Position-link chat system, position-linked chat method, and computer product

• US 6,981,021 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2001
• Issued: 12/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ISAO Corp. (Toyota Tsusho Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ISAO Corp. (Toyota Tsusho Corporation)
• Inventors: Takakura, Tetsuo, Sato, Masaomi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Application Number:
  US09/851,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20020007396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/219, 709/223, 345/758
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management

Abstract

The position-linked chat system makes it possible to carry out a chat using many terminals connected to a server device through the Internet. The server device includes a chat room controller which generates many chat rooms based on a geographical standard, a chat room selector which selects a chat room in which a user of certain terminal is to participate based on information relating to the current position of that terminal, and a voice controller which mixes voices of users transmitted from the terminals of respective users participating in the same chat room.

Claims

1. A position-linked chat system, comprising a plurality of terminals connected to a server through a network, wherein said server includes:

a chat room control unit for generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

a chat room selecting unit for selecting among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

a sound control unit for mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

a future position estimating unit for estimating a future position of at least one of said terminals based on a change in the current position of said at least one terminal, wherein said chat room selecting unit selects, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room corresponding to the future position estimated by said future position estimating unit, as the chat room in which the user at said at least one terminal is to participate.

2. A position-linked chat method of providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being posted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal; and

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room;

wherein said selecting step comprising estimating a future position of at least one of said terminals based on a change in the current position of said at least one terminal, wherein a chat room corresponding to the estimated future position is selected, among the generated chat rooms, as the chat room in which the user at said at least one terminal is to participate.

3. A computer-readable medium recorded with a program for providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said program including sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to perform the steps of:

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being posted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal; and

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room;

wherein said selecting step comprising estimating a future position of at least one of said terminals based on a change in the current position of said at least one terminal, wherein a chat room corresponding to the estimated future position is selected, among the generated chat rooms, as the chat room in which the user at said at least one terminal is to participate.

4. A computer program product including computer instructions on a server for providing a chat service to users at a plurality of terminals connected to said server through a network, the computer instructions including instructions for performing the steps of:

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being posted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal; and

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room;

wherein said selecting step comprising estimating a future position of at least one of said terminals based on a change in the current position of said at least one terminal, wherein a chat room corresponding to the estimated future position is selected, among the generated chat rooms, as the chat room in which the user at said at least one terminal is to participate.

5. A position-linked chat system, comprising a plurality of terminals connected to a server through a network, wherein said server includes:

a chat room control unit for generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

a chat room selecting unit for selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

a sound control unit for mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

an inter-terminal distance calculating unit which calculates distances between the terminals based on the current position of each terminal.

6. The position-linked chat system according to claim 5, wherein said sound control unit controls the volume of sound output from each terminal according to the distances calculated by said inter-terminal distance calculating unit.

7. The position-linked chat system according to claim 5, wherein when the distances calculated by said inter-terminal distance calculating unit are within a predetermined range, said sound control unit posts to the terminals within said range a message that the users at said terminals are close to each other.

8. A position-linked chat method of providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

iteratively obtaining the current position of each terminal based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on the iteratively obtained current position of said terminal;

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

calculating distances between the terminals based on the current position of each terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of controlling the volume of sound output from each terminal according to the distances calculated in said calculating step.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of informing, when the distances calculated in said calculating step are within a predetermined range, the users at the terminals within said range that they are close to each other.

11. A position-linked chat method of providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

iteratively obtaining the current position of each terminal based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on the iteratively obtained current position of said terminal;

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

transferring a user from the chat room in which said user is currently participating to another chat room according to a change in the current position of the terminal of said user;

wherein said transferring is performed without terminating the chat session of the user being transferred.

12. A position-linked chat method of providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said method comprising the steps of;

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

iteratively obtaining the current position of each terminal based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on the iteratively obtained current position of said terminal;

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

transferring a user from the chat room in which said user is currently participating to another chat room according to a change in the current position of the terminal of said user;

wherein said transferring is performed automatically unless the user to be transferred has chosen to stay in the current chat room.

13. A position-linked chat method of providing a chat service to users at a plurality of interconnected terminals, said method comprising the steps of;

generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

iteratively obtaining the current position of each terminal based on information being transmitted from said terminal and relating to the current position of said terminal;

selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on the iteratively obtained current position of said terminal;

mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room;

transferring a user from the chat room in which said user is currently participating to another chat room according to a change in the current position of the terminal of said user; and

warning the user that the current chat room is about to change, wherein said transferring is performed automatically unless the user to be transferred has chosen to stay in the current chat room in response to said warning.

14. A server for use in a position-linked chat system in which said server communicates with a plurality of terminals through a network, the server comprising:

a chat room control unit for generating a plurality of chat rooms based on a geographical standard;

a chat room selecting unit for selecting, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room in which a user at each terminal is to participate, based on information being transmitted from the terminal and relating to the current position of the terminal;

a sound control unit for mixing voices transmitted via the terminals of the users who participate in the same chat room; and

a future position estimating unit for estimating future position of at least one of the terminals based on a change in the current position of said at least one terminal, wherein

the chat room selecting unit further selects, among the generated chat rooms, a chat room corresponding to the future position estimated by the future position estimating unit, as the chat room in which the user at said at least one terminal is to participate.