JP2003348158A - Electronic mail providing apparatus and system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To convert the content of an e-mail into a data format corresponding to the capability of an e-mail receiving terminal, transfer the data, and notify another terminal of the fact. A network database includes, for each user, information indicating a transfer destination of a received e-mail (FAX, Web, mobile phone, or the like) and a notification destination (mobile terminal) that the e-mail has been transferred. User information including the indicated information is held. Judgment module 200, conversion module 30
0 converts the received e-mail into a data format adapted to the transfer destination specified by the user information, and converts the converted data into a Web server 700, a mobile terminal server 800, The data is transferred to the fax server 900. Further, when the electronic mail is transferred via the Web server 700 or the FAX server 900, a notice to that effect is sent to the portable terminal via the portable terminal server 800.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail providing system and apparatus for providing information to a user using an electronic mail system, and a method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A user who receives an information providing service via the Internet registers a mail account for using an e-mail so that the user can perform communication and information communication using the e-mail. Can be.

[0003] E-mail information is usually text,
Binary files such as user-created application data (document files) can also be transmitted and received between users by attaching them to electronic mail information by a technology for encoding text data and a technology for decoding text data.

[0004] On the other hand, with the development of wireless communication infrastructure and the development of information and communication technology, and the miniaturization of terminals for using them, the connection to the Internet is not limited to installation-type personal computers but also mobile phones. It is also possible from mobile terminals for mobile environments such as telephones. As a result, the number of users who use e-mail using mobile terminals is rapidly increasing.

[0005]

The means for acquiring information distributed on the Internet is not limited to personal computers, but is wide-ranging, such as portable terminals and e-mail dedicated terminals. Specific physical limitations and performance limitations, such as limitations on display capabilities of the terminal such as colors and resolutions, vary widely.
Also, in communication between personal computers with few restrictions and communication of e-mail, cases where a common information processing environment is lacking for both the sender and the receiver have been increasing.

In such an environment, unless information is exchanged after understanding both environments in advance, if there is no environment in which the receiving side can handle the received information, the information is truncated without being available as information at present. .

[0007] For example, although it is possible to communicate electronic mail via the Internet in a portable terminal,
Unless the sender of the e-mail is notified in advance of the limit on the number of characters received per e-mail and the content of information that can be handled (attachment of electronic file for computer or attachment of binary file, etc.), the e-mail recipient cannot receive the e-mail correctly (before reaching the terminal) Information may be generated).

A mail address for a portable terminal is a standard Internet mail address system, although it can be imagined from its domain name. Furthermore, some mobile terminal users may transfer the e-mail address used by a terminal with different restrictions on e-mail reception, such as a normally installed personal computer, to the e-mail address of the mobile terminal, The transmitting side cannot easily determine the information receiving ability of the receiver terminal. As a result, it is extremely difficult for the sender of the e-mail to predict the environment of the recipient and send the information processed so that the recipient can receive it.

[0009] Therefore, at present, in the communication of e-mails through mobile terminals, there are many e-mails with missing information.
There is no option for the user to avoid it.

[0010] In order to avoid these problems, World Wid is used before an electronic mail to the portable terminal is received by the portable terminal.
e. There is already a technology to transfer to a certain account on a server to which the technology of the Web is applied, and to browse through the mechanism of the World Wide Web. Browsing and data acquisition are not supported. Further, in this configuration, since the electronic mail to the mobile terminal is unconditionally transferred to the server of the World Wide Web, the user of the mobile terminal is constantly in need of Wor.
It was necessary to check whether or not there was a mail forwarded to the ld WideWeb, which put a great load on the mobile terminal user.

If the sender of the e-mail attaches a document file or the like created by using any application, the user who uses only the portable terminal as a means for connecting to the Internet is Worl.
It is possible to browse through the d Wide Web mechanism, but it is not practical due to the limitation of the display capability of the portable terminal.

[0012] Further, even if the receiving means is an Internet connection terminal having a limited number of receiving means, such as an installation type personal computer as well as a portable terminal, it is necessary to use a mail to develop and display the attached document information attached to the e-mail. An application used by the sender of the e-mail to create the attached document or an application compatible with the application is required at the receiving terminal, but these do not always exist at the e-mail receiving terminal. If the recipient does not have the application used when the sender created the attached document or an application compatible therewith, the recipient cannot easily see the information sent by the e-mail sender.

In such an environment, the information sent from the sender cannot be confirmed unless the receiver pays a great deal of effort to prepare an environment compatible with the sender's transmission environment.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and converts the contents of an e-mail into a data format corresponding to the capability of an e-mail receiving terminal and transfers the converted data. The purpose is to be able to notify the receiving terminal.

[0015]

An electronic mail providing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object has, for each user, information indicating a transfer destination of a received electronic mail and transfer of the electronic mail. Holding means for holding user information including information indicating the notification destination of the notification, conversion means for converting a received electronic mail into a data format adapted to the transfer destination indicated by the user information, and conversion means for obtaining the electronic mail. Transfer means for transferring the received data to the transfer destination; and, when an electronic mail is transferred by the transfer means, a notifying means for transmitting a notification message indicating the transfer to the notification destination indicated by the user information. .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail providing system for displaying information indicating a transfer destination of a received electronic mail and a notification destination indicating that the electronic mail has been transferred. Registering means for registering user information including information for each user, receiving means for receiving an e-mail, and transmitting the received e-mail to the transfer destination indicated by the user information corresponding to the user of the destination of the e-mail. Conversion means for converting the data into an adapted data form; transfer means for transferring the data obtained by the conversion means to the transfer destination;
When the electronic mail is transferred by the transfer means,
Notification means for transmitting a notification text indicating that to the notification destination indicated by the user information.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the electronic mail providing method according to another aspect of the present invention provides, for each user, information indicating a transfer destination of a received electronic mail and that the electronic mail has been transferred. A holding step of holding user information including information indicating a notification destination; a conversion step of converting a received e-mail into a data format adapted to the transfer destination indicated by the user information; and a data obtained in the conversion step. And a notifying step of transmitting, when the electronic mail is transferred by the transferring step, a notification message indicating the transfer to the notifying destination indicated by the user information.

[0018]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present embodiment, when information is provided to a user using an e-mail system, when information that cannot be expanded and displayed in an environment of an e-mail receiving terminal is transmitted, the summary information is transmitted. An information providing service system that notifies a user of a method of acquiring information and a method of acquiring the information that has not been able to be developed and displayed conventionally due to environmental restrictions in various forms will be described.

<System Configuration> The service system (hereinafter referred to as a net mail service) described in the present embodiment determines whether or not a mail server and a user can output to a desired medium in accordance with user settings. Module for creating a document suitable for the medium desired by the user (hereinafter referred to as a judgment module), a conversion module for converting a specific format into another specific format (hereinafter referred to as a conversion module), user information and user For setting the medium desired by the user (hereinafter referred to as a setting module), and setting of user information and conversion between media by the user (hereinafter referred to as a user conversion setting)
And a storage device (hereinafter referred to as a net database) for storing data and the like sent by e-mail.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a service according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a mail server; 200, a judgment module;
00 'is the conversion module, 500 is the setting module, 4
00 is a net database. In the above configuration, the mail received by the mail server 100 is divided by format in the determination module 200, and each data is converted into an appropriate conversion module 30 according to the user conversion setting.
Passed to 0 and converted. Then, after the determination module 200 creates a document suitable for each medium using the converted data, the user's Web is transmitted via the Web server 700, the portable terminal server 800, and the FAX server 900.
b The data is sent to each medium such as a browser, a portable terminal, and a facsimile to be displayed or output. The content of the user conversion setting used for the determination in the determination module 200 is created and changed by the setting module 500. Hereinafter, each module will be described in detail.

In the present embodiment, in order to provide a more flexible service to the user, the setting of the user by the setting module 500 is enabled. However, when a uniform service is provided to all users, the setting module is unnecessary. That is, the configuration module is optional,
Not required.

The mail server 100 has a judgment module 20
0 may or may not be running on the server where 0 is running. In addition, the mail server need not be able to perform only reception, and may be a mail server that periodically accesses the mail server using a protocol such as POP3 to acquire mail. That is, in the application to the present embodiment, it is only required that the mail server be a general-purpose mail server having a means for delivering received data to another program module.

The judgment module 200 is used for the mail server 10
The mail received at 0 is received and divided for each format. In order to format-convert the individual parts obtained by this division so as to be compatible with the medium desired by the user, reference is made to the settings for each user stored in the net database 400 and appropriate conversion modules 300, 300 'are used. Is instructed to convert. Then, a document is created for the medium desired by the user using the data returned from the conversion module.

The conversion modules 300 and 300 'are filters for performing conversion from a specific format to another specific format. For example, the simplest example is a module that converts a TIFF format, which is an image format, into a JPEG format, which is another image format. Since conversion between specific formats is performed, there are a plurality of conversion modules depending on the formats that the determination module 200 can handle. In FIG. 1, the conversion modules 300, 30
Although 0 'is shown, it goes without saying that three or more conversion modules may exist.

The setting module 500 receives user registration, user conversion settings, etc.
This is a mechanism for storing in 0. In the present embodiment, CG
It is started from the Web server 700 or the like using I or the like, but this does not mean that setting by a dedicated terminal or telephone cannot be performed. That is, the setting and the change of the setting by the voice guidance on the dedicated terminal or the telephone are of course possible.

The net database 400 stores contents of user registration, user conversion settings, billing information, data included in mail, and the like.

Web server 700, portable terminal server 80
0, FAX server 900 is connected to a medium (a computer having a Web browser, a portable terminal, a facsimile machine) in which the conversion result is expressed. In the present embodiment, the web server 700 is connected to the setting module 500
, But the Web server 700 may be the same physical server,
It may be another server.

In order to allow the user to quickly know that the mail has arrived and the data conversion has been performed, W
It is assumed that the mobile terminal can be notified of a mail conversion result, such as information uploaded to the eb server 700, transmission of a facsimile, and its transmission destination, via the mobile terminal server 800.

In this embodiment, the Web server 700, the portable terminal server 800, and the FAX server 900 are selected as information providing means for the medium expressing the conversion result. However, the implementation of other media is limited. is not. For example, as long as there is only a conversion module for converting characters to voice, a voice telephone can be selected as a medium expressing the conversion result. Also, the mobile terminal and the facsimile machine on the user side need not be dedicated.

In the present embodiment, the following services will be mainly described as examples of services realized in the above system. (1) User registration: Registration of an ID and password used for user authentication, information necessary for charging, personal information, and the like is performed. (2) Change of registration of user conversion settings: Registration and change of transfer destination settings and conversion settings used when performing a mail conversion service. (3) Web data display: Displays mail information converted into a Web format in accordance with user settings. (4) Display of data on the portable terminal: The information of the converted mail is displayed on the portable terminal according to the user's setting. (5) Display of data by FAX: F according to user setting
The information of the mail converted to AX is output. (6) E-mail conversion service: Changes the contents of the e-mail to a form suitable for another medium according to the settings.

Each of the above services will be described later in detail. The services and functions in the present embodiment are not limited to the above.

<Structure of Mail Server> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the mail server 100. A control unit 201 includes a CPU 202 and a memory 203.
The CPU 202 implements the control of sending and receiving mail by executing the mail sending and receiving program stored in the memory 203. Reference numeral 204 denotes a communication unit which exchanges mail data via a line, stores received mail in a net database, and retrieves data from the net database to access data on the net database when sending mail. Used for

<Structure of Judgment Module> FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the judgment module 200. 30
A control unit 1 includes a CPU 302 and a memory 303. A mail splitting program stored in the memory 303,
When the CPU 302 executes the conversion module selection program and the mail re-generation program, a determination relating to data conversion is realized. Reference numeral 304 denotes a communication unit which exchanges data with other modules, retrieves received mail stored in the net database 400, and outputs processed data to the net database 400.
Is used to access data on the net database 400 when adding to Further, in the present embodiment, the mediation processing of access between other modules and other servers and data on the net database 400 is also performed by the determination module 200.

<Structure of Conversion Module> FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the conversion module 300. 40
A control unit 1 includes a CPU 402 and a memory 403. The CPU 402 executes the format conversion program stored in the memory 403 to convert the format of the provided data. A communication unit 404 exchanges data with other modules, acquires data before conversion from the net database 400, and transmits data after conversion to the net database 400.
Is used to access data on the net database 400 when stored in the.

<Configuration of Setting Module> FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the setting module 500. 50
A control unit 1 includes a CPU 502 and a memory 503. The CPU 502 implements the user conversion setting change by executing the user conversion setting program stored in the memory 503. A communication unit 504 interacts with a user through a line to receive designation of setting contents, and transmits current user conversion settings to the net database 400.
From the Internet and the change results
Is used to access data on the net database 400 when stored in the.

<Structure of Net Database> FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the net database 400. A control unit 701 includes a CPU 702, a memory 70
3 is provided. The CPU 702 manages the data stored in the storage medium 705 by executing the database management system stored in the memory 703. A communication unit 704 is used for exchanging data with another module through a line. The storage medium 705 stores and manages data managed by the database management system 400. The stored data includes a table group 706 such as user information and a data entity 707 such as mail data.

The table group 706 includes a user information table (FIG. 7), a user home information table (FIG. 8), a user work place information table (FIG. 9), a user portable terminal information table (FIG. 10), and a user conversion setting table. (FIG. 11),
A conversion module table (FIG. 12) and a portable terminal performance table (FIG. 13) are included.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user information table. The user information table 706a is generated and recorded when the user performs user registration, and includes an ID and password used for user authentication, credit card information used for user billing,
Stores billing results and the like.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user home information table. User home information table 706
b is generated and recorded when the user performs user registration or when the user uses the net mail service. The user's home information table 706b stores the user's home telephone number, home address, and medium ID (home FAX number, home mail address) attached thereto.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user workplace information table. User workplace information table 7
06c is generated and recorded when the user performs user registration or when the user uses the net mail service. The user workplace information table 706c stores the workplace address of the user such as the workplace telephone number and workplace address and the ID of the medium attached to the workplace (workplace fax number,
(Work email address) is stored.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user portable terminal information table. The user portable terminal information table 706d is generated when the user performs user registration or when the user uses the net mail service.
It is recorded and stores information about the user's mobile terminal.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user conversion setting table. In the present embodiment, the user conversion setting table 706e is used to set whether to perform display or output on each medium via the Web server 700, the portable terminal server 800, and the FAX server 900. The user conversion setting table 706e is used to make settings so that appropriate information reaches appropriate devices when the user uses this service.

[0044] The user enters the Web server 700, the portable terminal server 800, and the FA through the setting module 500.
The display (output) on each medium via the X server 900 can be selected, and the display format of the attached document can be selected for each output destination. Web server 700, FAX 900
When the display or output of the content is performed through the, the portable terminal 800 can be notified that such display or output has been performed. For example, it is assumed that an e-mail with an image file attached is received in a state in which display on the Web is selected. Normally, image formats supported by the Web browser are limited to JPEG, GIF, and the like.
In such a case, the user must have image display software corresponding to the format in order to view other attached images. However, here, "When displaying attached images on the Web, JPEG, GIF
Function to convert image formats other than JPEG to JPEG
If "N" is selected, the image file is converted into JPEG and can be displayed on a Web browser. Then, the portable terminal 800 is notified of a part that can be viewed on the portable terminal 800, such as the mail text, and that the file has been uploaded to the Web server 700. The above procedure is the same for a word processing document. However, image formats and word processing documents that support conversion are part of the published format, and do not guarantee all conversions. However, it is possible to implement it in a public format.

In some cases, conversion can be performed only for a fee among those that are not made public, so that it is possible to select whether to permit use of the paid conversion module.

The user does not have to select any one of the Web server 700, the portable terminal server 800, and the FAX server 900, and can display or output one mail on a plurality of media or all media. It is. The contents displayed or output on the plurality of media need not be the same. For example, it is possible to display the mail text and the gist of the attached word processor document on the portable terminal, and output the entire word processor document by using a facsimile via the facsimile server 900.

On the other hand, the data entity 707 includes sent mail data, divided mail data, data converted by a conversion module for each medium, a document created for each medium, and the like. Since the divided mail data is stored as a data entity, it is possible to interactively convert with the user. For example, in the case where it is impossible to browse without using a paid conversion module such as a word processing document, the portable terminal server 800
Is notified only that the word processing document has arrived at the portable terminal 800 via the. The user who has received this notification,
When the user accesses the eb server 700 and selects to display the mail, the mail is sent to the conversion module 300, and the mail is converted (for a fee) and can be viewed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the conversion module table. Conversion module table 70
6f is used to describe the characteristics of each conversion module (300, 300 '). The judgment module 200 refers to the conversion module table 706f,
A conversion module whose input format and output format are appropriate can be selected. The input format and the output format are usually determined by MIME and extension. However, as shown in FIG. 11, there is a format such as “summary of word processor document” that cannot be determined only by MIME or extension. (Original) ".

As mentioned in the description of FIG. 11, since there is a paid conversion module, an item indicating the price required per conversion is also provided.
In this case, the conversion price is considered on the page, but it goes without saying that the price may be determined based on the size of the data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the portable terminal performance table. Portable terminal performance table 706g
Is used to describe the characteristics of the mobile device. Since images that can be displayed vary greatly depending on the mobile terminal, when it is necessary to display an image on the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal type, mobile terminal carrier name, and mobile terminal part number registered in the user mobile terminal information table 706d are displayed. Then, the image display capability of the mobile terminal specified by the information can be checked with reference to the mobile terminal performance table 706g, and the image can be created according to the mobile terminal. Similarly, since the maximum number of characters that can be displayed varies greatly depending on the mobile terminal, when it is necessary to send an e-mail to the mobile terminal, the maximum number of characters that can be displayed on the mobile terminal specified by the mobile terminal part number is calculated in the mobile terminal performance table. By doing so, it is possible to create an email that matches the mobile terminal of the email destination. Note that the mail server 100, the determination module 200, the conversion module 300 (300 '), the setting module 500, and the net database 400 Although described above as being on different machines, there is no inconvenience if they are on the same machine.
That is, CPU 202, CPU 302, CPU 402, C
There is no problem even if the PU 502 and the CPU 702 are the same. In that case, the mail server 100, the judgment module 2
00, the conversion module 300 (300 ′), and the setting module 500 are the communication unit 204, the communication unit 304, and the communication unit 40.
4. The storage medium 705 is directly accessed without going through the communication unit 504.

<Overview of System Operation> In order to receive the service of the net mail service, it is necessary to register the user in advance and register the user conversion setting. As described above, in the present embodiment, the user registration and the registration of the user conversion setting are performed through the Web server 700. FIG. 14 shows a procedure for user registration and registration of user conversion settings.

First, in step S101, it is determined whether or not to perform user registration. If the user registration has not been completed yet, steps S101 to S102
And proceed to user registration. Step S102
Then, basic information of the user and information necessary for charging the user are registered. In step S103 and step S104, a check is made to determine whether the desired user ID can be used and the credit card is authenticated. And request for selection of service contents (step S105).

On the other hand, if the user has already been registered, a user ID and a password are input in step S106. When the user is authenticated by the input ID and password, the user selects whether to change the user conversion setting (step S105) or display the mail by the web (step S109) (step S10).
8). Here, when changing the user conversion settings, the mobile phone or FA used to convert and transfer the mail is used.
It is requested to enter additional information about X, telephone, etc., and select service contents (step S105). In addition, Web
If you select to display mail by
Display mail recreated for eb (step S
109).

<User Registration> FIG. 15 shows a cover part (front page) in the Web server of the net mail service of this embodiment. The user who has already acquired the user ID enters the user ID in the user ID input area 601.
When a password is entered in the password input area 602 and the login button 603 is clicked, FIG. 16 is displayed after user authentication (S101, S106, S10).
7). Here, by clicking the setting change button 606, a screen for changing the registration of the user conversion setting described later is displayed (S108, S105). By clicking the mail content display button 605, W
The data display screen by eb is displayed (S108, S
109).

On the other hand, when the registration button 604 in FIG. 15 is clicked, the screen shown in FIG. 17, which is a screen for performing user registration, is displayed (S101, S102). Input area 6
The user fills in all items from 07 to 619,
Press the OK button 620. If the user can use the desired ID and the credit card authentication is performed without any problem, FIG. 18 is displayed and the user conversion setting can be performed (S103, S104, S105). The user information table 70 based on the information input on the screen of FIG.
6a will be generated.

When the home data button 622 in FIG. 18 is clicked, an input screen in FIG. 19 is displayed. FIG. 19 is used to enter information on a home medium, and a FAX number and a mail address are entered in input areas 625 and 626 as necessary. A user home information table 706b is formed based on this information.

When the work data button 623 shown in FIG. 18 is clicked, an input screen shown in FIG. 20 is displayed. FIG.
0 is used to fill in the work medium information, and the user fills in the input fields 628 to 634 as necessary. Based on the information input on the input screen of FIG. 20, the user workplace information table 70
6c is generated.

The portable terminal data button 624 shown in FIG.
Clicking displays the screen shown in FIG. FIG.
Is used to fill in the mobile terminal information, and selects or fills in the input areas 636 to 641 as needed. For example, in the present embodiment, the area 63
In 6, a type such as a mobile phone or a pager can be selected from a pull-down menu, and a carrier name can also be selected from an area 637 from a pull-down menu. In 638, the product number of the portable terminal is entered. 641 is entered when a mail address assigned to the mobile phone exists. A user portable terminal information table 706d is generated based on these pieces of information.

The portable terminal data button 624 shown in FIG.
If you click, FIG. 21 is displayed. FIG. 21 is used to fill in the information of the mobile terminal, and pull-down menus 636 and 637 and a writing area 638 as necessary.
To 641 to select or enter information on the mobile terminal. In the pull-down menu 636, a type such as a mobile phone or a pager is selected. Also, a carrier name is selected for the pull-down menu 637. In the entry area 638, the product number of the portable terminal is entered. The entry area 641 is entered when a mail address assigned to the mobile terminal exists.

Note that each item in FIG. 17 must be filled out in order to identify an individual.
9, FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 are information necessary for providing a service, and may be filled in as needed by the user.

<Change of User Conversion Setting Registration> By clicking the setting change button 606 in FIG. 16, a screen as shown in FIG. 22 for changing the registration of user conversion setting is displayed (S108, S105). Here, when the specification medium change button 643 is clicked, the above-described screen of FIG. 18 is displayed. In FIG. 18, the home data button 622,
Work data button 623, mobile terminal data button 62
Since the operation at the time of clicking 4 has already been described, the description is omitted here.

On the other hand, the used service change button 6 shown in FIG.
Clicking on 44 displays the screen of FIG. FIG.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a screen for setting a service desired by the user. Items 645 to 661 are set as required by the user. User conversion setting table 706e based on the contents set using the screen of FIG.
Is constructed.

Check boxes 648, 654, 660
Is an item for setting whether to permit use of the paid conversion module when performing automatic conversion. The check boxes 649 and 661 are items for setting whether or not to notify the fact by uploading or facsimile transmission to the mail Web server.

A pull-down menu 658 is used to designate a facsimile transfer destination when one of the check boxes 655, 656, and 657 is checked to use a facsimile transfer service. First, the user can select one of the mobile phones designated by the FAX number. Transferring to FAX is a paid service because it requires a telephone charge.
The maximum number of output sheets can be designated in the input area 659 in order to avoid the AX being output and a large charge.

<Display of Data by Web> By clicking the mail content display button 605 in FIG.
4 is displayed (S108, S109). According to the user's settings, a list of mails converted into the Web format is displayed. By selecting one of the individual e-mails 670 displayed for From and Subject, the data entity (HTML file and attached image file) stored in the net database is displayed in FIG.
Is displayed as follows. FIG. 25 shows the contents of the mail converted into the Web format. When the check box 646 in FIG. 23 is checked and the mail has an attached image, an image is displayed in addition to the text as shown in FIG. Also, a check box 647 in FIG.
If is checked, the contents of the word processing document are displayed after the body.

<Display of Data on Portable Terminal> When the check box 650 in FIG. 23 is checked, an e-mail is sent to the portable terminal via the portable terminal server 800. Further, when the check box 651 in FIG. 23 is checked, a mobile terminal (user mobile terminal information table) specified by the mobile type, mobile carrier name, and mobile terminal product number registered in the user mobile terminal information table 706d in FIG. The maximum number of characters that can be displayed on the portable terminal identified by 706d) is checked with reference to the portable terminal performance table 706g. As a result, if the mail text is larger than the maximum number of characters that can be displayed, a summary of the mail text is created and sent by the conversion module 300 that creates a summary from the text. If the check box 652 in FIG. 23 is checked,
An image that can be represented in the mobile terminal specified by the mobile type, the mobile carrier name, and the mobile terminal product number in FIG. 10 (user mobile terminal information table 706d) is stored in the mobile terminal performance table 7.
Check with reference to 06 g. Then, the image attached to the mail is converted into this format by the appropriate conversion module 300 (300 ') and sent. Similarly, when the check box 653 in FIG. 23 is checked, a summary of the word processing document is displayed after the text. Also, when uploaded to the Web server 700 or when FAX transmission is performed via the FAX server 900, a mail indicating that fact is sent to the portable terminal.

<Display of Data by FAX> When any of the check boxes 655, 656, and 657 in FIG. 23 is checked, only the text, only the attached image, and only the attached word processor document are faxed. Further, each FAX is provided with a cover indicating the destination set in FIGS. 19, 20 and 21 for the place designated by the pull-down menu 658.

<E-mail Conversion Service>
b, The mechanism of the mail conversion service that enables the display of data on a portable terminal and a facsimile will be described.
FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the operation of the process after the mail is received by the mail server and is sent to the determination module 200.

When the Content-Type of the mail is multipart, the mail is divided into individual parts using the boundary (step S300). Encoding data provided by Content-Transfer-Encoding (usually Base64 or
If there is a conversion module that can decode Uuencode, the decoding is performed (step S310). And FIG.
Perform the conversion for the individual media shown in FIG. That is, when the mail is displayed on the Web, the process shown in FIG. 27 is started from step S330, and when the mail is forwarded to a facsimile, the process shown in FIG. 28 is started from step S350. In the case of display, the processing shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 is started from step S370. The display performed by the mobile terminal includes, in addition to displaying the mail content, a notification that the mail has been uploaded to the Web, a notification that the mail has been transferred to the FAX, and the like.

<< Conversion to Data Displayable on Web >> FIG. 27 is a flowchart for creating a display object on the Web. Since the text does not require conversion,
What needs to be converted are images and word processing documents attached to emails. The user can use the image Web
When the setting for performing the above display has been made (step S33)
1) Check if the data contains images by Content-Type or
Judging from the extension of name (step S332),
By comparing the extension of Content-Type or name with the input format (MIME) or input format (extension) of the conversion module table, this image is
Then, a suitable conversion module for converting the data into the data is searched for (step S333). If there is an appropriate module, it is determined whether the price in the conversion module table is 0 (step S334). If the user is charged, it is determined from the items in the user conversion setting table 706e whether the user is permitted to use the paid module (step S335). If the use of the conversion module is free, or if the use of the paid module is permitted even if it is charged, the conversion is performed by an appropriate conversion module (step S33).
6). If a paid conversion module is used, the price of the conversion module table is added to the charging result of the user information table.

When the user has set to display the word processing document on the Web (step S33)
7) Determine whether the data includes a word processing document from the Content-Type and the extension of the name (step S).
338), Content-Type and name of the word processing document
By comparing the extension of the word processor document with the input format (MIME) and the input format (extension) of the conversion module table, a suitable conversion module for converting this word processing document into HTML is searched (step S).
339). That is, in the present embodiment, the word processing document is converted into HTML so that the word processing document can be displayed on the Web. If there is an appropriate conversion module, it is determined whether the price in the conversion module table is 0 (step S340). If the user is charged, it is determined from the items in the user conversion setting table whether the user is permitted to use the paid conversion module (step S341). If the use of the conversion module is free or if the use of the paid conversion module is permitted even though the conversion module is charged, the conversion is performed by an appropriate conversion module (step S342). If the conversion module used is a paid conversion module, the price in the conversion module table is added to the accounting result in the user information table.

The converted individual parts and the parts that do not need to be converted are arranged in the order of the original mail, and a Web page is created by adding an HTML header with Subject as a title tag. The completed We
Page b is stored in the net database 400 (step S344).

<< Conversion to Data that can be Transmitted to FAX >>
FIG. 28 is a flowchart for creating a display object sent by facsimile. If the user has set the FAX transmission of the text of the mail (step S351), the text of the text is laid out and rendered, and then the CCITT FA
The body is converted to the CCITT FAX format by the conversion module that performs X encoding (step S35).
2). Next, when the user has set to transmit an image by facsimile (step S353), it is determined from the Content-Type and the extension of the name whether or not the image is included in the mail (step S354). Content-Type and name of the image
By comparing the extension of the image with the input format (MIME) and the input format (extension) of the conversion module table, a suitable conversion module for converting this image into CCITTFAX encoding is searched (step S).
355). If there is an appropriate conversion module, it is determined whether the price is 0 (whether it is charged) or not by referring to the conversion module table 706f (step S35).
6). If paid, the user conversion setting table 70 indicates whether the user is permitted to use the paid conversion module.
Judgment is made from the item 6e (step S357). If the use of the conversion module is free or if the user is allowed to use the conversion module, the conversion is performed by the appropriate conversion module, and the price of the conversion module table is added to the charge record in the user information table. Is added (step S358).

If the user has set the fax transmission of the word processing document (step S 359), it is determined whether the data includes the word processing document.
Judging from the extension of Type and name (step S360),
Extensions of Content-Type and name of word processing document and input format of conversion module table (MIM
E) and an input format (extension) are compared to find an appropriate conversion module for converting this word processing document into CCITTFAX encoding (step S361). If there is an appropriate conversion module, it is determined whether or not the price of the conversion module table 706f is 0 (step S362). If the user is charged, it is determined from the items in the user conversion setting table 706e whether the user is permitted to use the paid conversion module (step S363). If the use of the conversion module is free or if the user is allowed to use the conversion module, the conversion is performed by the appropriate conversion module, and the price of the conversion module table is added to the charge record in the user information table. Is added (step S36).
4).

The converted individual parts are arranged in the order corresponding to the original mail to create a document to be transmitted, and the number of documents is checked (step S36).
5). This number is the FAX allowable output number (65 in FIG. 23).
If the number is smaller than the number specified by the user (registered in the user conversion table 706e) in step 9), a cover indicating the location selected by the user as the facsimile destination is created and added to the beginning of the generated document (step S3).
67). Conversely, the number of pages of the document is 659 in FIG.
If the number is larger than the number specified by the user in
Proceeding to step S368, the number of documents is FAX
The document created in step S366 is deleted from behind so that the number of output sheets becomes the allowable number. And step S
Proceeding to 369, a cover page indicating that the number of sheets to be sent has been restricted according to the user's designation and the place selected by the user as a facsimile transfer destination is created, and added to the beginning of the document with the limited number of pages (step S369). The completed document is sent to the facsimile designated by the user (step S370).

<< Conversion to Data Displayable on Portable Terminal >> FIG. 29 is a flowchart for creating a display on the portable terminal. First, a notification message to be notified to the mobile terminal when the file is uploaded to the Web server or a facsimile is sent is created. That is, it is checked whether “Notify by e-mail when Up Load is performed” is set in the user conversion setting table 706e (step S37).
1) If the notification is set, a message indicating that the notification has been uploaded to the Web server is created (step S372). Next, the user conversion setting table 7
06e, "Notify destination if fax is sent"
Is checked (step S373), and if a notification is set, a message indicating that a fax has been sent or a fax destination is created (step S3).
74). Then, the notification texts are arranged in order, and the number of characters in the entire notification text is checked (step S375).

Next, it is checked whether "transfer ON to portable terminal" is set in the user conversion setting table 706e (step S376).
The individual conversions described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. After that, the converted individual parts and the parts that do not need to be converted are added in the order of the original mail, and the notification text created in step S375 is added first to create a sentence to be sent to the mobile terminal. (Step S377). Then, the completed sentence is sent to the portable terminal designated by the user (step S378).

The processing when “transfer to mobile terminal ON” is set in step S376 will be described in detail. If “transfer ON to mobile terminal” has been set, the process proceeds to the processing in FIG. 30, and individual conversion for displaying mail on the mobile terminal is performed.

First, for the text, the maximum number of characters that can be displayed on the mobile terminal specified by the mobile type, mobile carrier name, and mobile terminal part number registered in the user mobile terminal information table 706d of FIG.
6g, and determines whether or not the number of characters in the mail text is greater than a value obtained by subtracting the number of characters of the notification text checked in step S375 from the maximum number of characters that can be displayed (step S380). If the number of characters in the body is larger than the maximum number of characters to be displayed, it is determined from the setting contents of the user conversion setting table 706e whether to create a summary of the body (step S381). If it is set to create a gist, the conversion module for creating a gist of the body creates a gist of the mail body so as to fit within the maximum number of characters that can be displayed (step S383).
If the summary is not created, the character string is truncated by the conversion module that truncates the character string of the mail body so as to fit within the maximum number of characters that can be displayed on the mobile terminal (step S382).

If the user has set the image to be displayed on the portable terminal (step S384), it is determined from the Content-Type and the extension of the name whether or not the image is included in the data (step S385). . If an image is included, the converted image format is checked from the mobile terminal performance table 706g corresponding to the user's mobile terminal (step S386). Image Content-Type and extension of name and input format of conversion module table (MIM
E) and an input format (extension) are compared to find an appropriate conversion module for converting this image into an appropriate image format (step S387).
If there is an appropriate conversion module, it is determined whether or not the price in the conversion module table 706f is 0 (step S388). If the user is charged, it is determined from the items of the user conversion setting table 706e whether the user is permitted to use the paid conversion module (step S).
389). If the use of the conversion module is free or if the user is allowed to use the paid conversion module, the conversion is performed by an appropriate conversion module.
And if a paid conversion module is used,
The price in the conversion module table is added to the charging result in the user information table 706a (step S390).

If the user has set to display the gist of the word processing document on the portable terminal (step S391), it is determined from the Content-Type and the extension of the name whether the data contains the word processing document (step S391). Step S392), Content-Ty of the word processing document
By comparing the extension of pe or name with the input format (MIME) or input format (extension) of the conversion module table, an appropriate conversion module for creating a gist is searched from this word processing document (step S393). If there is an appropriate conversion module, it is determined whether the price in the conversion module table is 0 (step S394). If the user is charged, it is determined from the items in the user conversion setting table whether the user is permitted to use the paid conversion module (step S395). If the use of the conversion module is free or if the user is allowed to use the paid conversion module, the conversion is performed by an appropriate conversion module. Then, when a paid conversion module is used, the price of the conversion module table is added to the charging result of the user information table 706a (step S396).

As described above, according to this embodiment, when information that cannot be expanded and displayed in a terminal environment where a user receives an e-mail is transmitted, the summary information and the method of acquiring the information are transmitted. Can be provided to the user in various forms of information that could not be expanded and displayed in the user environment. In particular, the environment for using e-mail using mobile terminals can be dramatically improved. it can.

<Other Embodiments> An object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiments. In other words, the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of a storage medium for supplying the program code include a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, RO
M, DVD, and the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing some or all of the actual processing, and the processing performs the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, Needless to say, the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0087]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The contents of the e-mail are converted into a data format corresponding to the capability of the e-mail receiving terminal and transferred, and the effect of the transfer can be notified to another receiving terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a service system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mail server.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a determination module.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a conversion module.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a setting module.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a net database.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a user information table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a user home information table.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a user workplace information table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a user portable terminal information table.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a user conversion setting table.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a conversion module table.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a mobile terminal performance table.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a procedure for user registration and user conversion setting registration.

FIG. 15 is a web page of the net mail service according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cover part in the server.

FIG. 16 is a web page of the net mail service of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cover part of a user setting in the server.

FIG. 17 is a Web page of the Internet mail service of the embodiment.
It is a figure showing the member registration part in a server.

FIG. 18 is a Web page of the net mail service according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a designated portion of a transfer destination in a server.

FIG. 19 is a web page of the net mail service of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a designated portion of a transfer destination in a server.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a Web service of the Internet mail service according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a designated portion of a transfer destination in a server.

FIG. 21 is a web page of the net mail service of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a designated portion of a transfer destination in a server.

FIG. 22 is a Web page of the net mail service according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a cover part of a user setting change in the server.

FIG. 23 is a Web page of the net mail service according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a service selection part in a server.

FIG. 24 is a Web page of the net mail service according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a cover part when a received mail is displayed on the server.

FIG. 25 is a web page of the net mail service of the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a received mail in a server.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a determination module according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating data that can be displayed on the Web.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating data that can be transmitted to a facsimile.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating data that can be displayed on a mobile terminal.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating data that can be displayed on a mobile terminal.

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Satoshi Igashira             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non Corporation (72) Inventor Kosuke Ito             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non Corporation (72) Inventor Hiroshi Satomi             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non Corporation F term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA12 AA13 AB23 AB41                       AC43 AF08 AF13 BB03 BD00                 5K030 HA06 LD11 LD13

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit for storing, for each user, user information including information indicating a transfer destination of a received electronic mail and information indicating a notification destination indicating that the electronic mail has been transferred; Converting means for converting the data obtained by the conversion means to the transfer destination, the electronic mail being transferred to the transfer destination indicated by the user information, and an e-mail being transferred by the transfer means. In case,
An e-mail providing apparatus comprising: a notifying unit configured to transmit a notification message indicating that to the notification destination indicated by the user information. 2. The electronic mail providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification destination is a portable terminal. 3. The transfer destination is World Wide W
2. The information receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information to be received is obtained by following a link from a predetermined URL in a Web server that provides information by Web. E-mail providing device. 4. The electronic mail providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer destination is a facsimile machine. 5. When the notification destination is included in the transfer destination, the notification unit incorporates the notification text into a part of the received e-mail text and transmits it. The e-mail providing device according to 1. 6. The adjusting means for adjusting the number of characters of the e-mail text so that the total number of characters of the notification text and the received e-mail text is within the maximum number of display characters of the notification destination. The e-mail providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the e-mail providing apparatus includes: 7. The e-mail providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a charging unit configured to perform charging in accordance with the conversion process when the conversion unit performs a charging process. . 8. The e-mail providing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a prohibition unit for prohibiting execution of a conversion process that generates a charge when a setting is set by the user to prohibit the charge. 9. The electronic mail providing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit for setting the user information. 10. A registration means for registering, for each user, user information including information indicating a transfer destination of a received e-mail and a notification destination indicating that the e-mail has been transferred, and reception for receiving the e-mail. Means for converting the received e-mail into a data format adapted to the transfer destination indicated by the user information corresponding to the user of the destination of the e-mail, and converting the data obtained by the conversion means into A transfer unit for transferring to a transfer destination, and when the electronic mail is transferred by the transfer unit,
An e-mail providing system comprising: a notification unit configured to transmit a notification text indicating the notification to the notification destination indicated by the user information. 11. A holding step for holding, for each user, user information including information indicating a transfer destination of a received electronic mail and information indicating a notification destination indicating that the electronic mail has been transferred; Converting the data obtained in the conversion step to the transfer destination, the electronic mail being transferred by the transfer step. In case,
A notification step of transmitting a notification message indicating that to the notification destination indicated by the user information. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the notification destination is a portable terminal. 13. The transfer destination is World Wide.
It is in a Web server that provides information by Web,
The electronic mail providing method according to claim 11, wherein the information to be received can be acquired by a receiver of the information following a link from a predetermined URL. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the transfer destination is a facsimile machine. 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein when the notification destination is included in the transfer destination, the notification step includes transmitting the notification text in a part of the received e-mail text. E-mail provision method described in. 16. The adjusting step of adjusting the number of characters of the e-mail text so that the total number of characters of the notification text and the received e-mail text is within the maximum number of display characters of the notification destination. The electronic mail providing method according to claim 15, further comprising: 17. The electronic mail providing method according to claim 11, further comprising, in the conversion step, when conversion processing involving charging is performed, charging is performed according to the conversion processing. . 18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a prohibition step of prohibiting execution of a conversion process that causes a charge when a setting is made by the user to prohibit the charge.
7. The method for providing e-mail according to 7. 19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising a setting step of setting the user information. 20. A storage medium storing a control program for realizing a method according to claim 11 by a computer. 21. A control program for realizing a method according to claim 11 by a computer.