KR20020024104A - A method for transmitting a voice-mail using a mail client program and a computer readable medium wherein a program of the method is stored - Google Patents

Abstract

Mail programs (such as Microsoft's Outlook or Outlook Express) make it easy to create and manage voicemails, make it easy for recipients to view voicemails, and reduce the network load associated with sending voicemails. By activating the program's mail creation window, you can enter the recipient's e-mail address, and link information of the voice server that displays the contents of the voice file in the inbox after sending and the in-box after receiving is displayed. By recording the voice in real-time stream method during voice recording, the link information of the completed voice file is transmitted to the receiver terminal so that the receiver can check the contents of the voice file in real-time stream method. Save it.

In particular, by applying to Microsoft's mail program such as Outlook, Outlook Express, etc., the versatility is improved, and the sender can have voice mail in the sent mail box and the receiver can have voice mail in the inbox, thereby improving convenience.

Description

A method for transmitting voice mail using a mail client program and a recording medium recording the program according to the above method.

The present invention relates to a method and a system for transmitting mail, and more particularly, to a method and system for transmitting a voice message including a voice signal.

As is well known, the number of users using computers is increasing rapidly, and these computers are connected to a network, and data exchange between each other is actively performed.

As a means of data exchange, e-mail forms a mainstream. In the initial e-mail, the sender inputs his / her desired contents as a sentence, or text, based on simple text. As a way of receiving and confirming texts, it was merely a digitalization of normal mail.

However, as the exchange of information through the network became active, e-mail became able to attach various files as well as text, and these attachments were able to attach not only picture files but also video and sound signals.

Therefore, it is currently possible for a sender of a mail to transmit his / her voice by recording and storing the voice, and attaching and transmitting the stored voice file to the mail without inputting his / her message as text. The sender who wants to transmit the voice to the other party transmits the mail (hereinafter referred to as the voice mail) containing the voice signal to the other party in this manner.

However, such a simple method of transmitting a voice mail has had room for improvement in various ways.

First, in order for a sender to create a voicemail, (1) recording the voice, (2) storing the recorded voice, (3) attaching the stored voice file to the mail, and (4) the mail to which the voice file is attached It was a complicated process that led to the transmission of.

The process of attaching the stored voice file has the disadvantage of complicating the display of the screen because a separate window must be opened on the screen by the "Drag & Drop" method of the Windows OS. Even if there is an icon / subroutine for attaching a file, the voice recording process and the e-mail writing process are completely separate tasks. Therefore, this mail client program cannot know the recording location and file information of the recorded voice. Mail sender has to find and attach directory path manually.

Secondly, in the process of mail transmission, in the case of time-varying data such as voice and video, the size of the stored data is very large according to the time occupied when activated, and a voice file of this size is attached to the mail. Being sent to the receiver is very inefficient.

In other words, the transmission speed of mail data transmitted by the mail protocol is considerably lower than the transmission speed of direct data transmission. In such a situation, attaching a large voice file and attaching a large voice file increases network load.

As a result, when the mail receiver opens the mail receiving window to check the mail, the speed at which the contents are displayed on the screen is also significantly slowed down.

In general, a mail server is connected to a number of mail clients, and these mail clients are allocated a set mail server space (for example, 20 Mb per client). Therefore, if a voice mail is transmitted in the above-described conventional method, Senders and receivers are likely to run out of space with just a few voicemails.

Third, in order to record a voice signal, the sender must have a separate program, and in order to listen to the voice file attached and received as described above, the receiver must separately provide a connection program for expressing the sound signal.

The inconvenience caused by the sender using a separate program for recording is as described above, and if the receiver wants to check the recorded voice, the separate connection program must be driven so that the recording cannot be immediately confirmed. The connection program had a problem of hiding the mail receiving window.

In addition, recently, web mail, which supports mail transmission and reception functions through the World Wide Web, has also been activated, and through this, voice mail can be transmitted by the conventional method. In particular, voice mail transmission using web mail is inconvenient to require separate management because the transmitted mail is not compatible with the sender's mail client program.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve such a problem, the object of the present invention, the sender can easily create a voice mail, reduce the network load required for the transmission of the voice mail, the receiver can also easily check the voice mail In addition, the present invention provides a method for transmitting voicemail using a mail client program in which the transmitted voicemail can be integrally managed by the sender's mail client program.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a voicemail system in which a voicemail transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention is performed.

2A and 2B are flowcharts illustrating a voicemail transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 illustrates an example of a display screen on which a mail composition window is activated in a transmission mail client program to which a voice mail transmission program of the embodiment of the present invention is plugged in.

4 illustrates an example of a display screen of a voice mail displayed on a receiver terminal.

5A and 5B respectively show examples of display windows when calling an Outlook address book, and FIG. 5A shows a case where a typical Outlook address book program itself is called, and FIG. 5B shows a separate window by calling Outlook address book data. The case where it displays is shown.

In the following description of the configuration and operation of the present invention, the description of the embodiments of the present invention, and the expression "voice signal" and "voice mail" described in the claims, "voice" is not only a voice of a person but also a general voice. It will be described in a broad sense including sound.

Voice mail transmission method using a mail client program according to the present invention to achieve the above object,

A mail creation start step of activating a mail creation window of a mail client program; A receiver information input step of receiving receiver information including an email address of the receiver; A voice recording start step of generating a voice file by activating a first selection tool included in the mail composition window; A voice recording step of transmitting a voice signal to store the voice file in a real time stream manner; A voice file completion step of completing a voice file by terminating transmission of the voice signal; A mail transmission step of transmitting a mail relating to the completed voice file; And a transmission mail storing step of storing the transmitted mail in a server of the mail program.

The mail client program may be an Outlook client program, wherein the recipient information input step calls the address book of the Outlook, selects an item included in the called Outlook address book, and selects the selected address item as the recipient information. We can add to.

The Outlook address book call may be performed by driving an API related to the Outlook address book.

The voice recording step may include receiving a voice signal; A codec conversion step of converting the received voice signal into a set codec format; A voice data transmission step of transmitting the converted codec type voice data to a set voice file server; And a voice data storage step of storing the transmitted voice data in a voice file server. The set codec format is preferably a true pitch codec.

The mail transmission step may be performed by sending mail information including link information to the completed voice file to an email address of a receiver included in the receiver information.

In particular, when the mail client program is an Outlook client program, the mail transmission step may be performed by activating a third selection tool included in the mail composition window and driving the Outlook API. It may be stored in Sent Items of Outlook.

Preferably, the first and third selection tools are icon items displayed in the mail composition window.

The voicemail transmission method of the present invention may further include a voice expression step of expressing a voice of a voice file linked to the voice mail in a voice mail receiver terminal, wherein the voice expression step includes requesting the linked voice file. Transmitting a request signal; Receiving a voice signal included in the voice file in a real time stream method; Converting the received voice signal into a manner supported by a virtual machine of a receiver terminal; And reproducing voice by driving the virtual machine.

The mail transmission step may further include transmitting a request signal for requesting the linked voice file; Receiving a voice signal included in the voice file in a real time stream method; Converting the received voice signal into a manner supported by a virtual machine of a receiver terminal; And the voice expression program performed by driving the virtual machine to reproduce the voice, thereby allowing the receiver to listen to the voice mail without driving a separate sound expression program in the receiver terminal.

The speech expression program may be any one of a Java applet and an ActiveX control.

Each step of the voicemail transmission method of the present invention is programmed and added to the sender mail client program of the sender terminal so that the mail creation start step is performed by activating a start selection tool displayed in the toolbox of the mail client program. It is preferable.

The voicemail transmission method of the present invention may be implemented by an add-in program programmed so that each step may be performed by a computer, and the add-in program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium, It can be delivered to the sender who wants to send the voice mail by the voice mail transmission method.

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

1 is a block diagram illustrating a voicemail system in which a voicemail transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention is performed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a voice mail system for performing a voice mail transmission method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is connected to a mail sender terminal 110 and a sender terminal 110 to create a mail, and transmits mail. The receiving mail server 130 and the receiving mail server 130 connected to the network to transmit the mail received from the sending mail server 130 to the specified recipient terminal 160 to perform the receiving mail server 180, the receiving mail A voice file server for receiving and displaying mail from the server 180 and a voice file server for storing a voice file associated with the mail transmitted and received by being connected to a network with the sending mail server 130 and the receiving mail server 180. And 150.

In FIG. 1, although the sending mail server 130 and the receiving mail server 180 are shown as separate servers, when a mail is transmitted and received by one mail server such as an internal mail exchange, the mail server 130 refers to one mail server. It should be interpreted as.

Although the voice file server 150 is also shown as a separate server from the sending mail server 130 and the receiving mail server 180, either the sending mail server 130 or the receiving mail server 180 is a file call signal. If the server can function as a server for sending a file, it is obvious that the server can also be used.

The network may be an internet, an intranet, or any two-way communication network regardless of wired or wireless.

The sender terminal 110 may be any terminal that supports a mail transmission function by installing and executing a set mail client program. For example, the sender terminal 110 may be a computer.

The transmitter terminal 110 further includes a microphone 125 for converting voice into an electrical signal.

The receiver terminal 160 may be any terminal that supports mail receiving and displaying functions. For example, the receiver terminal 160 may be a computer.

Typically, a mail program supporting mail transmission and reception is divided into a mail server program processing data at a server and a mail client program processing mail at a client terminal. The sending mail server program 135 is installed at the sending mail server 130. The sender terminal 110 is provided with a send mail client program 115.

Similarly, a reception mail server program 185 is installed in the reception mail server 180, and a reception mail client program 165 is installed in the receiver terminal 160.

The sending mail server 130 is provided with a sending mailbox 140 for storing the transmitted mail, the sending mailbox 140 is stored in an arbitrary storage medium such as a hard disk, and the receiving mail server 180 is received. A receiving mailbox 190 is provided for storing the mail, and the receiving mailbox 190 is stored in an arbitrary storage medium such as a hard disk.

The sender terminal 110 and the receiver terminal 160 are also configured with a database unit (120, 170) for storing the mail generated during the execution of the mail client program, this may also be any storage medium, such as a hard disk.

The voice file server 150 connected to the sending mail server 130 and the receiving mail server 180 via the network stores a file to be transmitted, and when the stored file is called, transmits the called file to any server. can do.

Hereinafter, a method of transmitting a voice mail according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. In particular, a transmission mail program to which the voicemail transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described using Outlook (that is, Outlook program of MS) as an example.

The voicemail transmission method of an embodiment of the present invention is programmed so that each step can be performed on a computer (117 (hereinafter referred to as an "add-in program"). The voicemail transmission method of this embodiment of the present invention is a sender terminal. It is preferable to add-in to the transmission mail client program 115 of 110 to be performed.

In the case of an application program that provides a component-based development environment, a program developed by a third party can be added-in or plug-in-added, and a call to the new program that is added in is performed by the application program. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a menu (e.g., a drop-down menu) of the can be called from a new icon (hereinafter referred to as "start icon"), and thus detailed description of the add-in / plug-in process will be omitted.

Of course, the add-in program 117 may be written in C ++ or any other language.

In the voicemail transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention, first, a voicemail creation command is received from a sender (S205) to activate a new mail creation window (S210). The start command may be clicked on the start icon (see reference numeral 390 of FIG. 3).

3 shows a display screen in which the mail composition window 300 is activated in the transmission mail client program 115 to which the voice mail transmission program of the embodiment of the present invention is plugged in. In particular, FIG. It is.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mail creation window 300 includes a first selection tool 301 for starting voice recording and selecting to generate a voice file, and ending voice recording and selecting to complete the voice file. A second selection tool 302 for selecting, and a third selection tool 303 for selecting to transmit a mail regarding the completed voice file.

In addition, a download button 311 for requesting to download the voice file stored in the voice file server 150 to the sender terminal 110, a pause button 312 for selecting to pause recording, and a recorded voice The play button 313 for selecting to play, and the volume controller 314 for adjusting the volume of the recorded voice signal may be further included.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the first and second selection tools 301 and 302, the download button 311, the pause button 312, the play button 313, and the volume controller 314 is associated with the operation of an audio signal. Preferably, the element is included in one control panel 310.

In addition, a mail input window 300 is provided with a receiver input window 325 for inputting a network address (more specifically, an email address) of a receiver who receives a voice mail, and is next to the receiver input window 325. The call address button 320 for calling the Outlook address book is displayed.

In addition, a reference input window 335 and an address book call button 330 for selecting as a reference person, a title bar 340 and a content input window 350 are further included.

The title bar 340, the receiver input window 325 and the reference input window 335 and the content input window 350 can be configured in the same manner as the well-known message composition window, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

When the mail composition window 300 is activated, the mail sender inputs necessary mail items including the network address of the receiver (S215).

At this time, the receiver network address input may be input by the following process.

That is, if the address book call button 320 formed next to the receiver input window 325 is selected, the selection signal is received to call the address book of Outlook (S216).

The Outlook address book call may be performed by driving an application program interface (hereinafter referred to as "API") related to the Outlook address book. When the Outlook address book is called using the API as described above, the display window of the conventional Outlook address book program may be displayed on the sender terminal 110 as shown in FIG. 5A. However, as shown in FIG. 5B, the address of the Outlook address book is displayed. It is easier and desirable to call the data and display it in a separate window.

Therefore, the mail sender selects a recipient's address from the address book data of the called out-lock (S217). Therefore, the add-in program 117 of the embodiment of the present invention receives the selected recipient address and recalls the received recipient address. It is displayed on the receiver input window 325 (S218).

After the receiver is designated, the voice to be delivered is recorded in a real time stream method (S220).

Voice recording (S220) is more specifically performed by the following method.

That is, first, the sender starts the voice recording by selecting the first selection tool 301 of the mail composition window 300 (S222).

When the voice recording is started, the add-in program 117 receives the voice signal transmitted through the microphone 125 (S224), and converts the received voice signal into a set codec (COmpression / DECompression) format ( S226), and transmits the converted voice signal to the voice file server 150 (S228).

The set codec is preferably a true speech codec having excellent compression rate, or may be a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) method applied to digital wireless communication. The Truss pitch codec is embedded in the Windows OS, and when the voice is stored in this manner, the voice signal for 10 seconds is compressed to about 10k bytes, and thus can be transmitted at a very high speed when the voice signal is transmitted.

The voice signal transmission from the sender terminal 110 to the voice file server 150 is performed in a real time stream method, and the voice file server 150 receives the voice signal transmitted in real time (S230) and stores the real time (S232).

The reception of the audio signal (S224), the codec conversion (S226), and the transmission (S228) continue until the recording is completed (S235), and whether or not the recording is terminated is determined by whether the second selection tool 302 has been selected by the sender. can do.

When the recording is finished, the recording end signal is transmitted to the voice file server 150 (S240), and the voice file server 150 receiving the recording end signal generates the completed voice file (S245).

After the mail item input including the recipient address and the voice recording (S220) are completed, the voicemail including information on the voice file completed by the voice recording (S220) is completed (S250), and the completed voicemail is completed. The receiver transmits to the receiver terminal 160 (S255).

Completion of the voice mail (S250) includes the operation of inserting the link information to the voice file in the voice mail, so that the recipient terminal can access the completed voice file.

4 illustrates an example of a display screen of the voice mail displayed on the receiver terminal 160 after the voice mail completion step S250 is completed and transmitted. Although FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the receiving mail client program is Outlook Express, any other mail client program may be used, and the recipient's email address may be related to webmail.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the completion of the voice mail (S250), the receiver play button 410 for calling the voice file is inserted into the voice mail data area to be displayed on the receiver terminal 160, and the The receiver play button 410 may be connected to the network address of the completed voice file.

More preferably, it is preferable to further insert a receiver pause button 420 and a receiver play end button 430 for requesting the pause of the playback of the voice file in the voice mail, and the receiver play button 410 and the receiver. The playback pause button 420 and the receiver playback end button 430 are included in one receiver control panel 400.

The transmission of the completed mail (S255) is performed by a normal mail transmission method using a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or the like, and the sending mail client program requests the sending mail server 130 to send a voice mail (S260). The sending mail server 130 transmits the voice mail accordingly (S262), and the transmitted voice mail is received by the receiving mail server 180 (S264), thereby receiving the mail client program (or web) of the receiver terminal 160. In the case of the mail, it is received and displayed in the mail confirmation browser (S266).

The displayed voicemail may be displayed as an example, as shown in FIG. 4.

When the voice mail is displayed on the receiver terminal 160, the voice mail requests the voice file from the voice file server 150 (S270).

The voice file request S270 is performed as soon as the voice mail is displayed on the receiver terminal 160 or by the receiver selecting the receiver play button 410 included in the displayed voice mail screen. It's okay.

The voice file server 150 transmits the voice file in a real time stream manner in response to the request S270 (S275).

Therefore, the receiver terminal 160 receives the voice file transmitted by the voice file server 150 in a real time stream method (S280), and the received voice signal is expressed in the receiver terminal 160 by the following process. (S282, S284).

That is, first, the real-time received voice signal is converted into a format supported by a virtual machine of the receiver terminal 160 (S282). At this time, even before all of the voice signals received in real time are received, the received voice signals are converted, so that the reception and conversion of the voice signals can proceed in parallel.

The virtual machine is used in a broad sense to mean any environment that provides program code execution, such as a Java virtual machine in the case of a Java applet, a Windows OS in the case of ActiveX control, and the like. .

For example, when the virtual machine is a Java virtual machine, the voice signal may be converted into an AU (AUdio) format, which is a sound signal format supported by the Java virtual machine.

After the voice signal is converted, the voice signal is expressed by driving the virtual machine with the converted voice signal (S284).

Expression processes S282 and S284 of the speech signal are performed in the receiver terminal 160 by a program (hereinafter, referred to as a "voice expression program") written in Java, C ++, and any other language and executed on a computer. The voice expression algorithm may be implemented as an ActiveX control which shows excellent adaptability under a Windows OS environment according to the choice of a person skilled in the art according to an embodiment of the present invention, or various terminals and OSs. In the Operating System, a virtual machine (VM) is written in Java that is supported, implemented as a Java applet, and included in the voicemail.

The process of receiving and expressing the voice signal (S280, S282, S284) is continued until terminated by the receiver (S290), the termination is determined whether or not the receiver playback end button 430 included in the voicemail is selected can do.

When the playback is finished, the voice expression program included in the voice mail transmits the playback end signal to the voice file server 150 requesting the transmission of the voice signal to be terminated (S295). ) Ends the transmission of the voice signal (S297).

As described above, each step of the voicemail transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, may be implemented by an add-in program 117 programmed such that each step may be performed on a computer. The in program 117 may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium and delivered to a sender who wants to transmit voice mail by using a voice mail transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention on a network or offline.

As described above, the preferred embodiment of the voicemail transmission method and system of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and has a general knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the embodiment of the present invention. It includes all changes in the range which are easily changed by and deemed to be equal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is convenient to create a voice mail directly in the mail client program, and the transmitted mail is stored in the outbox of the mail server interworking with the mail client program. Can be managed with.

In particular, the voicemail transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention is performed by activating the start selection tool displayed in the toolbox of the mail client program so that each step is programmed and added to the mail client program. This has the advantage of simplifying the preparation required.

When the mail program is Outlook, it is convenient because the address book of Outlook can be directly accessed and the recipient's e-mail address can be input. This function is facilitated by using an API.

In addition, in recording voice, the voice file can be stored in a separate server to overcome the capacity limitation of the mail server, and the amount of data to be transmitted by converting the voice signal into the codec format set up before being transmitted to the voice file storage server. Reduce the network load. The set codec is a true pitch codec to maximize network load reduction.

In particular, when sending a mail, only link information is transmitted, not an attachment of a voice file. Therefore, the network load due to the mail transmission is reduced, and when the mail client program is Outlook, the mail is created immediately by running the API in the mail creation window. Can be sent.

The selection tool for recording, storing, or sending a voice can be enhanced by displaying it as an icon item in the mail composition window.

The sent mail expresses the voice of the voice file linked to the mail at the receiver computer, which receives the voice signal in a real time stream manner, so that it is not necessary to wait until all the voice signals of a large capacity are received. You will hear the voice as soon as the linked mail is received.

Expression of voice signals can be easily expressed by receiving a voice signal in a real time stream manner and driving a virtual machine (described in a comprehensive sense such as Windows OS or Java VM) that expresses the voice signal by the converted codec. Can be.

In particular, by implementing the steps related to the expression of the voice signal by ActiveX control, the user's voice mail transmission and reception based on the Windows OS can be implemented more efficiently. By implementing voicemail exchange on various platforms can be achieved.

Since the program necessary for the expression of the voice signal is included in the voice mail and executed in the receiver terminal, the voice signal can be easily received even in the receiver terminal where the add-in program 117 for performing the voice signal transmission method according to the embodiment of the present invention is not added in. You can check it.

Claims (14)

A mail creation start step of activating a mail creation window of a mail client program; A receiver information input step of receiving receiver information including an email address of the receiver; A voice recording start step of generating a voice file by activating a first selection tool included in the mail composition window; A voice recording step of transmitting a voice signal to store the voice file in a real time stream manner; A voice file completion step of completing a voice file by terminating transmission of the voice signal; A mail transmission step of transmitting a mail relating to the completed voice file; And And a transmission mail storing step of storing the transmitted mail in a server of the mail program. In claim 1, The mail client program is an Outlook client program. The receiver information input step, An Outlook address book calling step of calling the address book of Outlook; An address item selecting step of selecting an item included in the called Outlook address book; And And a recipient address setting step of adding the selected address item to recipient information. In claim 2, The Outlook address book calling step is performed by driving an API related to the Outlook address book. In claim 1, The voice recording step, Receiving a voice signal; A codec conversion step of converting the received voice signal into a set codec format; A voice data transmission step of transmitting the converted codec type voice data to a set voice file server; And Voice mail transmission method using a mail client program comprising the voice data storage step of storing the transmitted voice data in a voice file server. In claim 4, And the set codec format is a true pitch codec. In claim 1, The mail transmission step, And sending mail information including link information to the completed voice file to an e-mail address of a recipient included in the recipient information. In claim 6, The mail client program is an Outlook client program. The mail sending step is performed by activating a third selection tool included in the mail composition window to drive the API of Outlook. The transmission mail storing step, the voice mail transmission method using a mail client program, characterized in that stored in the sent items (Sent Items) of the Outlook. In claim 7, And the first and third selection tools are icon items displayed on the mail creation window. In claim 1, And a voice expression step of expressing a voice of a voice file linked to the voice mail in a voice mail receiver terminal. In claim 9, The voice expression step, Transmitting a request signal for requesting the linked voice file; Receiving a voice signal included in the voice file in a real time stream method; Converting the received voice signal into a manner supported by a virtual machine of a receiver terminal; And The voice mail transmission method using a mail client program comprising the step of playing the voice by driving the virtual machine. In claim 1, The mail transmission step, Transmitting a request signal for requesting the linked voice file; Receiving a voice signal included in the voice file in a real time stream method; Converting the received voice signal into a manner supported by a virtual machine of a receiver terminal; And a voice expression program performed by driving the virtual machine to reproduce the voice. In claim 11, The voice expression program is a voice mail transmission method using a mail client program, characterized in that any one of a Java applet and ActiveX control. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, The mail creation start step is performed by activating a start selection tool displayed in a tool box of the mail client program. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.