JP2002123468A - Electronic mail system, information managing method in electronic mail system and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an e-mail system for storing newly arrived address information and stored address information in respective independent address books and a personal information managing method in the e-mail system and a storage medium. SOLUTION: According to this e-mail system, a mail server is provided with an address information transmitting means for extracting an mail address from a received mail and transmitting the mail address as address information to a management server, and the managing server is provided with an address information receiving means for receiving the transmitted address information, a newly arrived information storing means for storing the received address information as the newly arrived address information, an address information selecting means for selecting an optional piece of address information among pieces of stored address information, a stored information storing means for storing the selected piece of address information as the stored address information, and an address information providing means for separately providing the newly arrived address information and an the stored address information so that a communication terminal can read the newly arrived address information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic mail system, an information management method in the electronic mail system, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of the Internet, mail services provided through providers have been rapidly spreading. Recently, high-speed packet communication services for mobile phones and PHS (Personal Handy-phone System)
m), the launch of a 32Kbps high-speed data communication service has enabled notebook computers and PDAs (Personal Digital A
ssistant) and other portable information terminals have been used to send and receive e-mails.

On the other hand, a mail management application that has a function of an address book for registering and managing a plurality of mail addresses associated with personal information such as addresses and telephone numbers as one file is also used. Have been. The use of such an address book has the advantage that, when a user sends an e-mail, the user can specify a destination e-mail address simply by selecting the personal information of the desired destination, thereby simplifying the e-mail transmission operation. is there.

[0004] However, the conventional mail system has the following problems. First, since the communication terminals of each user individually store the address book, information cannot be centrally managed, and mail addresses and personal information are distributed to a plurality of terminals. For this reason, it is inefficient when newly adding or modifying personal information. Further, unless the user uses the communication terminal in which the address book is stored, the user cannot refer to or update personal information, which is inconvenient.

Further, the user has to manually input a mail address or personal information when adding or updating the information. Therefore, it takes time and effort, and there is a risk of erroneous input or omission of input. In order to solve such a problem, a mail system that extracts a mail address and name data from a mail and automatically creates an address book on a server has been conventionally proposed.

[0006]

However, the above system has been useful in solving the above problems, but has the following problems. Since only one address book is created on the server, all transmitted and received mails are registered in the same address book. For this reason, when it is desired to select and store only really necessary e-mail addresses from the address book, it takes time to delete unnecessary e-mail addresses.

In addition, since a mail address to be used temporarily and a mail address to be used continuously are stored in the same address book, a desired mail address can be quickly searched from a large number of mail addresses. It was inconvenient. Such a problem has been a barrier when the user of the communication terminal uses the address book on the server.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an e-mail system and an e-mail system for efficiently managing personal information by storing newly arrived address information and stored address information in independent address books. An object of the present invention is to provide a personal information management method and a storage medium.

[0009]

The present invention has the following features to solve the above-mentioned problems. In the description of the following means, a configuration corresponding to the embodiment is exemplified by parentheses. Reference numerals and the like correspond to reference numerals in the drawings described later.

An electronic mail system (for example, the electronic mail system 100 in FIG. 1) according to the first aspect of the present invention is a communication terminal (for example, the communication terminal 1 in FIG. 1) for transmitting and receiving mail.
1) and a mail server that receives a mail transmitted from the communication terminal or a mail transmitted from the outside to the communication terminal, wherein the mail server (for example, the mail of FIG. 1) The server 21) includes an address information transmitting unit (for example, a transmission control unit 25) for extracting a mail address from the received mail and transmitting the mail address to the management server as address information. , The management server 1) of FIG. 2 includes an address information receiving unit (for example, the transmission control unit 5 of FIG. 2) for receiving the address information transmitted by the address information transmitting unit, and the address information received by the address information receiving unit. New arrival information storage means for storing address information as new arrival address information (for example, FIG. 2)
A new arrival address book 71) and storage information storage means for selecting arbitrary address information from the address information stored as new arrival address information in the new arrival information storage means and storing it as storage address information (for example, FIG. 2). An address for individually providing the storage address book 72), the new arrival address information stored in the new arrival information storage means, and the storage address information stored in the storage information storage means in a form that can be viewed by the communication terminal. And an information providing unit (for example, the transmission control unit 5 in FIG. 2).

Therefore, a newly arrived address book for temporarily storing address information to be used as new address information, and a storage address book for selecting continuously used address information and storing it as storage address information are divided and stored. Can provide a mechanism for organizing and managing each address information.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electronic mail system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electronic mail system 100. In FIG. 1, the e-mail system 100 stores address information such as a mail address, a name, and a reception date and time.
A management server 1 that divides and stores three types of address books for rejecting incoming calls, a communication terminal 11 that sends and receives mail, a mail server 21 that sends mail to extract address information, WE
WWW server 3 which stores address information for B browser display
1. Each server and communication terminal are configured to be mutually accessible via a network N.

The network N is a communication network constituted by wired or wireless communication means such as the Internet. For example, a general telephone line, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) capable of transmitting digital data.
It has a plurality of public lines such as twork) lines and independently constructed dedicated lines. Although the connection lines between the terminals are shown as wired lines in the figure, they may be wireless lines such as infrared rays.

Next, the internal configuration of the management server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the management server 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the management server 1
Comprises a CPU 2, an input unit 3, a RAM 4, a transmission control unit 5, a display unit 6, and a storage unit 7 having a storage medium 8, and each unit is connected by a bus 9.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2
Reads out a control program for realizing the function as the management server 1 stored in the storage medium 8 in the storage unit 7 and temporarily stores it in the work memory 4 a in the RAM 4,
The functions of the management server 1 are realized by controlling each unit in the management server 1 in accordance with the program stored in the RAM 4.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 2 executes a new arrival address registration process (see FIG. 3) described later. That is, the CPU 2 determines whether or not the received address information is already registered in the new address book 71. If not, the CPU 2 additionally stores the address information at the end of the new address book 71. It is determined whether or not a predetermined amount (number of cases) has been exceeded, and if it has been exceeded, the leading address information is deleted.

The input unit 3 includes a keyboard having kana / alphanumeric input keys, cursor keys, various function keys, and the like.
A mouse, which is a pointing device, is configured to output a key pressed or rotated and an output signal from the mouse to the CPU 2 as an input signal.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 4 is a C
In the utterance display process controlled by the PU 2, a work memory 4a is formed as a temporary storage area for programs, input or output data, parameters, and the like corresponding to various processes read from the storage unit 7.

The transmission control unit 5 has a modem (MODEM: MO
dulator / DEModulator), terminal adapter (Termin
al Adapter) or a router, etc., and controls communication with an external device connected to the network N via a communication line such as a telephone line, an ISDN line, or a dedicated line.

The modem is connected to the communication terminal 11 via a telephone line.
In order to communicate with an external device such as, for example, the digital data processed by the CPU 2 is modulated into an analog signal suitable for the frequency band of the telephone line, and the analog signal input via the telephone line is converted into a digital signal. It is a device for demodulation. The terminal adapter is a device for converting an existing interface into an interface corresponding to ISDN in order to perform communication with the external device via an ISDN line, and the router is a communication terminal connected via a dedicated line. Is a device that connects between a LAN on the provider side including the management server 1 and a LAN including the distribution management server 11 when a LAN (Local Area Network) is configured.

The display unit 6 is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
And an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and performs screen display of various display data according to an instruction of a display signal input from the CPU 2.

The storage unit 7 has a storage medium 8 in which programs, data, and the like are stored in advance, and the storage medium 8 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium, or a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor. The storage medium 8 is fixedly provided in the storage unit 7 or is removably mounted. The storage medium 8 has a system program corresponding to the management server 1 and a new arrival address registration corresponding thereto. It stores various processing programs such as processing programs, and data, files, and the like processed by these programs.
Each of these processing programs is stored in the form of a readable program code, and the CPU 2 sequentially executes operations according to the program code.

The program, data, and the like stored in the storage medium 8 are partially or entirely received from an external device such as a server or a client from the transmission control unit 5 via a transmission medium such as a network line. The storage medium may be configured to be stored, and the storage medium 8 may be a storage medium of a server constructed on the network N. Further, the program may be configured to be transmitted to a server or a client via a transmission medium such as a network line and installed in these devices.

As described above, the electronic mail system 1 according to the present invention
Although the internal configuration of the management server 1 that realizes the main functions of 00 has been described, the basic configuration of the other servers is the same as that of the management server 1 described above, and the illustration and description of the configuration are omitted. Note that, of the above components, the input unit 3, the transmission control unit 5, and the display unit 6 are not provided exclusively for the management server 1, but are shared by various servers provided by a communication carrier such as a provider. You may.

The functions and characteristic components of the various servers constituting the electronic mail system 100 will be described below. The mail server 21 has a storage medium 28 in the storage unit 27.
E-mail management application. This mail management application is, for example, SMTP (SimpleMail
Transfer Protocol) and POP (Post Office Protoco)
l) TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol)
/ Internet Protocol) is a server application that communicates with the management server 1 and each of the communication terminals 11, 41, and 51 connected via a communication line based on an application protocol of Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol) to manage mail transmission and reception.

The mail server 21 includes a mail box 271 for temporarily storing mail data to be transmitted and received in the storage unit 27. That is, the mail server 21
Receives a mail from the communication terminal 11 (FIG. 1), stores the mail in the mailbox 271 and extracts various address information (mail address, name information, reception date and time information) corresponding to the mail ( 1), and transmits the information to the management server 1 for registration (FIG. 1).

The WWW server 31 has a WWW (World Wide Web).
This device has a function of providing a file or data to the communication terminal 11 of the first embodiment, and includes a page data storage area 371 inside a storage unit 37 (not shown). Page data storage area 3
The page data 71 such as a new address book for screen display, a storage address book, and a call rejection address book are stored in the UR.
L (including the advertisement URL) is stored in one-to-one correspondence. These page data are configured to be displayed via WEB browser software incorporated in the communication terminal 11. The WEB server 31 receives an instruction to refer to or update various address books from the communication terminal 11 (FIG. 1).
), Obtains the page data of the corresponding address book from the management server 1 (of FIG. 1), and transfers it to the communication terminal 11 via the network N.

Next, the internal configuration of the communication terminal 11 will be described. The communication terminal 11 includes a CPU 12, an input unit 13, a RAM
14, transmission control unit 15, display unit 16, and storage medium 18
, And each unit except a storage medium 18 is connected by a bus 19.

The CPU 12 reads various control programs stored in the storage unit 17 or the storage medium 18, expands them in the work memory of the RAM 14, executes various control processes according to the control programs, and stores the processing results in the work memory. And display it on the display unit 16. Then, the processing result is stored in a predetermined storage destination of the storage medium 18.

In addition, the basic configuration of the communication terminal 11 of the input unit 13, the RAM 14, the transmission control unit 15, the display unit 16, the storage unit 17, and the storage medium 18 includes the input unit 3, the RAM 4, the transmission It is the same as the control unit 5, the display unit 6, the storage unit 7, and the storage medium 8, and the operation and the function will be described later in detail, and the illustration and detailed description of the configuration will be omitted. Further, since the main configuration of the communication terminals 41 and 51 is the same as that of the above-described communication terminal 11, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the illustration and description of the configuration are omitted.

Next, the operation of the electronic mail system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. As a premise, a program for realizing each function described in the following flowchart and screen transition diagram is stored in a storage medium of each device in the form of a readable program code,
The CPU of each device sequentially executes an operation according to the program code. Further, the CPU can also sequentially execute operations according to the program code transmitted via the transmission medium. That is, it is also possible to execute an operation unique to the present embodiment using a program or data externally supplied via a transmission medium in addition to a storage medium.

First, a description will be given of a new arrival address registration process which is a premise of an address book reference process described later with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

When the mail server 10 receives a mail transmitted from the communication terminal 11 (step S1), it extracts address information corresponding to the mail from the reception log in the mailbox 271 (step S2). Next, the mail server 10 transmits the extracted address information to the management server 1.

When the management server 1 receives the address information from the mail server 21 (step S3), the CPU 2
First, the storage address book 72 is searched to determine whether the received address information has been registered (step S4).
Here, if registered (step S4; Yes),
Without registering in the new arrival address book 71, the new arrival address registration processing ends. If the address information has not been registered in the storage address book 72 (step S4; No), the new address book 71 is searched to determine whether the address information has been registered (duplication) (step S5).

If it is determined in step S5 that the address information has not been registered (step S5; N
o), the address information is additionally stored in the last record of the new arrival address book 71 (step S6). In step S5, when the CPU 2 determines that the address information has been registered (step S5; Ye
s) After deleting the registered address information, the received address information is additionally stored as the latest address information in the last record of the new arrival address book 71 (step S9),
The new address registration process ends. Step S5
Can be omitted in consideration of the processing capacity of the management server 1, the network load, and the like. In this case, the received address information is additionally stored in the last record of the new arrival address book 71 uniformly.

After the end of step S6, the CPU 2 determines whether or not a predetermined amount of the newly arrived address book 71 has been exceeded in accordance with the additional storage of the address information (step S7). Note that this determination is performed based on the total number of received mails, but may be configured based on the data size of the received mails and the date and time of reception.

When the CPU 2 determines in step S7 that the predetermined amount of the new arrival address book 71 has been exceeded (step S7; Yes), the oldest new arrival address information at the head of the new arrival address book 71 is deleted (step S7). S8), the new arrival address registration processing ends. In step S7, when the CPU 2 determines that the predetermined amount of the new arrival address book 71 has not been exceeded (step S7;
No), the new address registration process ends.

Here, FIG. 4A shows the newly arrived address book 7.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a file configuration of No. 1 and a transition process based on the above-mentioned new address registration processing. As shown in FIG. 4A, the new arrival address book 71 stores reception date and time information, name information,
Records composed of the new mail address information are sequentially added and stored as new address information. For example,
When a new mail addressed to the email address “hana@aa2.so-net.ne.jp” is received, the corresponding reception date and time information “2000/04/12 19:33” is displayed as shown in FIG. Name information "Hanako" and new email address "hana@aa2.so-net.ne.jp"
Is additionally stored as the last record.

When the number of records or the capacity of the new arrival address book 71 exceeds a predetermined amount, as shown in FIG. 4C, the reception date and time information "2000" which is the new arrival address information of the first received mail. 03/27 09:00 ”and name information“ Saburo ”
And the record of the new mail address "saburo@aa2.so-net.ne.jp" are deleted. Further, for example, "hana@aa2.so-ne
If there is an instruction to store “t.ne.jp” in the storage address book 72, the reception date and time information “2000/04/12” is displayed as shown in FIG.
19:33 ", name information" Hanako ", and a new mail address" hana@aa2.so-net.ne.jp "are deleted from the new arrival address book 71 and stored in the storage address book 72.

Next, an address book reference process by the communication terminal 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a screen transition diagram showing a part of the address book reference processing. When the user of the communication terminal 11 instructs to refer to the address book, WWW
The display unit 16 receives the top screen data from the server 31 and
(Step S11). On the top screen, various selection buttons such as “service application / change / cancellation”, “mail filtering setting”, “mail rejection setting”, and “mail address book” using the address book on the management server 1 are arranged. Is done.

In step S11, when there is an operation of selecting "mail address book" from the input unit 13, the display unit 16
Displays a user authentication screen (step S12).
On this user authentication screen, a user ID and a password input area are displayed. The user of the communication terminal 11 has a user ID
When the user selects the execution button after inputting the password and the password, the user authentication check starts, and the user authentication corresponding to the user ID and the password is performed (step S13).

In step S13, when the user authentication is completed normally (step S13; OK), the processing shifts to FIG. 6, and the CPU 2 of the management server 1 causes the display section 16 of the communication terminal 11 to display the new arrival address book screen (step S13). Step S1
5). On the other hand, when the user authentication is not completed normally due to a mismatch between the input user ID and the password (step S13; NG), an error screen is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S14). An error message indicating an authentication error is displayed on this error screen.

The newly arrived address book screen displayed at this time includes, for example, a text such as "List of newly arrived address books. Address information can be stored and deleted, incoming calls can be rejected, and sorting can be performed in a specified manner." A description message of the new address book made up of data, a new mail address automatically extracted by the new address registration process, a name corresponding to the new mail address, and address information including a reception date and time are listed and displayed at a predetermined position. You. The display order of the address information is arbitrary, but is displayed in descending order of the reception date and time in the initial setting. In other words, the more recently received address information is displayed at an easily visible position at the top of the screen.

When the user of the communication terminal 11 selects (clicks) the new mail address or name displayed on the new address book screen, the mail transmission / reception application program stored in the storage unit 17 is automatically activated. Upon activation, the storage e-mail address is automatically set as the destination e-mail address in the destination item (To :). Therefore, the user can send an e-mail to a desired partner by a simple operation.

A selection button for selecting address information to be "stored", "deleted" and "rejected call" is arranged at the head of each address information. When the registered address information list extends over a plurality of pages, scroll display can be performed by operating a page move button.

Below the display position of the address information, the number of registered address information and the number of registrable items are displayed in a fractional format. The number of registrations is counted based on the number of registered different new mail addresses. By displaying this number, the user of the communication terminal 11 can check the new arrival address book 7
1. The number of registered address information and the number of remaining address information that can be registered can be grasped at a glance. For example, when the remaining address information is small, unnecessary address information is deleted or necessary address information is stored. It is possible to make a decision such as moving to the address book 72. The number of registrable cases may be a registrable capacity, and both can be changed to an arbitrary value.

Further, below the display positions of the number of registered address information and the number of registrable items, a storage button for instructing the storage of the address information selected by the selection button in the storage address book 72, and a selection button selected by the selection button. A delete button for instructing deletion of address information, a call rejection button for instructing rejection of an incoming call of the address information selected by the selection button, and a redisplay button for changing the display order of a series of address information and instructing redisplay are arranged. You.

The redisplay of a series of address information by operating the redisplay button is performed based on a selection operation of a plurality of radio buttons corresponding to a mail address, a name, and a reception date and time. That is, for example, when the radio button of the reception date and time is selected, the CPU 2 sorts all the reception dates and times including the reception dates and times of the address information that is not displayed in the order of late reception (descending order). The display unit 1 transmits to the communication terminal 11
6 is displayed again.

When the save button is selected in step S15, the screen display of the display unit 16 shifts to a "new arrival address information storage confirmation screen". On this screen, for example, "Move the next new address information to the storage address book and store it. Please check the contents. If you like, press the" Execute "button. ", A storage confirmation message composed of text data such as"", address information to be stored (e-mail address, name, reception date and time), and an execution button are arranged.

When the execution button is selected in step S16, the address information displayed in step S16 is
It moves from the new arrival address book 71 to the storage address book 72 and stores it. This process is performed in the same manner as the process of additionally storing the newly arrived address information in the storage address book 72 described with reference to FIG. Once the storage address book 72
Is continuously stored unless the user of the communication terminal 11 deletes the address information or terminates the use of the address book service. The stored address information is deleted from the new arrival address book 71.

When the storage is completed, the screen display of the display unit 16 shifts to a "new arrival information storage completion screen" (step S17). On this screen, for example, a storage completion message composed of text data such as "The next new address information has been moved and stored in the storage address book", the stored address information (e-mail address, name, reception date and time),
A selection button for instructing a transition to the initial screen of the “new arrival address book” described in step S15 is arranged.

When the delete button is selected in step S15, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to a "new arrival address information deletion confirmation screen". On this screen, a deletion confirmation message consisting of text data such as "Delete the new arrival address information. Please check the contents. To delete, press the" Execute "button." , An execution button for instructing deletion and a cancel button for canceling the deletion process and instructing a transition to the new address book screen are arranged (step S18).

When the execution button is selected in step S18, CPU 2 deletes the address information displayed in step S18 from newly arrived address book 71. This deletion processing is performed in the same manner as the processing for automatically deleting the address information described with reference to FIG.

When the call rejection button is selected in step S15, the screen display of the display unit 16 shifts to a "mail incoming rejection confirmation screen". On this screen, from text data such as "Reject incoming mail from the next new address information (mail address). Please check the contents. If you like, please press the" Execute "button." An incoming call rejection confirmation message, address information (mail address, name, reception date and time) of the mail to be rejected, and an execution button are arranged.

When the execution button is selected in step S19, the address information displayed in step S19 is
It moves from the new arrival address book 71 to the call rejection address book 73 and registers it. This process is performed in the same manner as the process of additionally storing newly arrived address information in the storage address book 72 described with reference to FIG. That is, the CPU 2 of the management server 1 additionally stores the address information in the incoming call rejection address book 73 and deletes it from the new arrival address book 71.

When the mail rejection processing is completed, the screen display of the display unit 16 shifts to a "mail rejection completion screen" (step S20). On this screen, an incoming call rejection completion message consisting of text data such as "Settings to reject incoming mail from the next new address information (mail address) are completed." A selection button for instructing information (mail address, name, reception date and time) and transition to the initial screen of the “new arrival address book” described in step S15 is arranged.

In step S13, when the user authentication is completed normally, the flow shifts to FIG.
2. The storage address book screen is displayed on the display unit 16 of the communication terminal 11 (step S21). Step S1
5, the new address book screen displayed in step S21
Is displayed on the display unit 16 at the same time as a separate window.

The storage address book screen displayed simultaneously with the new arrival address screen includes, for example, “List of stored address information. New registration of address information, content setting,
You can delete and rearrange in a specified way. And the like, a storage e-mail message stored in the new address information storage processing of steps S15 to S17, a name corresponding to the storage e-mail address, storage date and time, and the number of receptions. The address information to be displayed is listed at a predetermined position.
The display order of the address information is arbitrary, but is initially displayed in ascending order of the e-mail addresses.

When the user of the communication terminal 11 selects (clicks) the storage mail address or the name portion displayed on the storage address book screen, the mail transmission / reception application program stored in the storage unit 17 is automatically activated. Upon activation, the storage e-mail address is automatically set as the destination e-mail address in the destination item (To :). Therefore, the user can send an e-mail to a desired partner by a simple operation.

The head of each piece of address information is used to select address information to be newly registered and deleted for newly registering other address information such as an address and a telephone number. A selection button is arranged. On the other hand, at the end of each address information, a “details” button for instructing display of address information such as a registered address and a telephone number is arranged. When the registered address information list extends over a plurality of pages, scroll display can be performed by operating a page move button.

Further, below the display position of the address information, the number of stored address information and the number of storable items are displayed in a fractional format. This number of storages is counted based on the number of different stored mail addresses. By displaying this number, the user of the communication terminal 11 can check the storage address book 7
The number of pieces of address information already stored and the number of remaining pieces of address information that can be stored can be grasped at a glance. For example, when the number of remaining pieces of address information is small, it is possible to determine that unnecessary address information is deleted. Note that the storable number may be the storable capacity, and both can be changed to an arbitrary value.

Further, below the display positions of the number of storable items and the number of storable items of the address information, a registration button for instructing new registration of another address information to the address information selected by the selection button is selected by the selection button. A delete button for instructing deletion of address information and a redisplay button for changing the display order of a series of address information and instructing redisplay are arranged.

The redisplay of a series of address information by operating the redisplay button is performed based on a selection operation of a plurality of radio buttons corresponding to a mail address, a name, a storage date and time, and the number of receptions. That is, for example, when the storage date / time radio button is selected, the CPU 2 sorts all the storage dates / times including the storage dates / times of the address information that is not displayed in the order of storage late (descending order). Then, the data is transmitted to the communication terminal 11 and displayed on the display unit 16 again.

In step S21, when the detail button corresponding to any of the address information is selected, the screen display on the display section 16 shifts to the "address information detail screen". On this screen, for example, a detailed confirmation message consisting of text data such as "Details of address information. To change the contents, select the" Change "button" and address information (storage mail address, name, Storage date and time, number of receptions,
(Address, telephone number) are displayed, and a change button for instructing a transition to an address information change screen, which will be described later, and a cancel button for instructing a transition to the storage address book screen described above are arranged.

When the change button is selected in step S22, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to an "address information change screen" (step S23). On this screen, a message prompting the user to enter a change consisting of text data such as "Please change the address information. If you want, press the" Execute "button" and address information (storage mail address, name, address, An input area of (telephone number) is displayed, and an execution button for actually instructing a change is arranged based on the input content in the input area.

When the execute button is selected in step S23, the input address information is stored in the storage address book 72.
Is stored newly or updated. At this time, the address information including the address and the telephone number once stored in the storage address book 72 is continuously stored unless the user of the communication terminal 11 deletes it by a deletion process described later or ends use of the address book service. Is done.

When the change is completed, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to an "address information change completed screen" (step S24). On this screen, for example, a change completion message including text data such as "The address information has been changed. Please confirm the change on the next address information detail screen." A selection button for instructing a transition to the “information detail screen” is arranged.

When the registration button is selected in step S21, the screen display of the display section 16 shifts to an "address information registration screen" (step S25). On this screen, a message prompting registration of address information composed of text data such as "Register address information. If you want, press the" Registration "button" and a message prompting registration of the address information (storage mail address, name, etc.) , Address, telephone number) are displayed, and a registration button for instructing registration of the input content in the input area and a clear button for instructing erasure of the input content are arranged.

In step S25, when the registration button is selected, the input address information is stored in the storage address book 72.
Registered (stored) in At this time, once stored address book 7
The address information, including the address and telephone number stored in 2, is
The data is continuously stored unless the user of the communication terminal 11 deletes the data in a deletion process described later or ends use of the address book service.

When the registration is completed, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to an "address information registration completion screen" (step S26). On this screen, for example, a registration completion message including text data such as "Registration of address information is completed. Check the registration details on the next address information detail screen." A selection button for instructing a transition to the “information detail screen” is arranged.

When the delete button is selected in step S21, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to a "storage address information deletion confirmation screen". On this screen, a confirmation message consisting of text data such as "Delete the following storage address information. Confirm the contents. To delete, press the" Execute "button."
Address information to be deleted (e-mail address, name, storage date and time, number of receptions), an execution button for actually instructing deletion,
In addition, a cancel button for canceling the deletion process and instructing a transition to the storage address book screen is arranged (step S27).

When the delete button is selected in step S21, the CPU 2 deletes the address information displayed in step S21 from the storage address book 72. This deletion processing is performed in the same manner as the processing for automatically deleting the address information described with reference to FIG.

Next, mail incoming rejection setting processing by the communication terminal 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
It is a screen transition diagram showing a part of mail incoming rejection setting processing. When the user of the communication terminal 11 instructs to refer to the address book, the top screen data is received from the WWW server 31 and displayed on the display unit 16 (step S31). On the top screen, "Service application / change / cancellation" using the address book on the management server 1, "Mail filtering setting", "Mail rejection setting", "Mail address book"
Etc. are provided.

When "mail rejection setting" is selected from the input unit 13 in step S31, a user authentication screen is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S32). On this user authentication screen, a user ID and a password input area are displayed. When the user of the communication terminal 11 selects the execution button after inputting the user ID and the password, a user authentication check starts, and user authentication corresponding to the user ID and the password is performed (step S33).

In step S33, when the user authentication is completed normally (step S33; OK), the processing shifts to FIG. 9, and the CPU 2 of the management server 1 displays a mail rejection setting screen on the display unit 16 of the communication terminal 11. (Step S35). On the other hand, if the user authentication is not completed normally due to a mismatch between the input user ID and the password (step S33; NG), an error screen is displayed on the display unit 16 (step S34). An error message indicating an authentication error is displayed on this error screen.

The incoming call rejection setting screen displayed at this time
For example, "Your e-mail address that uses the call rejection service,
And can be deleted. , Etc., a description of the call rejection function consisting of text data, the mail rejection use mail address of the user of the call rejection service, the total number of mail addresses that can be registered as call rejection mail addresses, and the mail rejection mail address already The number of mail addresses registered as is displayed in a list at a predetermined position.

Further, at the bottom, a list of address information including an incoming rejection mail address for which incoming rejection is set, the registration date and time of the incoming rejection mail address, and the number of incoming rejections (the number of receptions by the management server 1) is displayed. . The display order of the address information is arbitrary, but is initially displayed in ascending order of the e-mail addresses.

A selection button for selecting a mail address to be "deleted" from the call rejection address book 73 is arranged at the head of each mail rejection mail address. When the list of registered address information extends over a plurality of pages, a page move button may be provided to perform scroll display.

Further, below the display position of the rejection mail address, a setting button for instructing the setting of a mail address to use the rejection service, a registration button for instructing new registration of the rejection mail address, and a selection button are used. A delete button for instructing deletion of the received call rejection mail address is arranged.

When the setting button is selected in step S35 of FIG. 9, the screen display of the display section 16 shifts to the "mail incoming rejection use screen". On this screen, a confirmation message consisting of text data such as "Please select your own e-mail address to use call rejection. If you like, please press the" Execute "button." Is displayed. At the head of each mail address, a selection button for selecting an incoming call rejection use mail address is arranged. Note that the number of selected mail addresses is arbitrary.

An execution button for instructing the start of use of the incoming call rejection service of the selected mail address is provided below the display position of the incoming call rejection use mail address. Then, when the execution button is selected, the screen display of the display unit 16 returns to the “mail rejection setting screen” again (step S3).
5).

In step S35, when the registration button is selected, the screen display on the display section 16 shifts to a "mail incoming rejection mail address registration screen". On this screen, a message prompting the user to input an incoming call rejection e-mail address, such as "Please enter an incoming call rejection e-mail address. The number of addresses and the number of registered addresses are displayed, and an input area for a rejected mail address is displayed. An execution button for actually instructing rejection of an incoming call and a clear button for instructing erasure of the input content are provided below the input button. Note that the input process of the incoming call rejection mail address includes a process of selecting an incoming call rejection mail address from the mail addresses stored in the new arrival address book 71 or the storage address book 72.

When the execution button is selected in step S37, the input mail address is stored in the incoming call rejection address book 73 as an incoming call rejection mail address. At this time, the call rejection e-mail address registered in the call rejection address book 73 is kept stored unless the user of the communication terminal 11 deletes it by a deletion process described later or ends use of the address book service. When the registration is completed, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to the “mail rejection setting screen” again (step S35).

When the delete button is selected in step S35, the screen display of the display unit 16 shifts to a "mail incoming rejection mail address deletion confirmation screen". On this screen, for example, from the text data such as "Delete the email address (sails@***.com). Please confirm the email address. If you want to delete, press the" Execute "button." A confirmation message and an execution button for actually instructing deletion are arranged (step S38).

When the delete button is selected in step S35, the CPU 2 deletes the incoming call rejection mail address displayed in step S38 from the incoming call rejection address book 73. This deletion processing is performed in the same manner as the processing for automatically deleting the address information described with reference to FIG.

When the process of deleting the incoming mail rejection mail address is completed, the screen display on the display unit 16 shifts to a “mail incoming rejection mail address deletion completion screen” (step S39). On this screen, a deletion completion message consisting of text data such as "Email address (sails@***.com) has been deleted" is displayed.
A selection button for instructing transition to the mail rejection setting screen described in step S35 is arranged.

The CPU 2 of the management server 1
When an e-mail addressed to the e-mail is received, it is determined whether or not the e-mail address of the transmission source matches the e-mail address registered in the call rejection address book 73. If they match, the transfer to the communication terminal 11 is stopped and the mail is discarded. As for the notification method to the transmission source, an error status of User Unknown is returned. Reply error mail.
Do not notify. , The user of the communication terminal 11 or the system administrator who is the user of the address book service can be selected.

As described above, if the new arrival address book 71 is used, the address information corresponding to the mail received by the mail server 21 can be stored at any time and managed on the management server 1. In addition, when the number or capacity of registered address information exceeds a predetermined value, a function to automatically delete the excess address information is provided, so that the number of newly arrived address information is always kept constant. And the load on the management server having a limited storage capacity can be reduced. Further, the display order of the address information can be changed according to the user's convenience.

Also, if the storage address book 72 is used,
The destination of the e-mail can be specified by an easy operation of selecting (clicking) the e-mail address. In addition, since the storage address book 72 stores not only mail addresses and names but also personal information such as addresses and telephone numbers, it can be used as personal information management (PIM: Personal Information Manager) software. .

Further, if the call rejection address book 73 is used, it is possible to store the address information to be deleted or returned before the transfer to the communication terminal 11, and the mail address of the sender is registered as the call rejection mail address. Transfer can be aborted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user of the communication terminal 11 from reading an e-mail from a partner who does not want to receive it and feel uncomfortable.

Note that the description contents in the present embodiment are as follows.
It is a preferred example of an e-mail system according to the present invention,
It is not limited to this. For example, in the above embodiment, the new arrival address book 71 and the storage address book 72 are provided separately in the storage unit 7 of the management server 1, and only the address information selected as a storage target from the new arrival address book 71 is copied. And stored in the storage address book 72. However, each address information is stored as the same data in one address book (database), and only the address information selected as a storage target on the new arrival address screen is displayed. It is good also as a structure displayed on a storage address book screen. As a result, it is possible to provide the user of the communication terminal 11 with an address book screen having the same display form as in the case where the two types of address books are configured separately, while saving the data storage area of the management server.

In the above embodiment, the communication terminal 11
The address information of the mail received by the new address book 71
Although the description has been given by taking an example of registration in the new address book 71, it is of course possible to adopt a configuration in which the communication terminal 11 registers the address information of the mail transmitted to the external terminal in the new arrival address book 71.

Further, the address information such as the source mail address of the received mail is registered in the new arrival address book 71, and the address information such as the destination mail address of the transmission mail is directly stored in the storage address book without passing through the new address book 71. 72. This makes it possible to reliably and continuously store outgoing mail whose usage frequency is expected to be higher than that of received mail, which is convenient when retransmitting.

In addition, the management server 1 and the communication terminals 11 and 4
1, 51, the mail server 21, and the WEB server 31 can also be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0096]

According to the first, fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention,
The new address book that temporarily saves the address information to be used as new address information, and the stored address book that selects the address information to be used continuously and stores it as stored address information Can provide a mechanism to organize and manage For this reason, while maintaining the convenience obtained by automatically creating an address book dedicated to communication terminals on the management server and centrally managing the address information, an efficient address in which the maintenance and management of the complicated address book is reduced. Management becomes possible. As a result, the user of the communication terminal can quickly search for a desired destination mail address and transmit the mail. Further, by providing the management server independently of the mail server, no load is imposed on the mail server when storing the address information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the number of pieces of address information stored in the new arrival information storage means is always kept so as not to exceed a predetermined value. This makes it possible to reduce the load on the management server having a limited storage capacity.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the user of the communication terminal can not only use the management server as a mail destination designation means,
It can also be used as personal information management means like PIM software. Also, if it can be connected to the management server, personal information can be browsed from terminals other than the communication terminal.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to create an address book in which a mail address for rejecting an incoming call is registered on the management server. Can prevent the reception of unnecessary or unwanted mail.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration and a main operation of an electronic mail system 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a management server 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a new arrival address registration process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a transition process of a new arrival address book 71 based on the new arrival address registration process of FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A shows an initial state, and FIG. 4B shows a case where one of address information is additionally stored. (C) is a state diagram when one of the address information is automatically deleted, and (d) is a state diagram when one of the address information is stored in the storage address book 72.

FIG. 5 is a screen transition diagram showing a part of an address reference process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a screen transition diagram showing a continuation of the address reference process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a screen transition diagram showing a continuation of the address reference process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram showing a part of a mail incoming rejection setting process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a screen transition diagram showing a continuation of a mail incoming rejection setting process executed by the electronic mail system 100 of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Management Server 2, 12, 22 CPU 3, 13, 23 Input Unit 4, 14, 24 RAM 5, 15, 25 Transmission Control Unit 6, 16, 26 Display Unit 7, 17, 27 Storage Unit 71 New Address Book 72 Storage Address book 73 Call rejection address book 8, 18, 28 Storage medium 11 Communication terminal 21 Mail server 31 WWW server 100 E-mail system

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shizuo Futami 4-7-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Communication Network Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5K030 GA17 HA05 KA01 KA03 KA04 KA13 LC15 MB18

Claims (6)

[Claims] An electronic mail system comprising: a communication terminal that sends and receives mail; and a mail server that receives mail sent from the communication terminal or mail sent from outside to the communication terminal. The mail server includes an address information transmitting unit that extracts a mail address from the received mail and transmits the mail address to the management server as address information, wherein the management server includes the address information transmitted by the address information transmitting unit. Address information receiving means for receiving the address information, new address information storage means for storing the address information received by the address information receiving means as new address information, and address information stored as new address information in the new information information storage means. Select any address information from among them and store the address Storage information storage means for storing information as new information, new arrival address information stored in the new arrival information storage means, and storage address information stored in the storage information storage means, individually in a form that can be viewed by the communication terminal. An e-mail system comprising: address information providing means for providing. 2. The management server, comprising: an address information counting means for counting the number of address information stored in the new arrival information storage means; and a number of the address information counted by the address information counting means being a predetermined value. 2. The e-mail system according to claim 1, further comprising: an address information deleting unit configured to delete address information corresponding to the number of addresses when the number of addresses exceeds the number. 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein said storage information storage means stores personal information such as an address and a telephone number corresponding to said mail address as storage address information. 4. The communication terminal, further comprising: an incoming call rejection designating unit for designating a mail address of a transmission source of a mail to be rejected by the communication terminal, wherein the management server is designated by the incoming call rejecting designating unit. An incoming call rejection information storage unit that stores a mail address as incoming call rejection address information; and whether the address information received by the address information receiving unit matches the incoming call rejection address information stored in the incoming call rejection information storage unit. Call rejection determining means for determining whether the address information matches the call rejection address information stored in the call rejection information storage means. Transmission stop means for stopping transmission of the mail corresponding to the information to the communication terminal. E-mail system of claim 1, wherein the. 5. An information management system for an electronic mail system, comprising: a communication terminal for sending and receiving mail; and a mail server for receiving mail sent from the communication terminal or mail sent from outside to the communication terminal. A method of extracting an e-mail address from a received e-mail and transmitting the e-mail address as address information to a management server; and an address information receiving step of receiving the address information transmitted in the address information transmitting step. A new arrival information storing step of storing the address information received in the address information receiving step as new arrival address information; and an arbitrary address from the address information stored as the new arrival address information in the new arrival information storage step. Storage information record that selects information and stores it as storage address information Address information for individually providing the new arrival address information stored in the new arrival information storage step and the storage address information stored in the storage information storage step in a form that can be viewed by the communication terminal. An information management method in an electronic mail system, comprising: a providing step. 6. An information management system for an electronic mail system, comprising: a communication terminal for transmitting and receiving mail; and a mail server for receiving mail transmitted from the communication terminal or mail transmitted from outside to the communication terminal. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program for controlling processing, a program code for extracting a mail address from a received mail, and transmitting the mail address as address information to a management server; A program code for receiving the received address information, a program code for storing the received address information as new arrival address information, and arbitrary address information from the address information stored as the new arrival address information. For storing as storage address information A storage medium storing a program comprising: a gram code; and a program code for individually providing the new arrival address information and the storage address information in a form that can be viewed by the communication terminal.