Text communication method and text communication system

• US 20040249819A1
• Filed: 07/06/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Yasuhide, Okada, Sumiyo, Murakami, Masahiko
• Application Number:
  US10/883,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20040249819A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A text communication system reduces typing of text messages. An acting device is provided with a dictionary containing rules regarding conversion of text messages, with the dictionary corresponding to one or more communication devices or a user. A command that specifies whether the text message should be converted or not is sent from the communication device via the acting device. Text messages are converted according to the command. It is also possible to configure conversion mode in advance, with the conversion mode corresponding to each communication device, and convert text messages sent and received via the acting device. A user can use the same dictionary from different information devices. The dictionary may be updated automatically according to text messages inputted at the communication terminals.

Claims

1. An acting device adapted to be connected over a network to communication devices for relaying text messages sent and received by the communication devices, said acting device comprising:

a storing unit on a network storing a dictionary containing rules regarding conversion between words and word IDs, with said dictionary corresponding to at least one of the communication devices or a user;

a determination table specifying a conversion mode for at least some of said communication devices, where a communication device'"'"'s conversion mode indicates whether or not to convert its text messages; and

a conversion unit converting the text messages for an identified communication device after receiving from the communication device a conversion command and identification information identifying the communication device or the user, and when the converting occurs it is based on said dictionary corresponding to the communication device if required by said conversion command.

2. An acting device adapted to be connected over a network to communication devices for relaying text messages sent and received by the communication devices, said acting device comprising:

a first storing unit storing a dictionary containing rules regarding conversion of text, with said dictionary corresponding to at least one of the communication devices or a user;

a second storing unit storing a determination table in which each of the communication devices specifies a conversion mode, where a communication device'"'"'s conversion mode indicates whether its text messages should be converted or not; and

a conversion unit converting the text messages for an identified communication device after receiving from the communication device identification information that identifies the communication device or the user, where the converting is based on said dictionary corresponding to the communication device if required by the conversion mode of the communication device.

3. An acting device adapted to be connected over a network to communication devices for relaying text messages being sent and received by the communication devices, said acting device comprising:

a first storing unit storing a dictionary containing rules regarding conversion of text, with said dictionary corresponding to at least one of the communication devices or a user;

a second storing unit storing a determination table in which each of the communication devices specifies a conversion mode, where a communication device'"'"'s conversion mode indicates whether its text messages should be converted or not;

a table administration unit updating a communication device'"'"'s conversion mode in said determination table after receiving from the communication device a conversion command; and

a conversion unit converting the text messages based on said dictionary corresponding to the communication device or the user if required by the conversion command regarding conversion when the communication device sends the conversion command, and converting the text message based on said dictionary corresponding to the communication device or the user if required by the un-updated conversion mode of the communication device when it does not send the conversion command.

4. An apparatus, comprising:

an agent communicating with a server, where the agent is also connected over a network with online clients that are using the server for text message communication over the network,

where the agent accesses a text conversion dictionary for converting between text words and codes representing the text words,

where when the agent receives from a client via the network a message containing text codes inputted by a user of the client, the agent converts the codes to words using the dictionary, and the agent passes a message with the converted words to the server,

where when the agent receives from the server a text message containing words, the agent converts words to codes using the dictionary, and the agent sends a text message with the converted codes to the client, and

where the agent individually determines for each of the clients whether or not to convert the client'"'"'s text messages, where converting of the agent is done with the dictionary.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, where the agent communicates with the server over the network.

6. An apparatus according to claim 4, where the agent determines whether to convert for a client based on a command received from the client.

7. An apparatus according to claim 4, where the dictionary used to convert for a client is selected from a plurality of dictionaries based on information identifying the client.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, where the information identifying the client is one of a network address, a host address, a user identify, and a network mask.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

an intermediary with a dictionary receiving over a network a shorthand abbreviation code in a text message from one of a plurality of text conversation clients using the intermediary to relay text messages, converting the shorthand abbreviation code to an unabbreviated word in the dictionary, and sending the text message with the converted unabbreviated word to a server managing an online text conversation; and

where the intermediary individually determines for each of the text conversation clients whether or not to so convert a sent or received text message, and relaying a text message of a client without conversion when so determined for the client.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the clients can activate or deactivate the converting by sending a message to the intermediary, and wherein a determination table specifying a conversion mode for each of the chat clients is used to determine whether to perform the converting.

11. A method of an intervening agent providing for network text conversion between text communication clients and a text communication server, comprising:

receiving over a network conversational text to/from one of the clients or the server, the text comprising codes or words and relaying the conversational text to/from the one of the clients/server with or without conversion;

before the relaying, individually determining for each of said clients whether or not to convert between codes and words using a dictionary;

according to the determining, when the messages are to/from the one of the clients, either converting the online conversational text to/from the one of clients by matching the codes to corresponding dictionary words or not converting the text, and relaying the thus converted or unconverted text to/from the one of the clients/server.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the matching is done using a dictionary that maps between codes and words.

13. A method according to claim 12, where the dictionary is specific to the client, and further comprising selecting the dictionary from a plurality of dictionaries based on information identifying the client and received from the client.