# US 2018/0295073 A1 · Information processing apparatus and program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0295073 A1 - Document ID: US20180295073A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/945,440 - Filed: 2018-04-04 - Published: 2018-10-11 - Earliest claimed: 2017-04-05 - Assignees: Konica Minolta, Inc. - Applicants: Konica Minolta, Inc. - Inventors: Hideaki Shimizu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180295073A1 ## CPC - H04L 51/04: Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM] - G06F 3/04817: using icons (graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34) - G06Q 10/107: Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing] - H04L 51/08: Annexed information, e.g. attachments - H04L 51/234: for tracking messages - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract An information processing apparatus includes a central processing unit (CPU) that: transmits and receives a message via a network; manages the message received; discriminates reply necessity to the message being managed; discriminates a message type according to a content of the message discriminated as a message that requires a reply; and calculates an estimated time required by a recipient of the message to reply to the message according to the message type discriminated. The information processing apparatus further includes a user interface that displays the estimated time before displaying the message. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An information processing apparatus comprising: a central processing unit (CPU) that: transmits and receives a message via a network; manages the message received; discriminates reply necessity to the message being managed; discriminates a message type according to a content of the message discriminated as a message that requires a reply; and calculates an estimated time required by a recipient of the message to reply to the message according to the message type discriminated; and a user interface that displays the estimated time before displaying the message. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the message sent by multicast transmission as the message that requires a reply when the recipient is included in a destination of the message, and discriminates the message as a message that does not require a reply when the recipient is not included in the destination of the message. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the reply necessity for each message on the basis of a content of a file attached to the message. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the message as the message that requires a reply when the message is unread or when a reply has not been made to the message in a past even when the message is already read, and discriminates the message for which a reply has been made in the past as a message that does not require a reply. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the message for which a reply has not been made prior to a predetermined period as a message that does not require a reply. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the message as a message that does not require a reply when a reply to the message has been made by another user included in a multicast transmission destination of the message. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU discriminates the message type on the basis of the message type added to the message. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the message type is either an answer request type in which the estimated time is short or a general message type other than the answer request type. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the answer request type includes any of giving two choices, attendance confirmation to an event, and an inquiry about a schedule. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the CPU discriminates the message type on the basis of the content of the message when the message is the general message-type message, or when the message type is not added to the message. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the CPU discriminates the message as the general message-type message when information indicating the degree of importance is added to the message. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the CPU calculates the estimated time on the basis of an amount of the message or an amount of a file added to the message when the message type is not able to be discriminated. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an CPU that measures an actual time from when editing of a reply message to the message is started to when the reply message is sent in a past, and transmits the actual time to an external database, wherein the CPU calculates the estimated time on the basis of the actual time of each message type managed by the external database. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein in the external database, a relationship between a sender who has transmitted the message to the recipient, and the estimated time required by the recipient to reply to the sender is recorded for each sender, and the user interface displays the estimated time for each sender together with the relationship between the sender and the recipient. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the CPU measures an actual time from when editing of a reply message to the message is started to when the reply message is transmitted in a past; and the CPU manages the actual time, and calculates the estimated time on the basis of the actual time of each message type managed. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the CPU calculates an average value of the actual times as the estimated time. ### Claim 17 (depends on 2) The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the user interface displays only the message discriminated as the message that requires a reply on a list screen of the message. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface displays the estimated time on a list screen of the message. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface displays a total of the estimated times calculated by the CPU for a plurality of the messages. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface displays the estimated time so as to be superimposed on an icon for instructing creation of the message. ### Claim 21 A non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program causing a computer to execute: discriminating reply necessity to a message received by a central processing unit (CPU) that transmits and receives the message via a network; discriminating a message type according to a content of the message discriminated as a message that requires a reply; calculating an estimated time required by a recipient of the message to reply according to the discriminated message type; and displaying the estimated time on a user interface before displaying the message.