JP2007074035A - Communication device and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to improve usability of an e-mail function in a network to which a communication apparatus for controlling a transmission path of information to be transmitted is connected. <P>SOLUTION: A router for controlling the transmission path of the information to be transmitted in the network is provided with an extracting means (109) for analyzing an e-mail and extracting an identifier, and a password for specifying the user of this e-mail if the information is the e-mail; a storing means (111) for storing the e-mail in association with the identifier extracted in the extracting means (109); a generating means (112) for generating data to be browsable via a browser, on the basis of the e-mail stored in association with the identifier; and a transmission means (113) for transmitting the data associated with the identifier to the browser, when the password corresponding to the identifier is input via the browser. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that controls a transmission path of information transmitted in a network.

<The role of the router in the network>
In recent years, with the spread of ADSL, cable TV, etc., broadband constant connection services are rapidly spreading in the home. In order to subscribe to such services, it is generally necessary to enter into a contract with a provider. However, since a provider normally assigns only one global address per contract, when a family has a plurality of PCs, only one PC can be connected to the network as it is.

  There is a router as a device for solving this problem. The router has two or more network interfaces. An ADSL modem and a cable modem are connected to one of the interfaces, and a global address is assigned from the contract provider.

  On the other hand, a private area network (PAN) can be configured by connecting a HUB to the remaining interfaces. A private address is automatically assigned to a device connected to the HUB and constituting the PAN by the DHCP server function of the router. The router is provided with an address translation function called NAT so that a single global address assigned on the LAN side can be shared and used by a plurality of PCs on the PAN side.

<Use of network with router>
In recent years, IP telephones and IP videophones that use a network including the above-described router to talk by sending audio and video on IP packets have become widespread. In response to the widespread use of IP telephones and IP videophones, techniques for connecting IP telephones and IP videophones to PANs have been developed.

  For example, in the feature article “Unraveling VoIP” in the June 2002 issue of “Nikkei NETWORK”, as a router technique for applying IP phone / IP videophone to a private area network (PAN), NAT technology for use is disclosed.

  Specifically, the source private address stored in the data portion of the IP packet received from the private area network (PAN) is rewritten to the global address of the router and transmitted to the LAN, and the conversion table is recorded. It is described that the destination address of the header part of the IP packet received from the LAN is converted back to a private address with reference to the conversion table and transmitted to the PAN. This method is mainly described in H.264. It is used for IP telephones / IP videophones compliant with the H.323 standard.

<Router configuration>
Here, the configuration of the router having the above function will be briefly described. FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the router. In the figure, reference numeral 1302 denotes a LAN i / f, which is connected to a local area network (LAN), and a global address is assigned to the port. 1301 is PANi / f, which is connected to a private area network (PAN), and a private address is assigned to the port.

  A filtering unit 1303 performs filtering of packets received from the LANi / f 1302 as necessary according to user settings, and a filtering unit 1304 performs filtering of packets received from the PANi / f 1301 as necessary according to user settings. .

  Reference numeral 1305 denotes a packet monitoring / path control unit that determines to which i / f a packet received from the LAN i / f 1302 and the PANi / f 1301 is sent out or whether to discard the received packet. Reference numeral 1306 denotes an address conversion unit that performs address conversion between a packet received from the LAN and a packet received from the PAN.

  1307 is a DHCP server function unit for assigning private addresses to PCs and IP phones connected to PAN / f1301 and PAN, 1308 is transmitted and received between IP phones connected to the PAN and IP phones connected to the LAN. H. H.323 analyzed according to the H.323 standard and stored in the data portion of the packet. The protocol analysis unit instructs the address conversion unit 1306 to convert the H.245 address.

<Example of router connection in network>
Next, a router connection example in a predetermined network will be described. FIG. 13 shows an example of connection of the router (router 1300) to the network. In the figure, 1300 is a router connected to both LAN and PAN, LANi / f1302 is assigned a global address valid in LAN, and PANi / f1301 is valid only within the private area network (PAN). A private address is assigned.

  IP phone 1321, PC 1322 and PANi / f 1301 constitute a private area network (PAN) together with HUB 1320, and the IP address is assigned by DHCP server function unit 1307 (FIG. 14) of router 1300. Since this private address is an address valid only inside the PAN, it cannot be accessed from the LAN 1330 to this address. Therefore, for example, when connecting from the IP phone 1332 connected to the LAN to the IP phone 1321 inside the PAN, a call is made with the global address of the router 1300 as the destination.

<Router operation when sending and receiving e-mail in the above network>
Here, transmission / reception operations of electronic mail (hereinafter simply referred to as “mail”) in the network of FIG. 13 to which the router 1300 is connected will be described.

  Reference numeral 1334 denotes a mail server accessed by a user using the PC 1332, and reference numeral 1331 denotes a mail server accessed by a user using the PC 1333. Then, an operation when the user using the PC 1322 accesses the mail server 1334 using the mail application on the PC 1322 is examined.

  As a protocol in the network of FIG. 13, the SMTP protocol standardized by RFC821 is used at the time of mail transmission. For this reason, when sending a mail, the mail application on the PC 1322 operates to establish a TCP connection to the SMTP port number 1350 of the mail server 1334.

  On the other hand, when receiving mail, the POP3 protocol standardized by RFC1939 is used. For this reason, when a mail is received, the mail application on the PC 1322 operates to establish a TCP connection to the POP3 port number 1340 of the mail server 1334. As described above, in the network, in both cases of mail transmission / reception, the router 1300 simply relays a packet transmitted in the network and converts an address. Therefore, the address translation mechanism will be briefly described below.

  In the mail protocol, connection settings are always made from an application on the PC 1322. All packets transmitted from the PC 1322 to the mail server 1334 are sent to the router 1300, and the source address is converted from the private address of the PC 1322 to the global address of the router 1300 by the address conversion unit 1306 (FIG. 14). At the same time, the combination of the source private address and the source port number is recorded in a predetermined table. The address-converted packet is transmitted to the LAN 1330 via the LAN i / f 1302 and received by the mail server 1334.

  The mail server 1334 transmits the packet with the source address and source port number of the received packet as the destination. That is, the global address of the router 1300 is transmitted to the destination and received by the LANi / f 1302. The packet monitoring / path control unit 1305 (FIG. 14) refers to the conversion table of the address conversion unit 1306 (FIG. 14), confirms that there is a private address corresponding to the port number, and sends the packet to the address conversion unit 1306. .

  The address conversion unit 1306 converts the transmission destination address into the private address of the PC 1322 and transmits it to the PC 1322 via the PANi / f1301. As a result, the PC 1322 can receive a packet from the mail server 1334.

Thus, by providing an address conversion function, a plurality of devices can be connected to the network. In the case of the router, there is no difference in operation between the TCP / IP packet based on the SMTP protocol and the TCP / IP packet based on the POP3 protocol as the packet transmitted in the network.
Nikkei NETWORK, June 2002 issue

  On the other hand, the network has several problems. For example, in the above network, when a plurality of PCs are connected to the PAN side of the router 1300 and an attempt is made to use a mail application on each PC, inconvenience may occur in the use. A specific example will be described below.

  For example, if you try to connect to the above network using a desktop PC that is normally used as the main PC and a mobile notebook PC that is used in the conference room, send it from the mail application on the desktop PC. The sent history is stored in the transmission box of the desktop PC and the transmission history is created. However, in the case of the email transmitted from the mobile notebook PC, the transmission history cannot be viewed.

  In addition, unless the setting of the mail application of each PC is set to “leave the received mail in the mail server”, the mail received by the mobile notebook PC cannot be received from the desktop PC, and the mail received by the desktop PC is for mobile use. Cannot receive with a notebook PC. As a result, in the network, the mail transmission history and the reception history vary among the PCs and are not unified.

  On the other hand, when “remaining received mail in the mail server” is set, unnecessary mail remains on the mail server indefinitely, and the storage capacity of the mail server is under pressure.

  As described above, the mail transmission / reception function in the conventional network to which the router is connected is not convenient for the user, and it is desired to solve such a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the usability of a mail function in a network to which a communication device for controlling a transmission path of transmitted information is connected.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A communication device for controlling a transmission path of information transmitted in a network,
An extracting means for analyzing the mail and extracting an identifier and a password for specifying a user of the mail when the information is a mail;
Storage means for storing the mail in association with the identifier extracted by the extraction means;
Generating means for generating data viewable via a predetermined browser based on the mail stored in association with the identifier;
A transmission unit configured to transmit the data associated with the identifier to the browser when a password corresponding to the identifier is input via the browser;

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the usability of a mail function improves in the network to which the communication apparatus which controls the transmission path | route of the information transmitted is connected.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as necessary.

[First Embodiment]
<Configuration of the network to which the router is connected>
An example of a device connection diagram of a network to which the router 100 (communication device) according to the first embodiment of the present invention is connected is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a router 100 according to the present embodiment is connected to a corporate in-house LAN.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a router according to the present embodiment (a router with an H.323 packet storage function), and 120 denotes a HUB connected to a 100 base-T port of a private area network i / f (PANi / f) 101 of the router 100. 121 and 121 are IP telephones connected to the router 100 via the HUB 120, and 122 and 123 are personal computers (PCs) connected to the router 100 via the HUB 120 and executing a mail application.

  Reference numeral 130 denotes a LAN connected to the local area network i / f (LANi / f) 102 of the router 100, 132 denotes an IP phone connected to the LAN 130 via a network connection device such as a router or HUB (not shown), 133 Is a PC, 134 is a mail server accessed from the mail application of the PC 122, and 131 is a mail server accessed from the mail application of the PC 133.

<Router block configuration>
Next, a detailed configuration of the router 100 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, 102 is connected to a local area network (LAN), and LANi / f is assigned a global address to its port, 101 is connected to a private area network (PAN), and a private address is assigned to that port. PANi / f.

  103 is a filtering unit that filters packets received from the LANi / f 102 as needed according to user settings, 104 is a filtering unit that filters packets received from the PANi / f 101 as needed according to user settings, and 105 is LANi / This is a packet monitoring / path control unit that determines to which interface the packet received from f102 and PANi / f101 is sent out or whether to discard the received packet.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes an address conversion unit that performs address conversion between a packet received from the LAN and a packet received from the PAN. A DHCP server function unit 107 assigns private addresses to connected devices such as the PCs 122 and 123 and the IP telephone 121 connected to the PANi / f 102 and the PAN.

  108 transmits the packet received from the IP phone 121 connected to the PAN to H.264. H.323 is analyzed according to the H.323 standard and stored in the header portion of the packet. 245 is a protocol analysis unit that instructs conversion of 245 addresses.

  109 analyzes a packet related to the mail passing through the address conversion unit 106 in accordance with a mail protocol, extracts information related to user authentication, sends it to the user account management unit 110, and transmits mail sent to and received from the mail server 134. This is a mail protocol analysis unit that transmits the contents to the mail storage unit 111.

  110 receives user authentication information from the mail protocol analysis unit 109, and manages a mail account and password in association with the mail address of the mail. 111 receives a mail account from the user account management unit 110. The mail storage unit creates a mail folder for each mail account and stores the contents of the mail received from the mail protocol analysis unit 109 in the mail folder for each mail account.

  114 is a mail history creation unit that records a mail transmission / reception history and functions so as not to receive the same mail repeatedly from the mail server 134, and 112 creates a mail list from the mail stored in the mail storage unit 111. , An XML data creation unit 113 for creating data for enabling the mail list and the mail message body to be disclosed to a predetermined user according to the authentication of the mail account; The WWW server unit publishes the data created by the XML data creation unit 112 to the browser of the connected device.

<Routing operation of router 100 when sending / receiving mail>
Next, the routing operation of the router 100 when transmitting / receiving mail between the PC 122 and the mail server 134 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, an IP address assigned to each connected device on the network shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

  The IP phone 132, PC 133, mail server 134, mail server 131, and LAN i / f 102 of the router 100 connected to the LAN each have a fixed global IP address. Private addresses are assigned to the IP telephones 121, PC 122, and PC 123 connected to the PANi / f 101 and PAN of the router 100 by the DHCP server function unit 107 (FIG. 1) of the router 100.

  The private address of the PC 122 is 192.168.2.10, the private address of the PANi / f101 of the router 100 is 192.168.2.1, the global IP address of the mail server 134 is 152.20.10.110, the router Assume that the global address of 100 LANi / f102 is 152.20.10.50.

  Further, as a protocol in the network of FIG. 1, it is assumed that the SMTP protocol standardized by RFC821 is used at the time of mail transmission.

  When a packet is sent from the PC 122 to the router 100, the address conversion unit 106 converts the transmission source address of the packet from the private address to the global address 152.20.10.50 of the router 100. At this time, a combination of the private address 192.168.2.10 and the source port number 140 is recorded in the table at the same time. The source port number is 140 as an example here, but may be an arbitrary number. The packet is transmitted to the LAN via the LAN i / f 102 and received by the mail server 134.

  On the other hand, the packet from the mail server 134 is transmitted with the global address 152.20.10.50 of the router 100 and the port number 140 as the destination, and is received by the LAN i / f 102. The packet monitoring / route control unit 105 of the router 100 refers to the conversion table of the address conversion unit 106 and confirms that the address corresponding to the port number 140 is on the network connected to the PANi / f101. The packet is sent to the address translation unit 106. The address conversion unit 106 converts the destination IP address into a private address 192.168.2.10 and transmits it to the PC 122 via the PANi / f101.

<Description of router operation when sending mail>
Next, the operation of the router 100 during mail transmission will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the mail application on the PC 122 transmits a TCP connection request to the port number 150 on which the SMTP server operating on the mail server 134 is waiting for connection (301).

  When the TCP connection is completed, commands and data are exchanged between the mail client PC 122 and the mail server 134 by the SMTP protocol.

  A command consisting of several alphabetic characters is transmitted from the mail client (PC 122) to the mail server (134). Depending on the type of command, a parameter separated by a space follows. A response response expressed by a three-digit number is returned from the mail server 134 in response to the command. Although the response response is followed by a comment message delimited by white space, the mail application of the mail client (PC 122) can determine the response of the mail server 134 using only three digits.

  Returning to FIG. Subsequently, a connection OK response (302) is returned from the mail server 134 to the PC 122, including the domain name, server application name, and version of the mail server 134 as comments.

  Subsequently, a HELO command (303) is transmitted from the PC 122, an OK response (304) is returned from the mail server 134, and communication between the mail server (134) and the mail client (122) by the SMTP protocol is established. As a result, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 of the router 100 recognizes the start of SMTP connection.

  Further, when a command 305 (MAIL FROM: taro@xxx.co.jp) indicating a mail transmission source address is transmitted from the PC 122, an OK response (306) is returned from the mail server 134. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 of the router 100 extracts a mail transmission source address from the parameters of the command 305 and inquires of the user account management unit 110 whether a mail account has already been created.

  The user account management unit 110 checks whether or not there is a mail account corresponding to the transmission source address. If there is no mail account, the extracted mail address is registered. At this stage, only the mail address is registered, and is not associated with the mail account of the mail box of the mail server 134. Corresponding to the mail account of the mailbox of the mail server 134 is a time point when a packet for receiving mail from the POP server on the mail server 134 is analyzed.

  The user account management unit 110 instructs the mail storage unit 111 to create a new storage folder for a mail account along with the registration of the mail address. An example of the directory structure of the mail storage folder created by the mail storage unit 111 is shown in FIG. The root directory is divided into a reception box folder 401 and a transmission box folder 402, and a transmission mail storage folder having a mail address as a folder name is created under the transmission box folder 402 (406 to 408). At this time, the mail history creation unit 114 stores the source address.

  Subsequently, when a command (RCPT TO: jiro@xxx.co.jp) indicating a mail transmission destination address is transmitted from the PC 122, an OK response (308) is returned from the mail server 134. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 extracts a mail transmission destination address from the parameters of the RCPT command, and the mail history creation unit 114 stores the transmission source address.

  Subsequently, when the DATA command (309) indicating the start of mail transmission is transmitted from the PC 122, the mail server 134 returns an OK response (310) for prompting message transmission. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 starts temporary recording of mail.

  Subsequently, the PC 122 adds a message ID 311 (Message-ID: 20020704019.AA00000@myhost.xxx.co.jp) that uniquely identifies the mail to be transmitted to the first line of the message and transmits it, and continues to 2 lines The message body 312 is transmitted after the first.

  When the transmission of the message body 312 is completed, the PC 122 transmits an end line (CR / LF.CR / LF (313)) consisting of a single period. As a result, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 identifies the end line. When the end line is identified, the router 100 transmits the message body temporarily stored in the mail storage unit 111 to the mail server 134 and also stores the message body in the transmission mail storage folder 406 (taro@xxx.co.jp). save.

  Subsequently, when an OK response (314) is returned from the mail server 134, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 determines the completion of mail transmission, the mail history creation unit 114 records the transmission completion time, and the creation of the transmission history is completed.

  Subsequently, when the QUIT command (315) indicating the end of the SMTP connection is transmitted from the PC 122, an end response (316) is returned from the mail server. As a result, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 recognizes the end of the SMTP sequence. Subsequently, the TCP connection is disconnected, and all communication ends.

<Explanation of router operation when receiving email (Registering email account and password)>
Next, the operation of the router 100 when receiving mail will be described with reference to FIGS. As a protocol in the network of FIG. 1, it is assumed that the POP3 protocol standardized by RFC1939 is used when mail is received.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a connection to the mail server 134 and a mail reception sequence.

  First, the mail application of the PC 122 transmits a TCP connection request (501) to the port number 140 on which the POP3 server is waiting for connection on the mail server 134.

  When the TCP connection is completed, data is exchanged by the POP3 protocol between the mail client (PC 122) and the mail server (134). In the case of a packet based on the POP3 protocol thereafter, the router 100 performs the above address conversion and relays the packet.

  A “+ OK” response packet (502) indicating connection OK is transmitted from the mail server 134 to the router 100 using a character string representing the mail server 134 as a parameter, and the router 100 relays the packet (502) to the PC 122. As a result, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 recognizes the start of connection with the mail server 134.

  When the response packet (502) is received by the PC 122, the mail application of the PC 122 proceeds to the user authentication phase. When the “USER” command (503) is transmitted from the PC 122 using the mail account name “taro” as a parameter, the router 100 transfers the packet to the mail server 134. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 analyzes the protocol and extracts a mail account.

  When the mail server 134 confirms the mail account name, the mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response packet (504) indicating that the account is correct. The router 100 relays the response packet (504) to the PC 122, and the mail protocol analysis unit 109 analyzes the protocol and recognizes that the mail account name is correct.

  Subsequently, when the “PASS” command (505) is transmitted from the PC 122 using the mail password “tarosecret” as a parameter, the PANi / f 101 of the router 100 receives the packet. Then, after the address conversion unit 106 converts the source address to the global address of the router 100, the router 100 relays the “PASS” command packet (505) to the mail server 134. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 analyzes the protocol and extracts a mail password.

  The mail server 134 confirms the password. If the password is correct, the mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response packet (506) indicating that the user authentication is passed. The router 100 relays the response packet (506), and the mail protocol analysis unit 109 analyzes the protocol to recognize that the password is correct. Thereafter, the user account management unit 110 is notified of the combination of the mail account name “taro” and the password “tarosecret” temporarily stored in the memory. If the mail account “taro” is not registered in the user account management unit 110, the user account management unit 110 registers a new mail account / password combination.

<Registration contents in the user account management department>
FIG. 6 shows an example of registration contents registered by the user account management unit 110. As shown in the figure, for each account, three types of information, that is, a mail account name, a password, and a mail address are recorded in association with each other.

  The method of associating the email account name with the email address seems self-evident at first glance, but there is no logically exact method of associating the two. This is because the port number used is different between the SMTP server connected at the time of mail transmission and the POP server connected at the time of reception and uses different TCP connections.

  Further, the From address and CC address included in the message body of the received mail are different from the mail address of the mail recipient in the case of mail reception from the mailing list or mail reception transmitted by BCC.

  The user account management unit 110 solves this problem by using an operational rule that a character string equal to or similar to a normal mail account name is used in the left part of the “@” mark of the mail address. As a result, the mail account name and the mail address are associated with each other by examining the combination with the longest consecutive character string excluding the delimiter.

  For example, for the mail account name: mail \ xyz012 \ kobayashi, the mail address: hayashi @ xxx. co. jp matches the character string “ayashi” with 6 characters, e-mail address: kobayashi @ xxx. co. The character string that jp matches is “kobayashi” and is 9 characters.

  Along with the registration of the mail account, the user account management unit 110 instructs the mail storage unit 111 to create a new reception folder for the mail account. The mail storage unit 111 creates a received mail storage folder taro (403) under the received box folder 401 with the mail account name as the folder name.

  FIG. 4 shows the folder structure of the mail storage folder created by the mail storage unit 111. A reception box 401 is created under the root folder. Under the reception box 401, received mail storage folders (403 to 405) corresponding to the mail account name are created.

  If the mail account name is incorrect or the password is incorrect, the mail server 134 returns a “-ERR” response packet indicating NG. Then, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 analyzes the protocol and finds that the authentication has failed, and deletes the combination of the mail account and the password temporarily stored in the memory.

<Description of router operation when receiving mail (mail storage)>
When the user authentication phase is completed, the process proceeds to a mail reception phase. FIG. 7 shows a sequence of a mail reception phase and a TCP disconnection phase according to the POP3 protocol. First, a “STAT” command (701) for inquiring the state of the entire mailbox of the mail server 134 is transmitted from the PC 122. The router 100 relays the “STAT” command packet (701) to the mail server 134. The mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response (702) with the number of mails in the mail box and the total mail capacity as parameters.

Subsequently, the mail application on the PC 122 transmits a “LIST” command (703) for inquiring the mail status without parameters. The router 100 relays the “LIST” command (703). The mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response (704). The first line of the response indicates “+ OK”, the number of mails and the tile size, and the second and subsequent lines indicate the mail index number and the mail size corresponding to each mail by one line, and the line is terminated by a period at the end. An example of a response to the LIST command (703) is shown below.
+ OK 3 26101
1 2744
2 7549
3 15808.
As the operation of the mail application ahead, the following two operations are assumed. The first is a case where a “UIDL” command for inquiring a unique ID of a mail is transmitted, and the second is a case where a “RETR” command for designating mail acquisition is specified by designating a mail index number. In either case, the router 100 must correctly determine whether the mail on the mail server 134 has already been stored in the reception folder.

  When the mail application suddenly transmits the “RETR” command without using the “UIDL” command, the router 100 must determine whether the mail has been received from the mail contents. For this purpose, the “Message-Id:” field of the mail header is used.

  Subsequently, in order to acquire mail, a “RETR1” command is transmitted from the PC 122 with the mail index 1 as a parameter (705). The router 100 relays the “RETR1” command (705). The mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response (706). The router 100 relays a “+ OK” response (706) followed by the mail content. The first line of the response is only “+ OK”, the contents of the mail are transferred from the second line onward, and when the mail transfer is completed, a line feed is made at the end with a period-only line.

  At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 extracts the contents of the mail from the response and temporarily records them. Specifically, the message ID is extracted by searching the “Message-Id:” field from the mail header. The message ID is used for the purpose of uniquely identifying the mail all over the world. For example, Message-Id: 20020704019. AA00000 @ myhost. XXX. co. It has a value like jp.

  Subsequently, the mail history creating unit 114 is inquired whether a mail having this message ID has already been received. If no mail has been received, the mail history creation unit 114 records the message ID as received and the reception time. The mail protocol analysis unit 109 transmits the temporarily stored message body of the mail to the mail storage unit 111, and the mail storage unit 111 stores the message body in the reception folder of the corresponding mail account.

  On the other hand, if the message ID has already been registered in the mail history creation unit 114, the mail has already been accumulated, and the mail protocol analysis unit 109 discards the contents of the temporarily recorded mail.

  Subsequently, the “RETR1” command for acquiring the second and third mails is transmitted from the PC 122 and the mail is transmitted from the mail server 134. The mail protocol analysis unit 109 extracts the message ID as in the first case, inquires the mail history creation unit 114, registers the message ID if not received, and the mail storage unit 111 stores the mail in the reception folder. To do.

  On the other hand, if the mail application uses a “UIDL” command to inquire about the unique ID of the message, has it been received using the message unique ID created by the POP server prior to confirmation by the message ID in the mail message body? Judge whether or not.

  Whereas the message ID is an ID generated by the mail application, the message unique ID is created by the POP server. The message unique ID is used to prevent the same mail from being duplicated from the mailbox when the setting of the mail application on the PC 122 is a setting of “leave received mail in mail server”.

When the mail application on the PC 122 transmits the “UIDL” command without a parameter, the router 100 relays the “UIDL” command. In response to this, the mail server 134 returns a “+ OK” response. The first line of the response is only “+ OK”, and the second and subsequent lines represent the message unique ID corresponding to the message index per mail. The end is a line break with a period. An example of this response is shown below.
+ OK
1 AAgDU2KAAAQmT8LtjLEkRuk2
2 AAwDU2KAAAQmT8LtjLEkRuk2
3 AAAAU2KAAAQmT8LtjLEkRuk2.
The mail protocol analysis unit 109 temporarily records the correspondence between the message index and the message unique ID.

  Returning to FIG. If the mail application on the PC 122 has not received the first mail, a “RETR2” command is sent with the message index 1 as a parameter to obtain the mail (707). The router 100 relays the “RETR2” command (707). At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 inquires of the mail history creation unit 114 whether or not the message unique ID of the message index 1 is registered. Here, if the message unique ID is not registered, there is a possibility that the mail has not been received. In that case, the process proceeds to the confirmation process using the message ID in the message body already described.

  Subsequently, the mail server 134 transmits a “+ OK” response (708). The first line of the response includes only the “+ OK” character string. The contents of the mail are transferred from the second line onward, and when the mail transfer is completed, a line feed is performed at the end of the line including only a period. The mail protocol analysis unit 109 temporarily stores the contents of the mail and extracts the message ID from the “Message-Id:” field of the header. The mail history creation unit 114 is inquired about the extracted message ID, and if it has not been received, the mail is stored in the mail storage unit 111. Further, the mail history creation unit 114 registers the message ID and the message unique ID as received in association with each other.

  The message unique ID is not registered, but when the message ID is registered, the mail is already stored in the reception folder. At that time, the mail history creation unit 114 newly registers a message unique ID in association with the registered message ID. At this time, the mail protocol analysis unit 109 discards the temporarily stored message body.

  For subsequent mails, the registration of the mail unique ID and the message ID is confirmed. If not registered, the mail is stored in the reception folder, and the mail unique ID and the message ID are registered. FIG. 8 shows an example of received mail management information created by the mail history creation unit 114.

  The case where the mail is transmitted and received from the PC 122 has been described above, but the case where the mail is transmitted and received from another PC 123 connected to the PAN is exactly the same except that the PAN network address of the PC 123 is different. The sent / received mail is stored in 100.

<Process for viewing mail>
Next, operations of the XML data creation unit 112 and the WWW server unit 113 will be described. Based on the user information from the user account management unit 110, the XML data creation unit 112 creates data that authenticates access to the page with an email address and password. The mail history creation unit 114 obtains the transmission / reception time of the mail, and the mail message body stored in the mail storage unit 111 obtains the title, destination, and sender information, and sends and receives the mail. Create a page to display the list. In addition, a link to the mail is created, and a page that displays the contents of the mail selected by the user from the list is created.

  The WWW server unit 113 publishes the page created by the XML data creation unit 112 to the PCs 122 and 123 accessed from the PAN.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the top screen of the home page displayed on the WWW browser. The XML data creation unit 112 creates a page for selecting an email address from the email address information registered in the user account management unit 110. In the example of FIG. 9, taro @ xxx. co. jp and hanako @ xxx. co. jp's two mail accounts are displayed.

  Here, taro @ xxx. co. When jp is selected from the browser, the screen is switched to the password input screen of FIG. When a password for logging in to the POP server is input here, it is checked against the password registered in the user account management unit 110.

  If the password verification is successful, the process proceeds to the received mail display screen of FIG. Here, the display screen is composed of three frames. In the left frame, a mail account is displayed and a transmission box or a reception box is selected. The upper right frame displays the mail history. Since the reception box is currently selected, the transmission date / time, the reception date / time, the sender, and the title are displayed as the reception history in the upper right frame. Clicking on the title in the upper right frame displays the selected message body in the lower right frame.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of the transmitted mail display screen. Now, since the transmission box is selected in the left frame, the transmission date and time, the destination, and the title are displayed as the transmission history in the upper right frame. Clicking on the title in the upper right frame displays the message body of the selected mail in the lower right frame.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the router according to the present embodiment, the mail is automatically saved regardless of the terminal connected to the PAN, without requiring any setting by the user. be able to. In addition, the mail saved in the router can be confirmed from the browser, and the mail list and the mail text can be read. Furthermore, the transmitted / received mail is stored in a folder for each user, and privacy is protected because it is protected by the mail address and password without setting by the user.

[Other Embodiments]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, and a printer), and a device (for example, a copying machine and a facsimile device) including a single device. You may apply to.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like is used. be able to.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

1 is a device connection diagram of a network to which a router 100 (communication device) according to a first embodiment of the present invention is connected. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a router 100. FIG. It is a figure which shows the connection to the mail server 134 in the case of transmitting mail from PC122, and an authentication sequence. It is a figure which shows an example of the directory structure of the mail storage folder which the mail storage part 111 produces. It is a figure which shows the connection and authentication sequence to the mail server 134 in the case of receiving mail in PC122. It is a figure which shows an example of the information which the user account management part 110 preserve | saves. It is a figure which shows the sequence of the mail reception phase by the POP3 protocol, and a cutting | disconnection phase. It is a figure which shows an example of the management information of the received mail which the mail log | history creation part 114 produces. It is a figure which shows an example of the top screen of the homepage displayed on a WWW browser. It is a figure which shows an example of the password input screen of the homepage displayed on a WWW browser. It is a figure which shows an example of a received mail display screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a transmission mail display screen. It is a device connection diagram of a network to which a router is connected. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the conventional router.

Explanation of symbols

100 router 101 LANi / f
102 PANi / f
103 Filtering unit 104 Filtering unit 105 Packet monitoring / route control unit 106 Address conversion unit 107 DHCP server function unit 108 323 & H. 245 protocol analysis unit 109 mail protocol analysis unit 110 user account management unit 111 mail storage unit 112 XML data creation unit 113 WWW server unit 114 mail history creation unit 120 HUB
121 IP phone 122 PC
123 PC
130 LAN
131 Mail server 132 IP phone 133 PC
134 Mail server

Claims (7)

A communication device for controlling a transmission path of information transmitted in a network,
An extracting means for analyzing the mail and extracting an identifier and a password for identifying a user of the mail when the information is a mail;
Storage means for storing the mail in association with the identifier extracted by the extraction means;
Generating means for generating data viewable via a predetermined browser based on the mail stored in association with the identifier;
A communication device comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the data associated with the identifier to the browser when a password corresponding to the identifier is input through the browser. Corresponding date and time when the mail was transmitted with the identifier, further comprising holding means for holding as a transmission history,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit further generates data that can be viewed via a predetermined browser based on the transmission history. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the mail by dividing a folder for each identifier. The storage means stores the received mail transmitted to the user specified by the identifier and the transmitted mail transmitted by the user specified by the identifier in separate folders. The communication apparatus according to claim 3. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the generation unit further generates data that can be browsed through a predetermined browser based on the configuration of the folder. An information processing method in a communication device for controlling a transmission path of information transmitted in a network,
When the information is a mail, an extraction step of analyzing the mail and extracting an identifier and a password for specifying a user of the mail;
A storage step of storing the mail in association with the identifier extracted in the extraction step;
Based on the email stored in association with the identifier, generating step for generating data that can be viewed through a predetermined browser;
An information processing method comprising: a transmission step of transmitting the data associated with the identifier to the browser when a password corresponding to the identifier is input via the browser. A control program for realizing the information processing method according to claim 6 by a computer.

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