SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION INTERACTIVELY BY INSTANT MESSAGING APPLICATION

• US 20130144961A1
• Filed: 07/13/2012
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LY Corp. (A Holdings Corp.), Z Intermediate Global Corporation
• Original Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Inventors: PARK, Euivin, YANG, Heechan, JUNG, Hyuk, JIN, Dongri
• Granted Patent: US 9,621,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests

Abstract

An information providing method and system that may provide information while conversing with a user through an instant messaging application is disclosed. The information providing system enables a user terminal to add, as a friend, a software bot which may be a virtual friend configured in an artificial software program through the instant messaging application executed in a user terminal. When the user inputs and transmits a message to the software bot through a conversation session, the information providing system may retrieve an appropriate response corresponding to the message from a database by inputting the message as a query, and may transmit the response to the user terminal, thereby providing the response to the user through the conversation session.

Claims

1. A method that uses a processor to provide information through an instant messaging application, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a terminal through the instant messaging application for adding a software bot as a friend;

registering, using the processor, the software bot as the friend;

transmitting, by the software bot, an input request message to the terminal;

receiving a reply message from the terminal in response to the input request message;

storing the reply message as a database information associated with the terminal;

retrieving a response to a query from a database, the reply message being the query; and

transmitting the response to the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the reply message comprises receiving the reply message input by the terminal within a conversation session between the terminal and the software bot provided from the messaging application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the response comprises transmitting to the terminal over a network to be displayed within a conversation session between the terminal and the software bot the conversation session provided from the messaging application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the response to the terminal comprises transmitting to the terminal over a network to be displayed through a push alarm of the terminal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the soft ware bot being one of a plurality of software bots capable of registering to the messaging application and the same reply message is received, the response is different based on a type of the software bot.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the software bot provides weather information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the received reply message comprises at least one of position identification information and time identification information, the response comprises weather information comprising the included information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the received reply message comprises position identification information, and the response comprises weather information associated with the day and the following day of a region corresponding to the position identification information.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the received reply message comprises time identification information, and the response comprises basic local weather information of a time comprising the time identification information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to a determination that the received reply message is incapable of retrieving the response by inputting the reply message as the query, the response comprises a request to input a new reply message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises periodically transmitting the response through the messaging application based on the database information.

12. A method that uses a processor to provide information through a messaging application, the method comprising:

recommending a software bot to a terminal for the software bot to be registered as a friend of the terminal;

receiving, a request from a terminal through the messaging application, for adding the software bot as a friend;

registering, using the processor, the software bot as the friend;

initiating a conversation session with the software bot;

transmitting, by the software bot, an input request message to the terminal;

receiving a reply message from the terminal within the conversation session in response to the input request message;

storing the reply message as terminal information associated with the terminal;

retrieving a response to a query from a database by inputting the reply message as the query; and

is transmitting the response to the terminal.

13. A system to provide information through a messaging application, the system comprising:

an access manager configured to manage an access of a terminal over a network, and to receive a reply message transmitted from the terminal to a software bot in response to an input request message of the software bot;

a terminal information storage unit configured to store and manage information associated with the software bot added by the terminal and information associated with a conversation session between the terminal and the software bot;

a processor configured to retrieve a response to a query from a database by inputting the reply message as the query,

wherein the access manager is configured to control the software bot to transmit the input request message to the terminal, receives the reply message through the conversation session, and transmits the response to the terminal; and

wherein the access manager is configured to store the reply message stored in the is terminal information storage unit.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the access manager is configured to display the response within the conversation session between the terminal and the software bot provided from the messaging application of the terminal.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the access manager is configured to display the response on the terminal through a push alarm of the terminal.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the software bot is one of a plurality of types of software bots and the processor is configured to retrieve a different response to the same reply message based on the type of the software bot, wherein the access manager is configured to register each type of software bot associated with a terminal.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the information storage unit is configured to store information associated with each registered software bot.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising an executable program, which when executed, performs a method of providing information through a messaging application, the method comprising:

receiving, from a terminal, a request for adding a software bot as a friend;

registering the software bot as the friend;

transmitting, by the software bot, an input request message to the terminal;

receiving a reply message from the terminal in response to the input request message;

storing the reply message as a database information;

retrieving a response to a query from a database by inputting the reply message as the query; and

transmitting the response to the terminal.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising an executable program, which when executed, performs a method of providing information through a messaging application, the method comprising:

recommending a terminal for at least one software bot for registering as a friend;

receiving, from the terminal, a request for adding, as the friend of the terminal, the at least one software bot;

registering the at least one software bot as the friend;

initiating a conversation session with the at least one software bot;

transmitting, by the at least one software bot, an input request message to the terminal within the conversation session;

receiving a reply message input by the terminal within the conversation session in response to the input request message;

storing the reply message as a database information associated with the terminal;

retrieving a response to a query from a database by inputting the reply message as the query; and

transmitting the response to the terminal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one software bot comprises a plurality of different types of software bots,

wherein retrieving comprises retrieving a different response for the same reply to each type of software bot, and

wherein transmitting comprises transmitting the different responses to the terminal.