JP2001223734A - Electronic mail transmission delay system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic mail transmission delay system which can set delay periods of delay by electronic mail. SOLUTION: This electronic mail transmission delay system is a system which sends electronic mail and delays the transmission of electronic mail. According to the delay period of transmission set for electronic mail, the transmission of the electronic mail is delayed. This system has an electronic mail transmission delay means which sets the delay period of transmission of electronic mail and an electronic mail transmitting means which sends electronic mail according to the delay period of transmission of the electronic mail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for delaying the transmission of electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic mail (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "mail") has been created on a computer.
In the software to be sent, it is common to manually send the created mail. In addition, it is possible to perform the transmission automatically, but in this case, all the e-mails created for transmission have been automatically transmitted in a lump.

[0003]

For this reason, it has not been possible to delay the transmission of each created e-mail. In particular, e-mail transmission could not be delayed for a long period of time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail transmission delay system that can delay transmission of electronic mail. Another object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail transmission delay system that can set a transmission delay period for each e-mail.

[0005]

According to the present invention, as a result of earnest study, an e-mail transmission delay system, which is an e-mail transmission system characterized in that e-mail transmission is delayed, is employed. . In particular, an e-mail transmission delay system that delays the transmission of each e-mail according to the transmission delay period set for each e-mail is employed.

Therefore, in the electronic mail transmission delay system of the present invention, the generated electronic mail can be delayed and transmitted. In particular, it is possible to set a transmission delay period for each electronic mail and delay the transmission. it can. In particular, it is possible to delay the transmission of the e-mail for a long time. Therefore, the creator (sender) of the e-mail can prepare in advance the information to be passed to the recipient of the e-mail as the e-mail, and transmit and pass it when he / she wants to pass it in the future. At this time, a delay time can be set for each mail, so that it can be distinguished from other mails (for example, mails that need to be sent immediately and passed), and even if a lot of various mails are created, Only emails you want to pass to
According to the set transmission delay period, the transmission can be delayed until that time. For example, a parent gives a child
An e-mail containing information that the child wants to pass when the child grows up several years or several decades later is created in advance, and the user wants to pass the e-mail at the time of e-mail creation (for example, when the child
At the age of 0). Further, information desired by the president of the company to be passed to the next and subsequent presidents can be created in advance as an e-mail. That is, even if a mail to be delivered in the future is created in advance, it can be automatically transmitted to the other party when the user wants to deliver it in the future.

[0007] Of course, since the delay period of each mail can be adjusted individually, even if a large number of mails are created at once, each mail can be transmitted when it is desired to pass it in the future. it can.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the system of the present invention. Specifically, this is an example of a configuration of an e-mail transmission delay system that can perform e-mail creation and transmission, and is a device that can create an e-mail (sometimes referred to as an “e-mail creation device”). Can be used. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a mail creation unit, 2 denotes a transmission delay setting unit, and 3 denotes a mail transmission unit. The e-mail creation device is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a computer (electronic computer), a telephone (mobile phone, PHS).
Etc.).

The mail creating section 1 sends electronic mail information (for example, mail contents (data such as character data, voice data, image data, etc. written in mail or attached data of mail text), a recipient, An e-mail 4 including the e-mail address and the name of the recipient, the date and time of the e-mail, the date and time of the e-mail, the e-mail address of the sender or the e-mail creator, the name and the title, etc. is created. The mail creating unit 1 sends the created electronic mail 4 to the transmission delay setting unit 2. The transmission delay setting unit 2 sets a transmission delay period of the e-mail 4 created by the e-mail creation unit 1, and creates an e-mail (transmission delay e-mail) 5 with the transmission delay period set. Therefore, the transmission delay setting unit 2 can set a transmission delay period for each e-mail. The transmission delay setting unit 2 sends the created transmission delay electronic mail 5 to the mail transmission unit 3. The mail transmitting unit 3 transmits each transmission delay e-mail 5 according to the transmission delay period set for each transmission delay e-mail 5 sent from the transmission delay setting unit 2. Therefore, the mail transmission unit 3 stores the transmission delay e-mail 5 for which the transmission delay period is set by the transmission delay setting unit 2 and is in a transmission standby state, and each transmission delay e-mail 5 is in accordance with the set transmission delay period. Sent.

Therefore, the e-mail transmission delay system shown in FIG. 1 includes a mail creation unit 1 for creating an e-mail and a transmission delay period of the e-mail created by the e-mail creation unit 1 for each e-mail. It has a transmission delay setting unit 2 that is set every time, and a mail transmission unit 3 that transmits each electronic mail according to the transmission delay period set by the transmission delay setting unit 2. Of course, a system in which the transmission delay setting unit 2 is incorporated in the mail creation unit 1 is also possible. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, instead of the configuration in which the transmission delay period is set after the creation of the e-mail, the configuration may be such that the transmission delay period is set when the e-mail is created. Further, the transmission delay period may be set before creating the e-mail.

As another form of the e-mail transmission delay system in each e-mail creation device, as shown in FIG. 2, a mail receiving section 11 for receiving an e-mail 41 and an e-mail receiving section 11 for receiving the e-mail 41 are provided. It has a transmission delay setting unit 21 for setting a transmission delay period of the mail 41 for each e-mail 41, and a mail transmission unit 31 for transmitting each e-mail according to the transmission delay period set by the transmission delay setting unit 21. And does not have a mail creation function. In this case, there is a function of setting a transmission delay period for an e-mail created by software capable of creating another e-mail and transmitting the e-mail according to the delay period.

As described above, the e-mail creator (sender)
Sets a transmission delay period for an e-mail created using an e-mail creation device having the system shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, and delays e-mail transmission by holding the e-mail in a transmission standby state. Can be done.

Of course, the system shown in FIG.
May be combined with the system indicated by. That is, in the electronic mail creation device, FIG.
Or an e-mail transmission delay system having a transmission delay setting unit and a mail transmission unit as shown in FIG. 2, a mail creation unit as shown in FIG. 1 and a mail reception unit as shown in FIG. Regarding the mail created by this system and the mail created by other systems (that is, other software), a form having a function of delaying the transmission may be adopted.

FIG. 3 shows another configuration example of the system of the present invention. Specifically, this is an example of a configuration of an e-mail transmission delay system using a server (especially a mail server) connected to an e-mail creation device via a network (whether wired or wireless). In FIG. 3, A
Is a mail server, B is an e-mail creation device, 6
Reference numeral 2 denotes a mail receiving unit of the mail server A, 32 denotes a mail transmitting unit of the mail server A, and 22 denotes a transmission delay setting unit of the electronic mail creating device B.

In the e-mail creation device B, the transmission delay setting section 22 sets a transmission delay period for the e-mail 42 to create a transmission delay e-mail 52, and transmits the transmission delay e-mail 52 to the e-mail of the mail server A. Send to receiving section 62. Mail receiving unit 6 of mail server A
2 sends the transmission delay electronic mail 52 to the mail transmission unit 62. The mail transmission section 62 of the mail server A transmits each electronic mail according to the set transmission delay period of the transmission delay electronic mail 52.

That is, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 except that the mail transmitting unit is provided in the mail server.

In the present invention, a mail handling company such as a provider or a mail transfer service company has a mail receiving unit and a mail transmitting unit as shown in FIG. A transmission delay e-mail is created using an e-mail creation device, and the e-mail with the transmission delay period set is received by the e-mail handling company through a line (wired or wireless) such as a telephone line or the Internet line. In addition, a form in which distribution is performed according to the transmission delay period set for the received e-mail is also possible. This case is the same as the case where the mail server A in FIG. 3 is a mail server of a mail handling company.

As still another embodiment of the present invention, a configuration similar to that of FIG. 1 is provided on a homepage of the Internet of a mail handling company. In other words, the mail creator (sender) creates a mail on the Internet homepage of the mail handling company, sets a transmission delay period, and saves or sends the transmission delay email. The company distributes the transmission delay e-mail according to the set transmission delay period. In this case, the transmission delay e-mail is usually stored in the mail server of the mail handling company, and the mail is transmitted from the mail server of the mail handling company after the transmission delay.

In any case, the e-mail transmission delay system according to the present invention includes at least e-mail transmission delay means for setting an e-mail transmission delay period, and a transmission delay period set for each e-mail. Electronic mail transmitting means for transmitting each electronic mail. That is, the electronic mail transmission delay system of the present invention includes at least a transmission delay setting unit for setting a transmission delay period of the e-mail, and each electronic mail according to the transmission delay period set by the transmission delay setting unit. And a mail transmission unit for transmitting mail.

In the e-mail transmission delay system using the server (especially a mail server), the transmission delay e-mail can be stored for a long period of time. The server sends e-mail information (e-mail contents, e-mail address of recipient, e-mail sending date and time, e-mail address of sender, etc.) of e-mail delayed transmission, and information on transmission delay period (transmission delay period information) in general. By storing in a storage format or outputting to a general storage format, it is possible to support future excellent systems or software. Therefore, the system of the present invention is useful as an e-mail transmission delay system in which e-mail transmission is delayed for a long period of time in a mail server (especially a mail server of a mail handling company). Therefore, the e-mail information of the e-mail for which the transmission delay period is set and the e-mail information of the transmission delay period are stored in a general storage format or can be externally output to the mail server of the mail handling company. A transmission delay system is optimal. In particular, an e-mail transmission delay system having an external output means capable of externally outputting each information (e-mail information and transmission delay period information) of the transmission delay e-mail in at least a general storage format is preferable.

As described above, by storing or outputting the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information in a general storage format, the transmission delay e-mail can be transmitted in the future even if the transmission delay period is long. It can be read by the system or software, and can be transmitted after its transmission delay period. In this case, for example, by registering the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information in the database, it is possible to automatically transmit after the transmission delay period. for that reason,
The e-mail information and the transmission delay period information are preferably registered or stored in a database of a mail server (particularly a mail server of a mail handling company). The database system is not particularly limited as long as the electronic mail information and the transmission delay period information of the electronic mail are registered or stored, and the electronic mail can be sent to the mail transmission unit according to the transmission delay period. .

When the electronic mail information and the transmission delay period information of the transmission delay electronic mail are stored in a database, the storage format may be any storage format. preferable. That is, it is preferable that the database that stores the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information of the transmission delay electronic mail has at least an external output unit that externally outputs in a general storage format.

In the electronic mail information, voice data and image data (still image data, moving image data) of the mail content are usually incorporated in the mail content as an attached file or attached data.

As a general storage format for storing or externally outputting the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information of the transmission delay electronic mail, regardless of whether the mail content is character data, voice data, or image data, The storage format is not particularly limited as long as the electronic mail information and the transmission delay period information can be read by a future system or software or can be converted into a storage format of a future system or software. For example, when the mail content is character data, a TEXT storage format, an HTML storage format, or the like may be used. As a storage format of audio data, for example, MP3 (MPEG Audio L)
ayer3), MPEG storage format such as MPEG AAC or MIDI storage format, CDDA storage format, WA
V storage format, AIFF storage format, and the like. Further, as a storage format of the image data, in the case of still image data, for example, a JPEG storage format, a TIFF storage format,
GIF storage format, BMP storage format, FPX storage format, PCD storage format, PCT storage format, PCX storage format, PNG storage format, PSD storage format, TGA storage format, WMF storage format, etc. In this case, for example, MOV storage format, MPEG storage format, A
VI storage format.

In the electronic mail information and the transmission delay period information, information other than the mail content can be handled as character data. In this case, a general storage format is TEXT as in the case of the character data. A storage format, an HTML storage format, and the like can be given.

Therefore, in the electronic mail information and the transmission delay period information, a general storage format for information other than the voice data and image data of the mail content is TEX.
T storage format and HTML storage format. Further, the audio data and the image data are incorporated as attached files or attached data as described above. Therefore, each information of the transmission delay e-mail (e-mail information and transmission delay period information) is converted into TE at least for the character data.
An e-mail transmission delay system having external output means capable of external output in the XT storage format or the HTML storage format is preferable.

On the other hand, each computer and telephone, such as an e-mail creation device, is not only hardware, but also
Since software is frequently updated or likely to be updated in software such as an OS, it is hard to say that it is suitable for long-term storage of transmission-delayed e-mail. However, as mentioned above, servers (especially mail servers) can carry over data as they are, even if they are updated to new products in hardware as well as software, as described above. It is possible to store transmission delay e-mails for a long period of time. Therefore, the system of the present invention is preferably used in an e-mail transmission delay system using a server (especially a mail server). In particular, as described above, the system of the present invention is useful as a service system of a mail handling company (provider, mail transfer service company, etc.).

In a case where an e-mail creating device (computer, telephone, etc.) stores a delayed transmission e-mail in its e-mail transmitting section and transmits it later, as shown in FIGS. Similar to the server, it is preferable that the system has an external output unit that externally outputs the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information of the transmission delay electronic mail in at least a general storage format.

Therefore, in the system of the present invention, the mail server is provided with at least a mail transmission unit for transmitting an e-mail according to a transmission delay period set for the e-mail as the e-mail transmission means. An e-mail transmission delay system in which the transmission of e-mail is delayed for a long period of time by the e-mail transmission means in the above is preferably used. In this case, as described above, in the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information for which the transmission delay period is set, at least an external output unit that externally outputs character data in a TEXT storage format or an HTML storage format is provided. Is preferred. Note that the attached audio data and image data may be externally output together with the character data in the attached storage format as they are, and when the mail content such as the character data is externally output. An external output unit for externally outputting the attached audio data in an MPEG storage format or a MIDI storage format may be provided. Also, the attached image data can be stored in JPEG storage format, TIFF storage format,
GIF storage format, BMP storage format, MOV storage format, M
An external output unit for outputting data in the PEG storage format or the AVI storage format may be provided.

An e-mail transmission delay system in which e-mail transmission is delayed by the mail server for a long period of time is an e-mail transmission delay setting unit for setting an e-mail transmission delay period as e-mail transmission delay means. The mail server receives the e-mail with the long transmission delay period created by the creating device, and the e-mail transmission means of the mail server sends the e-mail according to the set long transmission delay period. An e-mail transmission delay system for transmitting an e-mail is preferred.

An e-mail transmission delay system in which e-mail transmission is delayed by the mail server for a long period of time is an e-mail transmission delay system which sets an e-mail transmission delay period as e-mail transmission delay means. A delay setting unit is provided, and a mail creation unit for creating an e-mail is provided together with the transmission delay setting unit on a homepage of the Internet regarding the mail server, and a long-term transmission created on the homepage is provided. An e-mail transmission delay system for transmitting an e-mail with a set delay time by an e-mail transmission means of the mail server in accordance with the set long transmission delay period is preferable.

As described above, according to the present invention, transmission of electronic mail can be delayed for a long period of time. The period for delaying the transmission of the e-mail is not particularly limited, and may be a short period of less than one year, or a long period of one year or more (for example, several years, several tens years, etc.). That is, the e-mail transmission delay period may be 10 to 20 years or longer (for example, 50 years). When the transmission delay period is long, as described above, the system of the present invention using a server (especially a mail server), particularly, the mail server of a mail handling company makes e-mail transmission for a long period of time. An email transmission delay system that is delayed over is advantageous.

Therefore, the system of the present invention not only can set the transmission delay period for each individual e-mail, but also can set the transmission delay period to a long period. Is different.

In FIGS. 1 to 3 and the like, a transmission delay e-mail is stored in a mail transmission unit provided in an e-mail creation device or a mail server.
The location where the transmission delay e-mail is stored until it is transmitted is not particularly limited. For example, after a transmission delay period is set, a transmission delay electronic mail is stored in a place other than the mail transmission unit (for example, a mail storage unit), and is sent to the mail transmission unit when it should be transmitted according to the transmission delay period. And a form transmitted to the recipient. In particular, a storage mode using a database is suitably adopted. In this case, the transmission delay electronic mail is stored in the database, and is transmitted to the mail transmission unit according to the transmission delay period and transmitted.

In the above description, a configuration in which the transmission delay period is set for each e-mail is exemplified. However, in any case, the configuration is such that the transmission of each e-mail can be delayed. If so, the configuration is not particularly limited.

[0036]

According to the system of the present invention, an e-mail can be transmitted according to a preset delay period. Therefore, even if an e-mail to be transmitted in the future is created in advance, the e-mail is transmitted and passed when the user wants to pass it in the future. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 mail creation unit 2 transmission delay setting unit 3 mail transmission unit 4 e-mail 11 mail reception unit 21 transmission delay setting unit 31 mail transmission unit A mail server B e-mail creation device 22 e-mail creation device B transmission delay setting unit 32 e-mail Mail sending part of server A 62 Mail receiving part of mail server A

Claims (7)

[Claims] 2. An electronic mail transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the electronic mail is delayed. 2. The transmission of each electronic mail is delayed according to a transmission delay period set for each electronic mail.
The described e-mail transmission delay system. 3. An electronic mail transmission delay means for setting a delay time of transmission of an electronic mail, and an electronic mail transmission means for transmitting each electronic mail in accordance with the transmission delay time set for each electronic mail. 3. The e-mail transmission delay system according to 1 or 2. 4. A mail server according to a transmission delay period set in an e-mail as an e-mail transmission means,
4. The e-mail transmission delay system according to claim 3, wherein at least a mail transmission unit for transmitting the e-mail is provided, and the transmission of the e-mail is delayed for a long time by the e-mail transmission means in the mail server. 5. An external output means for externally outputting at least character data in a TEXT storage format or an HTML storage format in the e-mail information and the transmission delay period information for which the transmission delay period is set. Email sending delay system. 6. An e-mail with a long transmission delay period set by an e-mail creation device having a transmission delay setting unit for setting a delay period of e-mail transmission as e-mail transmission delay means. 6. The e-mail transmission delay system according to claim 4, wherein the server receives the e-mail and transmits the e-mail according to the set long transmission delay period by the e-mail transmission means in the mail server. 7. A mail server, further comprising a transmission delay setting unit for setting a transmission delay period of an e-mail as e-mail transmission delay means, wherein the transmission delay setting is provided on a homepage of the Internet for the mail server. A mail creation unit for creating an e-mail is provided along with the e-mail, and an e-mail with a long transmission delay period set on the homepage is set by the e-mail transmission means in the mail server.
6. The e-mail transmission delay system according to claim 4, wherein the e-mail is transmitted according to the set long transmission delay period.