 21 displays a preview image including an image of the stamp content corresponding to the selected stamp thumbnail in the preview display area in step A120.

As mentioned above, the term "preview image" may refer to the image of the stamp content displayed in the preview display area, or it may refer to the preview display area, with the entire preview display area considered to be an image.

When previewing stamp content for which search conditions have been set, the control unit 21 displays search condition setting notification information in the preview display area together with the image of the stamp content.
On the other hand, when previewing stamp content for which no search conditions are set, the control unit 21 does not display the search condition setting notification information.

In addition, when the control unit 21 detects an operation on the search condition setting notification information displayed in the preview display area, it displays the set search conditions on the display unit 24.

Furthermore, after the control unit 21 displays the set search conditions on the display unit 24, if an operation on the search condition setting notification information is detected, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 displays a display for changing the search conditions.
If the above-mentioned (1) direct input method is applied, a search condition input field can be displayed so that the user can input directly using a keyboard or the like.
If the above-mentioned (2) selection input method is applied, search category selection candidates can be displayed and the user can select from them.

Then, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 21 performs a search condition change process based on the tapping of the aforementioned save button. Specifically, it updates the set search conditions with the search conditions entered by the user.

Note that it is not necessary to display search condition setting notification information, as long as the display mode of stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search conditions have been set differs from the display mode of stamp thumbnails corresponding to stamp content for which search conditions have not been set. As a non-limiting example, the brightness of the stamp thumbnails to be displayed may be changed.

Note that the change of search conditions is not limited to changing information within the same search category, and may or may not include changing the search category to a different search category.
For example, if the search category is "location" and the set information is "Tokyo," the former may include changing "Tokyo" to another prefecture (Chiba, etc.). Also, if the search category is "genre" and the set information is "Western food," the former may include changing "Western food" to another genre (Japanese food, etc.).

In contrast, the latter could include, when the search category includes "place" and "genre," changing some or all of these to a different search category, such as, but not limited to, changing the search category "place" to the search category "movies," "games," or "recipes."

<Effects of the Sixth Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the terminal 20 displays a stamp thumbnail (not limiting, but an example of a reduced image of image information) on the display unit 24. Then, based on an input to the stamp thumbnail, the terminal 20 controls, via the communication I/F 22, the transmission of the corresponding stamp content to the terminal 20 of a destination user included in the talk room, and controls the display of the corresponding stamp content in the talk room, using the control unit 21. In this case, a stamp thumbnail of stamp content for which a search condition is set (not limiting, but an example of a first reduced image) and a stamp thumbnail of stamp content for which a search condition is not set (not limiting, but an example of a second reduced image) are displayed in different ways.
As an example of an effect obtained by this configuration, a reduced image of the image information can be viewed by a user of the terminal, and then, based on an input by the user of the terminal regarding the reduced image, the image information can be transmitted to a first terminal for confirmation by the first user, and the user of the terminal can also confirm the image information. Furthermore, the user of the terminal can recognize whether the search information is a reduced image of the image information set.

In addition, this embodiment shows a configuration in which the sending user's terminal 20 displays a preview image of the corresponding stamp (not limited to, but an example of a first preview image related to the first reduced image) on the display unit 24 based on input for a stamp thumbnail (not limited to, but an example of a first reduced image) of stamp content for which search conditions have been set, and displays a preview image of the corresponding stamp (not limited to, but an example of a second preview image related to the second reduced image) on the display unit 24 based on input for a stamp thumbnail (not limited to, but an example of a second preview image) of stamp content for which search conditions have not been set.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to enable the user of the terminal to recognize the first reduced image that was input or image information for which search conditions corresponding to that first reduced image have been set, and it is also possible to enable the user of the terminal to recognize the second reduced image that was input or image information for which search conditions corresponding to that second reduced image have not been set.

In this case, the preview image (not limiting, an example of the first preview image) associated with the stamp thumbnail (not limiting, an example of the first reduced image) of the stamp content for which the search criteria have been set includes a display of the search criteria setting notification information (not limiting, an example of the first display). Then, based on the user's input to this display, the source user's terminal 20 can display on the display unit 24 the search criteria (not limiting, an example of the first search criteria) set for the stamp content associated with the preview screen.
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, it is possible to enable the user of the terminal to confirm the first search conditions set in the image information based on input to the first display included in the first preview image.

In this case, after the user of the sending user's terminal 20 inputs information in response to the display of the search condition setting notification information, the control unit 21 can control the sending user to change the search condition (not a limitation, but an example of the first search condition) set in the stamp content related to the above-mentioned preview screen to another search condition (not a limitation, but an example of the second search condition) based on the change input by the user of the sending user's terminal 20.
As an example of the effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, after input to the first display included in the first preview image, the first search condition set in the image information can be easily and appropriately changed to the second search condition based on input by the user of the terminal.

Seventh Example
The seventh embodiment is an embodiment relating to a use case different from the above-described embodiments.
The contents described in the seventh embodiment can be applied to any of the other embodiments and other modified examples.
Furthermore, components that are essentially the same as those already mentioned will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

In addition to searching for restaurants and stores as described above, other use cases for the techniques disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Recipe search (2) Video search (including movie search, program search, voice call, etc.)
(3) Game search (4) Shopping search (including store search)
(5) News search

The following examples, not intended to be limiting, illustrate cases where (1) recipe search and (2) video search are applied.

(1) When searching for recipes, the search categories among the search conditions set for stamp content can include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: "Cooking genre" (Japanese, Western, Chinese, etc.), "Budget," "Number of people," "Situation" (Party, Christmas, New Year, Celebration, Ordinary household, etc.), "Ingredients" (Meat, Fish, Vegetables, etc.), "Cooking method" (Hot pot, Stir-fry, Stew, etc.), etc.

(2) In video searches, the search categories among the search conditions set for stamp content can include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: "service" (such as the name of the video distribution service or the name of the video distribution service provider), "genre" (such as the genre of video), "video length/time," etc.

(1) Recipe Search FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of search condition setting stamp data stored in the search condition setting stamp database 287 of the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
This search condition setting stamp data is similar to the search condition setting stamp data in the search condition setting stamp database 287C shown in FIG. 2-5, but the contents are partially different.

Specifically, the stamp category stores "recipe."
The search categories include, but are not limited to, a plurality of categories such as "food genre,""number of people," and "budget per person."
The search category selection candidates store selection candidates corresponding to each of the above search categories.

The stamp in the frontmost stamp-specific data in Figure 7-1 shows that, based on user input, the search category "Cuisine genre" has been set to "Western food," the search category "Number of people" has been set to "4 people," and the search category "Budget" has been set to "2,000 yen to 4,999 yen."

<Display screen>
7B to 7D are diagrams showing an example of transition of screens displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment.
In the left screen of FIG. 7-2 , the stamp category "Recipe" is selected from the stamp category display area SCR, and as a result, stamp thumbnails corresponding to the stamp content included in the stamp category "Recipe" are displayed in a list in the stamp thumbnail display area STR. Also, in this example, the stamp thumbnail represented by the illustration of "Scales & Measuring Cup" at the top left of the stamp thumbnail display area STR is tapped by user A.A, and a preview image of the stamp content corresponding to this stamp thumbnail is displayed in the preview display area PVR.

In this state, when the user A.A taps the search condition setting icon IC20 in the upper left corner of the preview display area PVR, the screen shown in the center of FIG. 7B is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.
This screen allows the user to set search conditions using the selection input method described above, and displays the text "Select search conditions" along with selection fields SJR, SNR, and SBR for selecting conditions corresponding to each of the search categories "Cuisine genre,""Number of people," and "Budget per person" using a drum roll method.

The screen on the right of Figure 7-2 shows the state in which user A.A. has selected search criteria by operating the selection fields described above. In this example, "Western food" has been entered in the search category "Cuisine genre," "4 people" in the search category "Number of people," and "2,000 to 4,999 yen" in the search category "Budget per person."

When the Save button BT20 at the bottom of the screen is tapped in this state, the screen on the left in Figure 7-3 is displayed. This screen is similar to the screen containing the preview image shown on the left in Figure 7-2, and when the preview image is tapped, the screen on the right in Figure 7-3 is displayed.

On this screen, stamp content SCT70 selected by user A.A is displayed in the talk area TR, and below that, search criterion content CCT70 corresponding to the set search criterion is displayed.
Below that, a list of search results searched by the server 10 based on the set search conditions is displayed. In this example, multiple search results related to Western food recipes, such as a recipe for "hamburger steak" and a recipe for "butter chicken curry," are displayed.

Each search result includes an image of the dish along with a recipe view button BT71 that includes the words "View Recipe." When the recipe view button BT71 is tapped, an internal page containing details of the recipe is displayed, for example but not limited to:
In this example, the view recipe button BT71 corresponding to the search result of the "hamburger" recipe has been tapped, which results in the left internal page of FIG. 7-4 being displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

The left inner page of Figure 7-4 displays an image of a "hamburger steak" along with the ingredients and corresponding quantities of the "hamburger steak."
In this example, based on the setting of "4 people" as the search category "Number of people" on the right screen of Figure 7-2, the server 10 calculates the amount of ingredients for 4 people and displays a recipe for the ingredients (for 4 people).

For example, and not by way of limitation, when the image of "hamburger steak" is tapped, the external page shown on the right of Figure 7-4 is displayed as an external page publishing the recipe for this hamburger steak based on the link information. This external page is a web page publishing the recipe for "hamburger steak" on a website named "XYZ Recipe."
This webpage publishes the recipe for the above-mentioned "hamburger steak" with servings for "two people."

In other words, in this example, the server 10 calculates the amount for "four people" from the information about the amount for "two people" published on the "XYZ Recipe" page, and then provides the information on the internal page shown on the left of Figure 7-4 to the terminal 20.

<Processing>
The processing in this embodiment is not limited to the processing in the above-described embodiment, but may be applied to the processing in the above-described embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-3 to 2-4, 3-6, 4-1, etc.
Below, a process different from the case where these processes are applied will be described.

FIG. 7-5 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment, and illustrates the part corresponding to FIG. 4-1.
After S130, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs a search result adjustment process (S535). Specifically, the control unit 11 adjusts the information included in the search results found in the search process based on, for example but not limited to, the number of people in the group and the number of people included in the set search criteria.

More specifically, for each search result of a recipe found in the search process, the control unit 11 adjusts the quantity information by calculating the quantity when applying it to the number of people included in the set search criteria, based on the quantity information in the source information (for example, but not limited to, external information).

This type of information adjustment can be considered a type of information organization as described above.
Adjusting information may not be considered to be falsifying the original information.

Then, the control unit 11, by way of example and not limitation, transmits a list of search results including the adjusted information (hereinafter referred to as "adjustment information") to the terminal 20 of the source group user and the terminal 20 of the destination group user via the communication I/F 14. In this case, the control unit 11 may, by way of example and not limitation, transmit search results to the terminal 20 that include a data ID, link information for an internal page including the adjustment information, and link information for an external page including the original information.

There may be cases where the number of people in a search category is set to "not set."
It is also possible to omit the "number of people" category from the search categories.
In these cases, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can calculate the quantity in the above example based on any of the following numbers of people, by way of example and not limitation, in the search result adjustment process of S535.
・Number of people in the group: "N"
・Number of users in the question and answer selection group + 1
・Number of people answering the question +1
However, this is the case when a user in the sending group does not answer the question.

In addition, if the sender group user also answers the question, for example, but not limited to,
・Number of people in the group: "N"
- Number of question and answer selection group users (including the sender group user)
・Number of people answering the question.

(2) Video Search FIG. 7-6 is a diagram showing an example of search condition setting stamp data stored in the search condition setting stamp database 287 of the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20 in this embodiment.
This search condition setting stamp data is similar to the search condition setting stamp data in the search condition setting stamp database 287C shown in FIG. 2-5, but the contents are partially different.

Specifically, "moving image" is stored in the stamp category.
As a search category, a plurality of categories such as "service" and "genre" are stored as examples, but are not limited to these.
The search category selection candidates store selection candidates corresponding to each of the above search categories.

The service may be the name of a video streaming service or the name of a provider of the video streaming service. By way of example and not limitation, a messaging service provider may be affiliated with a provider of a video streaming service.
The genre may be the genre of the video.

Search category selection candidates corresponding to each of the above search categories are stored in the search category selection candidates.

The stamp in the frontmost stamp-specific data in Figure 7-6 shows that, based on user input, the search category "Service" has been set to "XXX video streaming service" and the search category "Genre" has been set to "Christmas video."

<Display screen>
FIG. 7-7 is a diagram showing an example of transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A in this embodiment.
The left side of FIG. 7-7 is the group talk room screen described in the fourth embodiment, in which user A.A. has suggested that all of his seminar classmates watch a video, and stamp content has been sent.
Search condition content CCT80 displayed below the stamp content displays the text "Let's decide on a movie to watch together!" along with information indicating that "XXX video distribution service" has been set for the search category "service" and "Christmas" has been set for the search category "genre."

Furthermore, as a search result of videos searched by the server 10 using the above search criteria, search results of multiple Christmas-related videos, such as "Christmas Movie A" and "Christmas Movie B," are displayed. In this state, when the simultaneous viewing button BT72, which includes the words "Watch together" in the search result for "Christmas Movie A," is tapped, the screen in the center of Figure 7-7 is displayed, for example and not by way of limitation.

On this screen, by way of example and not limitation, a video call has begun, and images of four fellow seminar group users, User A.A., User B.B., User C.C., and User D.D., are displayed in four separate areas. In this state, by way of example and not limitation, when User A.A. taps the video play button BT73 at the bottom of the screen, the screen on the right of Figure 7-7 is displayed, by way of example and not limitation.

On this screen, the video of "Christmas Movie A" that was requested for simultaneous viewing and is distributed by "XXX Video Distribution Service" is displayed and played in the video area at the top of the screen. In addition, the images of the four members of the group are displayed in reduced size in the area below the video area.
Also, at the top of the screen, the words "A.A. is playing" are displayed, indicating that user A.A. has performed an operation to play the video.

Note that, although this example shows a case where the video viewing button BT72 is tapped by user A.A, the same behavior occurs when the video viewing button BT72 is tapped by another group user.
Furthermore, although this example shows a case where the video playback button BT73 is tapped by user A.A, the same behavior occurs when the video playback button BT73 is tapped by another group user.

Also, while this example shows a group watching a video simultaneously, the same applies when two users chatting in a one-on-one chat room watch a video simultaneously.

<Processing>
The processing in this embodiment is not limited to the processing in the above-described embodiment, but may be applied to the processing in the above-described embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-3 to 2-4, 3-6, 4-1, etc., by way of example.
Below, a process different from the case where these processes are applied will be described.

7 and 8 are diagrams showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment, and show the parts corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 4. In FIG.
After A140, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not an input has been made to request simultaneous viewing of one video search result from the video search result list (A550).

If it is determined that the request has been made (A550), the control unit 21 of terminal 20A transmits simultaneous viewing request information, including the data ID of the search result of the selected video, to the server 10 via the communication I/F 22 (A560).

When the simultaneous viewing request information is received via the communication I/F 14 (S550: YES), the control unit 11 of the server 10 starts call control (S560). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 11 controls the start of a video call between terminal 20A and terminal 20B.

Thereafter, the control unit 11 starts the relay process (S570). Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 11 accesses a server of a video distribution service (hereinafter referred to as a "video distribution service server") that distributes a video based on the video information of the data ID included in the received simultaneous viewing request information, and requests distribution of the corresponding video.
The video distribution service server is not shown in the figure.

In response to video distribution from the video distribution service server, the control unit 11 relays the video distribution to terminals 20A and 20B. In other words, the server 10 can function as a relay server (proxy server) that relays the video distribution.

After A560, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A displays a relay screen including the video on the display unit 24 (A570). Similarly, the control unit 21 of terminal 20B displays a relay screen including the video on the display unit 24 (B570).

After A570, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the playback of the video based on the user input via the input/output unit 23 (A580). Specifically, based on the input to start, pause, or end playback of the video, the control unit 21 transmits corresponding playback request information to the server 10. In response to this, the control unit 11 accesses the distribution server and requests the server 10 to start, pause, or end playback of the video.
Similarly, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B also controls the playback of the video based on the user input via the input/output unit 23 (B580).

After A580, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines whether or not to end simultaneous viewing (A590), and if it determines not to end it (A590: NO), the process returns to A580.
On the other hand, if it is determined that simultaneous viewing is to be ended (A590: YES), the relay screen is hidden and the process returns to the talk room. Then, the process proceeds to A190.
The same applies to terminal 20B (B590: NO → B580, B590: YES → B190).

In the above process, terminal 20A requests simultaneous viewing from server 10, but as mentioned above, terminal 20B may also be able to request simultaneous viewing from server 10.
In this case, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B may perform steps similar to steps A550 and A560. In other words, a request for simultaneous viewing may be made to the server 10 from the terminal 20 of either user.

The same applies when the above process is applied to the groups mentioned above.
In this case, as an example and not a limitation, simultaneous viewing may be requested from the terminal 20 of any of the group users to the server 10 .

<Effects of the Seventh Embodiment>
In this embodiment, the search results are information related to recipes, and the search results are adjusted based on the search conditions and displayed on the terminal 20 .
As an example of the effect of this embodiment obtained by such a configuration, appropriate search results in which information is adjusted based on the search conditions can be presented.

In this embodiment, the search results are information related to video information, and the source user's terminal 20 displays the video on the display unit 24 based on input by the user of the source user's terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of input by a terminal user) or input by the destination user (not limited to, but an example of input by a first user). This video is displayed on the source user's terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of input by a terminal user) based on input by the user of the source user's terminal 20 (not limited to, but an example of input by a terminal user) or input by the destination user (not limited to, but an example of input by a first user).
As an example of an effect of an embodiment obtained by such a configuration, based on input by the user of the terminal or input by the first user, moving images based on video information can be shared between the user's terminal and the first user's terminal.

<Seventh Modification (1)>
In the above example, the target of adjustment in the search result adjustment process was information on the quantity of the search category "recipes," but this is not limited to this. For example, and not as a limitation, various information that may vary depending on the number of people can be the target of adjustment in the search result adjustment process.

To give one example, but not to be limited to, when users go out to eat together, as mentioned above, the external information about the restaurant stored in the search engine database 155 may include information about the average budget per person for dining at that restaurant. In such a case, the server 10 can adjust the amount information by calculating the average total amount by multiplying the average budget per person by the number of participants, based on the number of participants for the meal being specified as a search condition.

<Seventh Modification (2)>
In the above embodiment, an example in which a video is viewed while a video call is being made is described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The call control performed by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in S560 of FIG. 7-8 may be voice call control, so that users can simultaneously watch videos while making voice calls.
Alternatively, the devices may be configured to simply be able to simultaneously watch videos without making a call.

Furthermore, when the server 10 transmits a list of video search results to the terminal 20, it may transmit only search results for videos related to services that allow simultaneous viewing to the terminal 20.

On subscription-based video streaming services, only users with registered accounts can watch videos. In this case, messaging service providers obtain information on whether or not an account has been registered from the video streaming service provider with which they have an agreement. Alternatively, they obtain information from the user on whether or not an account has been registered.

When searching in a one-to-one talk room, the server 10 transmits to each terminal 20 only search results for videos from video distribution services for which both the source user and the destination user have registered accounts.
Similarly, when searching in a group talk room, the server 10 transmits to each terminal 20 only search results for videos from video distribution services for which all group users have registered accounts.

<Other Examples>
(1) Image Information In the above embodiment, stamps (stamp content) are used as an example of image information for which search conditions are set, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Any image information other than a stamp may be used.

(2) Search Subject In the above embodiment, the search process is performed by the server 10, but this is not limiting.
As a non-limiting example, a distributed search engine may be configured, or a search database may be configured on the terminal 20, so that the terminal 20 takes the lead in performing the search process, or it is not necessary to do so.
In this case, the user's terminal can be configured to control the transmission of search results searched by the terminal's control unit based on search conditions set in the image information to the first terminal via the terminal's communication unit, and to control the display of the search results in the chat room.

(3) Searching Based on Stamp Content for Which Search Conditions Are Not Set Unlike the above embodiment, it is also possible to perform a search based on stamp content for which search conditions are not set.
In this case, by way of example and not limitation, questions may be asked based on stamp content for which no search criteria have been set.

More specifically, various questions are posed to the destination user (which may include the source user, as mentioned above) based on the transmission of stamp content with no search conditions set by the source user's terminal 20. A search may then be performed based on the answers to those questions. In other words, the trigger for the search is the transmission of the stamp content, but no search conditions are set in the stamp content, and the search results may be determined based on the answers to the questions (which may also be considered the results of voting).

(4) Questions In the above embodiment, an example was given in which a question was posed in a multiple choice format with two choices to answer, but the present invention is not limited to this.
By way of example and not limitation, multiple choice questions may or may not be presented with three or more options to choose from.
Furthermore, questions may or may not be asked in a written format rather than multiple choice format.

(5) Notification/Announcement In the terminal 20 of the destination user that has received a request from the source user for an answer to a question, for example and not by way of limitation, due to the large amount of content exchanged, the content for answering the question (for example and not by way of limitation, the search condition content described above) may become buried. In other words, the user may not know which content to use to answer the question.

As a non-limiting example, after the server 10 transmits the search condition content to the terminal 20, and until the question is answered, the server 10 may periodically notify the terminal 20 that the question has not been answered (notification that the question has not been answered). In this case, the terminal 20 can notify the user of the content of the notification by push notification, etc.

Also, as a non-limiting example, the announcement function of a messaging application may be used to display search condition content for answering a question as a fixed announcement at a predetermined position, such as at the top of the chat room.
In this case, when a user taps on a fixedly displayed announcement, the content ID of the corresponding search condition content is obtained by the terminal 20 and moved to the position of that search condition content, i.e., a talk area TR containing that search condition content is displayed on the screen.

(6) Display of Stamp Categories In the above embodiment, the stamp category associated with the search condition setting stamp and the stamp category associated with the normal stamp may be displayed together in the stamp category display area SCR.

In this case, the user may not be able to tell whether the stamp category displayed in the stamp category display area SCR corresponds to a search condition setting stamp or a normal stamp.
Therefore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 can, by way of example and not limitation, display the stamp category corresponding to the search condition setting stamp in a different manner from the stamp category corresponding to the normal stamp.

As an example, and not as a limitation, when icon images indicating stamp categories are displayed in the stamp category display area SCR as in the above-described embodiment, the display mode of the icon images indicating the stamp categories of search condition setting stamps can be made different from the display mode of the icon images indicating the stamp categories of normal stamps.
As a non-limiting example, the icon image indicating the stamp category of a search condition setting stamp may be displayed with the magnifying glass mark or the like as described above, but the icon image indicating the stamp category of a normal stamp may not be displayed with the magnifying glass mark or the like.
Also, as a non-limiting example, the icon image indicating the stamp category of a search condition setting stamp may be displayed with a specific character (such as "Search" or "S" for Search), or may be displayed brighter than the icon image indicating the stamp category of a normal stamp (i.e., the brightness may be changed).

As mentioned above, even if a stamp has search conditions set, it can function as a normal stamp if no search conditions are set. Therefore, as a non-limiting example, if there is no stamp content with search conditions set in the same stamp category, the stamp category can be treated as a stamp category for normal stamps.
In such a case, the same procedure as above can be applied.

1 Communication system 10 Server 20 Terminal 30 Network

Claims (9)

A program executed by a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of the first terminal,
displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal;
displaying, on the display unit, search conditions set in image information based on an input by a user of the terminal to the chat room;
a control unit of the terminal controls the display of the image information in the chat room based on an input by a user of the terminal for transmitting the image information to the first terminal, and the display of search results searched based on the search conditions in the chat room, the control unit of the terminal being executed by the terminal;
The search results are transmitted to the first terminal . 2. The program according to claim 1,
The terminal executes, by the control unit, a process of changing the search conditions based on an input by a user of the terminal for changing the search conditions. 3. The program according to claim 2,
After the change process is performed, the terminal controls the control unit to display the image information in the chat room based on an input by a user of the terminal for transmitting the image information to the first terminal, and to display a first search result searched based on the changed search criteria in the chat room,
The first search result is transmitted to the first terminal. The program according to claim 2 or 3,
the search conditions are displayed in a predetermined area of the display unit;
The change process is performed by the control unit based on an input by the user of the terminal to the predetermined area. 5. The program according to claim 4,
The predetermined area is an area configured so that search conditions can be input as characters. 5. The program according to claim 4,
The predetermined area is an area configured so that a search condition can be selected from a plurality of candidates. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The search conditions are displayed on the display unit based on an input by the user of the terminal for a predetermined object that is displayed in the chat room in association with the image information. 1. An information processing method for a terminal that displays a chat room including a first user of a first terminal, comprising:
displaying the chat room on a display unit of the terminal;
displaying, on the display unit, search conditions set in image information based on an input by a user of the terminal to the chat room;
and controlling, by a control unit of the terminal, to display the image information in the chat room based on an input by a user of the terminal for transmitting the image information to the first terminal, and to display search results searched based on the search conditions in the chat room,
The search results are transmitted to the first terminal. A terminal displaying a chat room including a first user of a first terminal,
a display unit that displays the chat room and displays search conditions set for image information based on input by the user of the terminal to the chat room;
a control unit that controls displaying the image information in the chat room based on an input by a user of the terminal for transmitting the image information to the first terminal, and displaying search results searched based on the search conditions in the chat room,
The search results are transmitted to the first terminal.