JP2002157195A - Efficient reception of e-mail at portable mail terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently receive e-mails at a portable mail terminal. SOLUTION: A portable mail terminal includes an input part for allowing the user to direct the operation of the mail terminal, an e-mail processing part capable of receiving e-mails via a communication line, and a display part for displaying the e-mails received. The e-mail processing part includes a list acquiring part which acquires a list of e-mails not yet received, by connecting with the communication line if the user directs via the input part the process of selecting and receiving an e-mail, after which the communication line is disconnected; a selection setting part allowing the user to set the e-mail which he or she wants to receive as the mail selected for reception, based on the list of yet-to-receive e-mails displayed on the display part while the communication line is disconnected; and a selective receiving part which connects with the communication line to perform a selective mail process including the reception of the mail selected for reception, if the user directs via the input part the reception of the mail selected for reception subsequent to setting of the mail selected for reception.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for efficiently receiving an electronic mail at a portable mail terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various services are added to a mobile telephone service in addition to a telephone service which is an original purpose. As an example of a mobile phone service, there is a service that enables transmission and reception of e-mail with a mobile phone or a computer via the Internet. As an electronic device for facilitating the use of this service, a portable mail terminal (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a “mail terminal”) has been developed. The mail terminal is, for example, a computer including a keyboard similar to a computer and a display screen larger than a mobile phone. The user creates an e-mail using the mail terminal. Then, the created e-mail can be transmitted via a mobile phone connected to the mail terminal. Also, the user can receive the e-mail, display the e-mail on the display screen, and read the contents. In addition, sent and received e-mails include CCD
When an image such as an image (hereinafter, referred to as a "captured image" or "captured image") captured by an image sensor or an image created by a computer (hereinafter, referred to as a "CG image") is attached. There is. Some mail terminals can display such attached images on a display screen.

[0003]

[0007] Since the telephone charge of a mobile phone is higher than the telephone charge of a fixed telephone, the charge burden for receiving an e-mail at a mail terminal is generally relatively heavy. is there. Also, the power consumption of the mail terminal during communication increases according to the communication time. Therefore, in consideration of the charge burden and the battery life, it is preferable that the communication time for receiving the e-mail is as short as possible. For this reason, in a portable mail terminal, efficient reception of an e-mail is desired.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and has as its object to provide a technique for efficiently receiving an electronic mail at a portable mail terminal.

[0005]

In order to solve at least a part of the above-mentioned problems, a portable mail terminal according to the present invention is provided with an input for a user to instruct an operation of the portable mail terminal. Unit, an e-mail processing unit capable of receiving an e-mail via a communication line, and a display unit for displaying the received e-mail, the e-mail processing unit, the e-mail processing unit, the user can select the e-mail A list acquisition unit for disconnecting the communication line after connecting the communication line and acquiring list information of unreceived e-mails when receiving processing is instructed via the input unit; and disconnecting the communication line. In the state, a selection setting that allows the user to set an e-mail desired to be received as a reception selection mail based on the list information of the unreceived e-mails displayed on the display unit When the user, when the reception of the reception selection mail following the reception selection mail settings were instructed through the input unit, connected to said communication line,
A selection receiving unit that executes a selection mail process including reception of the reception selection mail.

The portable mail terminal of the present invention obtains list information of unreceived e-mails and sets an e-mail desired by the user as a reception selection mail based on the list information of unreceived e-mails. Then, the set reception selected mail can be received. Accordingly, only the desired e-mail can be received without receiving the undesired e-mail, so that the e-mail can be efficiently received with respect to the communication time. Moreover,
Since the selection setting of the reception selection mail desired to be received is executed in a state where the communication line is disconnected, it is possible to receive the e-mail efficiently with respect to the communication cost.

Here, in the portable mail terminal,
The selection setting unit further allows the user to set an e-mail that the user desires to delete as a deletion selection mail based on the list information of the unreceived e-mails, and the selection reception unit is configured by the user A selection mail process including reception of the set reception selection mail and deletion of the deletion selection mail may be executed.

[0008] In this way, not only the setting of the reception selection mail desired to be received and the reception thereof, but also the setting of the deletion selection mail desired to be deleted and the deletion thereof can be executed.

Further, in the portable mail terminal, when the selected mail processing is interrupted, the selection receiving unit is processed by interruption information indicating that the selected mail processing is interrupted and the selected mail processing. It is preferable to hold selection information indicating a selected mail to be sent.

[0010] At this time, when the user instructs the selective reception processing of the e-mail via the input unit, the list acquisition unit, if the interruption information is held, displays the unreceived e-mail. It is preferable that the selection receiving unit executes the selected mail processing based on the held selection information without executing acquisition of list information.

In this way, when the selected mail processing is interrupted, the selected mail processing can be continued.
Therefore, there is no need to start over from obtaining the list information of unreceived e-mails, so that e-mails can be received efficiently with respect to communication time and communication cost.

It is preferable that the selection receiving section generates the selection information for the selected mail that has been processed, so as to substantially indicate that the processing has been completed.

With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the selected mail from being processed for the selected mail that has been processed, so that an e-mail can be received efficiently with respect to communication time and communication cost.

Here, in the portable mail terminal,
The list acquisition unit, when the interruption information is held, performs one of the selected mail processing by the selection reception unit and the acquisition of the list information of the unreceived e-mail by the list acquisition unit. It is also preferable to allow the user to make a selection.

[0015] This allows the user to arbitrarily select whether to start from acquiring the list information of newly received e-mails or to continuously execute the selected mail processing.

In the portable mail terminal, the electronic mail processing unit may connect the communication line when the user instructs batch reception of electronic mail via the input unit, and It is also preferable to collectively receive e-mails.

In this case, the user can select one of the electronic mail selective reception processing and the batch reception processing.

In the portable mail terminal, it is preferable that the disconnection of the communication line by the list obtaining unit and the connection of the communication line by the selection receiving unit be performed without confirming to the user.

With this configuration, during the selective reception processing of the e-mail, the disconnection of the communication line performed by the list acquisition unit and the connection of the communication line performed by the selection reception unit are not confirmed by the user. Since it is performed, it is possible to prevent the user from misunderstanding the change in the situation where the communication line is disconnected or connected.

The present invention provides not only the portable mail terminal described above, but also an electronic mail receiving method, a computer program for realizing the functions of the apparatus or method, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and a computer program. It can be implemented in various ways, such as a data signal embodied in a subcarrier.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples. A. Appearance of device: B. Internal configuration of device: Outline of processing: E-mail selection process:

A. Appearance of Apparatus: FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an appearance of a portable mail terminal 100 as one embodiment of the present invention. 1A to 1D show a front view, a right side view, a top view, and a bottom view, respectively.

The portable mail terminal 100 (also simply called “mail terminal”) has a main body case 20 and a display case 3
0. The two case sections 20 and 30 are attached to each other via a hinge section 40 so as to be rotatable.

The display case 30 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.
, Two display units 50 and 60 and a camera 70
And The first display unit 50 includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying a monochrome image, and the second display unit 60 includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying a color image. A touch panel 65 is provided on the display surface of the second display unit 60. Hereinafter, the first display unit 50 is referred to as a “monochrome LCD (Liquid Crystal D).
isplay), and the second display unit 60 is referred to as “color LC”.
D ".

The camera 70 has an image pickup device such as a CCD. The camera 70 is rotatably attached to the display case unit 30, and its direction can be changed.

The main body case section 20 has a keyboard 80 as shown in FIG. Keyboard 80
Is provided with a plurality of alphanumeric keys for inputting characters and symbols, and function keys to which various functions are assigned. The keyboard 80 is also provided with a power key for turning on / off the power, a transmission / reception key for executing transmission / reception of e-mail, a shutter key for storing an image captured by the camera 70, and the like. ing.

Also, the bottom of the main body case 20 is
As shown in (D), a connection cable 90 for connecting the mail terminal 100 to a mobile phone is provided. The connection cable 90 can be stored in the storage section 23 provided at the bottom. Further, two lids 24 and 25 are provided at the bottom. A battery box 24b for mounting a battery is provided inside the first lid 24, and a media box 25b for mounting a memory card is provided inside the second lid 25. . In addition, on the bottom,
A tunnel-like small hole for attaching a strap is provided. And on the strap, touch panel 6
A touch pen 82 for designating a position on the touch panel 5 is attached.

As described above, this mail terminal 100
A keyboard 80 similar to a computer and two display units 50 and 60 are provided. The user can use the mail terminal 10
0 can be used to create an e-mail, and the e-mail can be transmitted and received via a mobile phone connected to the mail terminal 100. The transmitted and received e-mail includes a graphic image such as an image (also referred to as a “captured image” or “captured image”) captured by the camera 70 or the like or an image created by another computer (also referred to as a “CG image”). Can be attached. The mail terminal 100 can display the graphic image attached to the e-mail on the second display unit 60.

B. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the portable mail terminal 100. The mail terminal 100 is a computer including the CPU 110. A bus 110b is connected to the CPU 110. The bus 110b includes a ROM 120 and a RAM.
130, a monochrome LCD controller 150, a color LCD controller 160, a VRAM 162, a touch panel controller 165, a video capture device 170, a keyboard controller 180, a memory card interface 190, and a mobile phone interface 200 are connected. . The memory card interface 190 controls writing and reading of data to and from the memory card MC, and the mobile phone interface 200 controls transmission and reception of data to and from the mobile phone PT.

The monochrome LCD controller 150 causes a monochrome LCD (first display unit) 50 to display character images such as characters and pictograms. Color LCD controller 1
The 60 reads out the image data stored in the VRAM 162 and displays a graphic image such as a captured image or a CG image on a color LCD (second display unit) 60. Therefore, the monochrome LCD 50 and the monochrome LCD controller 150, and the color LCD 60, the color LCD controller 160, and the VRAM 162 correspond to the display unit of the present invention.

In this embodiment, when the power is on, the monochrome LCD 50 always displays a character image.
On the other hand, the color LCD 60 displays a graphic image only when a process using the graphic image is performed. The display / non-display of an image on the color LCD 60 is executed by turning on / off a light source provided on the rear surface of the panel. Further, the power supplied to the color LCD 60, the color LCD controller 160, the VRAM 162, and the like may be turned on / off.
By doing so, power saving of the mail terminal 100 can be achieved.

The video capture device 170 controls imaging by the camera 70. The video capture device 170 sequentially stores the captured image data transmitted from the camera 70 in the VRAM 162. At this time, the color L
A series of images taken by the camera 70 are sequentially displayed on the CD 60. Note that the image data stored in the VRAM 162 when the user presses the shutter key is
It is stored in the memory card MC via the memory card interface 190.

The keyboard controller 180 processes an input from the keyboard 80, and the touch panel controller 165 processes an input from the touch panel 65. CP
U110 executes various processes according to commands from the keyboard controller 180 and the touch panel controller 165. Therefore, the keyboard 80 and the keyboard controller 180 correspond to the input unit of the present invention.

The ROM 120 stores computer programs for executing various processes of the mail terminal 100,
Various data such as font data is stored. Note that the computer program is expanded and executed in the RAM 130.

The RAM 130 stores a computer program for realizing the functions of the overall management unit 132, the mail processing unit 134, and the image processing unit 138. Overall management unit 1
32 has a function of managing various processes and a function of setting various conditions such as operating conditions. The mail processing unit 134 has a function for creating, transmitting, and receiving electronic mail. Further, the mail processing unit 134 includes a list acquisition unit 135, a selection setting unit 136, and a selection reception unit 13
7 and corresponds to the e-mail processing unit of the present invention.

The image processing unit 138 includes a monochrome LCD 50
And a function for processing image data representing a character image displayed on the LCD and a graphic image displayed on the color LCD 60.

In this specification, a computer is a concept including a hardware device and an operation system, and means a hardware device that operates under the control of the operation system. In the case where an operation system is unnecessary and a hardware device is operated by an application program alone, the hardware device itself corresponds to a computer. The hardware device includes at least a microprocessor such as a CPU and means for reading a computer program recorded on a recording medium. The computer program includes a program code that causes such a computer to realize the functions of the above-described units. Some of the above functions may be realized by an operation system instead of the application program.

As the recording medium, a computer-readable portable storage medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, an internal storage device (a memory such as a RAM or a ROM) and an external storage device of a computer system, Alternatively, various other media on which a computer program is recorded and which can be read by a computer system can be used.

C. Outline of processing: portable mail terminal 100
When the power is turned on, the opening screen is displayed on the first display unit 50 and the second display unit 60, and then the main menu screen is displayed.

FIG. 3 shows two display sections 50, 50 of FIG.
It is explanatory drawing which expands and shows 60. In FIG. 3, the main menu screen is displayed on the first display unit 50. This main menu screen contains “Settings” and “Address Book”
, "Album", "shooting", "create mail", and "mail box". The user can select and execute a desired process using the direction key and the execution key of the keyboard 80 or the function keys F1 to F4. Each processing is
The processing is executed by at least one of the overall management unit 132, the mail processing unit 134, and the image processing unit 138 in FIG.

When the "setting" process is executed, various settings such as communication settings and date and time settings can be made according to the message displayed on the first display unit 50. Note that the settings are stored in the ROM 120.

When the "address book" process is executed, the contents of the address book can be confirmed. It is also possible to create and edit an address (destination information). The contents of the address book are stored in the ROM 120.
In the mail terminal 100 of the present embodiment, each address can be associated with a graphic image stored in the memory card MC.

When the "album" process is executed, the graphic images stored in the memory card MC can be displayed on the second display unit 60. In the “album” process, a graphic image can be edited by selecting various touch panel keys 65K1 to 65K9 provided at the right end and the lower end of the touch panel 65. The edited graphic image is stored in the memory card MC.

When the “photographing” process is executed, a photograph can be taken using the camera 70. When the shutter key is pressed during shooting, the captured image is stored in the memory card MC.

When the "mail creation" process is executed, an e-mail can be created by inputting a destination, a title, a body, and the like. The destination can be selected from the above address book. Further, in this embodiment, a graphic image stored in the memory card MC can be attached to the e-mail.

When the "mail box" process is executed, it is possible to check the contents of the list of outgoing mails in the outbox and the list of received mails in the inbox. Also, transmission and reception of e-mail can be executed.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmitted mail list screen displayed on the first display unit 50 by selecting and executing a transmission box in the “mail box” process. On the outgoing mail list screen, the above "Create mail"
A list of a plurality of e-mails created in the process is displayed. This list screen includes a status column indicating the status of each e-mail (e.g., whether or not it has been transmitted), a destination (To) column, and a title column. In the status column, "" indicates a pending electronic mail, "" indicates a registered and transmittable mail, and "" indicates a transmitted electronic mail. On the outgoing mail list screen, one e-mail is selected using the up and down arrow keys (black and white inverted display), and the content of the selected e-mail can be displayed by pressing the execution key. Then, when a graphic image is attached to the selected e-mail, the image is displayed on the second display unit 60. Further, by selecting the function key F2, transmission of the registered e-mail can be executed. The status display column of the transmitted e-mail is changed from “up” to “done” and displayed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a received mail list screen displayed on the first display unit 50 by selecting and executing a received box in the “mail box” process. A list of a plurality of e-mails already received is displayed on the received e-mail list screen. This list screen is
It includes a status column indicating the status of each e-mail (read or not, etc.), a sender column, and a title column. On the received mail list screen, one e-mail is selected using the up and down arrow keys (black and white inverted display), and the content of the selected e-mail can be displayed by pressing the execution key. Then, when a graphic image is attached to the selected e-mail, the image is displayed on the second display unit 60. Further, by selecting the function key F1, all unreceived e-mails stored in the mail server are received. The received e-mail is displayed on the received mail list screen as an unread e-mail (also referred to as “unread mail”).

D. E-mail selection processing: When the shift key and the reception key (function key F1 or transmission / reception key) are simultaneously selected on the received mail list screen,
"E-mail selection processing" is started. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a procedure of an electronic mail selection process. The e-mail selection process is basically executed in the order of the mail list acquisition process of step S10, the mail list display process of step S20, the selection reception process of step S30, and the selection reception end process of step S40.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the mail list obtaining process in step S10. The mail list acquisition process is executed by the list acquisition unit 135 (FIG. 2). When the mail list acquisition process is started, first, in step S1
At 10, it is determined whether the in-process flag is set. If the WIP flag is not set,
The process of step S140 is executed, and if the in-process flag is set, the process of step S120 is executed. The setting of the in-process flag and the processing in step S120 when the in-process flag is set will be described later.

In step S140, the line of the mobile phone PT (FIG. 2) is connected, and connection to the server (login) and connection to the mailbox corresponding to the user of the mail server (mail login) are executed. During the series of processes, a screen indicating that each process is being executed is sequentially displayed on the first display unit 50. For example, a screen of "dialing" is displayed during connection processing of the line of the mobile phone PT, a screen of "login" is being processed during connection processing to the server, and a screen of "mail is being logged" is being displayed during connection processing to the mailbox.

Next, in step S150, it is checked whether there is any unreceived e-mail in the mailbox corresponding to the user of the mail server. If there is no unreceived e-mail, in step S160, disconnection of the mailbox (mail logout), disconnection of the server (logout), and disconnection processing of the line of the mobile phone PT are executed. During the series of processes, a display indicating that each process is being executed is sequentially displayed on the first display unit 50. For example, a screen of “mail logout” is displayed during the disconnection processing of the mailbox, a screen of “logging out” is performed during the disconnection processing of the server, and a screen of “dial disconnection” is displayed during the disconnection processing of the line of the mobile phone PT.

In step S 170, a screen indicating that there is no unreceived e-mail is displayed on first display unit 50. For example, a screen “No received mail” is displayed.
Then, the mail list obtaining process ends, and the e-mail selection process ends. When the e-mail selection process is completed, the display on the first display unit 50 returns to the display before the e-mail selection process was started. That is,
In this embodiment, the display returns to the received mail list screen (FIG. 5).

If there is an unreceived e-mail in step S150, a list of unreceived e-mails (hereinafter, also referred to as "unreceived mail") is obtained in step S180. As the unlisted mail list information, useful information for the user to grasp the contents of unreceived e-mail, select and set, and receive
For example, the ID, the sender, the title, the attached information, etc. of the mail are acquired. During this processing, the first display unit 5
0 indicates that the mail list is being acquired.

In step S190, as in step S160, disconnection of the mailbox, disconnection of the server, and disconnection of the line of the mobile phone PT are executed. However, unlike step S160, the fact that these processes are being executed is not displayed in step S190. That is, these disconnection processes are executed without notifying the user.

Next, a mail list display process in step S20 of FIG. 6 is executed. FIG. 8 shows a step S20.
It is a flowchart which shows the mail list display processing of. The mail list display processing is executed by the selection setting unit 136 (FIG. 2). When the mail list display process is started, first, a list of unreceived mails is displayed on the first display unit 50 in step S210. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an unreceived mail list screen. The unreceived mail list screen includes a set column, a sender column, and a title.

On the unreceived mail list screen, one piece of unreceived mail information can be selectively displayed (black / white inverted display) using the up and down direction keys. At this time, by selecting the space key, a reception mark (●) is set in the set column of the e-mail selected and displayed in step S220. By selecting the delete key, a delete mark (x) is set in the set column of the e-mail selected and displayed in step S230. In addition,
The setting is released by selecting the same key twice.

By pressing the execution key, an overview of the unreceived mail selected and displayed in step S240 can be displayed in detail. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a non-received mail displayed in detail. Since the actual data and attachments of the email have not been received,
Only information useful for knowing the contents is displayed. Information such as the sender and the sender's mail address is displayed in the sender (From) column. In the title column, title information of the e-mail is displayed. When there is an attached image, information on the attached image is displayed in the attached column. By selecting the return key, it is possible to return to the unreceived mail list screen in step S210.

The above steps S220 to S24
0 is a process in which the user selects the return key in step S210 and the process in step S250 is executed.
Alternatively, select the function key F1 and go to step S2
The processing is repeatedly executed until the processing of step 60 is executed. Thus, of the unreceived mails, an e-mail desired to be received (reception selected mail) and an e-mail desired to be deleted (deletion selected mail) can be set. The setting information of the reception mark and the deletion mark corresponds to the selection information of the present invention.

When the return key is selected, step S25
At 0, an end confirmation screen is displayed. For example, if the user selects "Yes" indicating that he / she wants to end and presses the execution key, the list information of the unreceived mail is deleted, and the mail list display processing is ended, and the selection of the e-mail is performed. The process ends. On the other hand, if the user selects “No” indicating that he does not want to end and presses the execution key,
The process of step S210 is performed again.

When the e-mail selection process is completed, the display on the first display unit 50 returns to the display before the start of the e-mail selection process. That is, in this embodiment, the display returns to the display of the received mail list screen (FIG. 5).

If function key F1 is selected in step S210, the process of step S260 is executed. In step S260, it is determined based on the selection information whether or not there is an electronic mail (hereinafter, also referred to as “marked mail”) in which the reception mark or the deletion mark is set. If there is no marked mail, an indication that the mark is not set is displayed. Then, by selecting any key on the keyboard 80,
The process of step S210 is performed again.

If there is a marked mail, the selective reception process in step S30 of FIG. 6 is executed. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the selective reception processing in step S30. The selection receiving process is executed by the selection receiving unit 137 (FIG. 2). When the selective reception process is started, first, in step S301, the state of the in-process flag is checked, and the final selection reception process is performed in step S20.
Is executed after step S260 in the mail list display processing of step S10, that is, the processing is executed after selecting and setting an e-mail desired to be received from the unreceived mail list, After step S120 in the acquisition process, it is determined whether the process is executed without acquiring the mail list. The case where the in-process flag has already been set will be described later.

If the in-process flag is not set and the execution is to be performed after selecting and setting an e-mail desired to be received in the unreceived mail list, the in-process flag is set in step S310. The in-process flag means that there is a process of receiving the selected mail and deleting the deleted mail. Then, in step S320, it is determined whether there is a setting for the received mail. That is, it is determined whether there is an e-mail with the reception mark set.

If no received mail is set, a screen indicating that the electronic mail is being deleted is displayed on the first display unit 50 in step S330. On the other hand, if there is a setting for the received mail, a display indicating that the electronic mail is being received is displayed on the first display unit 50 in step S340. A display indicating the progress of the reception is also performed. For example, “number of received items / total number of received items” is displayed.

In step S350, connection of the line of the portable telephone PT, connection of the server, and connection of the corresponding mailbox are executed. However, during these series of processes, a display indicating that each process is being executed is not performed. That is, these series of processes are executed without notifying the user.

Then, in step S360, only the e-mail with the reception mark set is received as the reception selection mail. In step S370, the deletion selection mail with the deletion mark set is deleted. In step S380, the work in progress flag is set. Reset. If there is no reception selection mail, step S360
The processing of step S370 is executed without executing the processing of.

At step S390, disconnection of the mailbox, disconnection of the server, and disconnection of the line of the portable telephone PT are executed. In step 390, it is displayed that these cutting processes are being executed. That is, these disconnection processes are notified to the user.

Next, a selective reception ending process in step S40 of FIG. 6 is executed. The selective reception end processing is executed by the selective receiving unit 137 (FIG. 2). FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows selection reception end processing. When the selection reception ending process starts, a selection reception end screen is displayed in step S410, and the number of received e-mails and the number of deleted e-mails are displayed. Then, by selecting any key on the keyboard 80, the selection reception ending process is ended, and the e-mail selection process is ended.

When the e-mail selection process is completed, the display on the first display unit 50 returns to the display before the start of the e-mail selection process. That is, in this embodiment, the display returns to the display of the received mail list screen. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the received mail list screen after the selection processing is completed. As can be seen from a comparison with the received mail list screen (FIG. 5) before the e-mail selection process is started, only the selectively received e-mails, that is, only the e-mails of sender A and sender B in FIG. Received and displayed in unread state.

As described above, in the portable mail terminal 100, a list of unreceived mails can be acquired, and only the e-mail desired to be received can be selected and received. In addition, it is possible to delete an e-mail that the user wants to delete without receiving the e-mail. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently execute the reception of the e-mail. Also, when obtaining a list of unreceived e-mails and selecting an e-mail to be received, when the communication line connected by the mobile phone is temporarily disconnected and the selected e-mail is received, Since the communication line can be connected again, the connection time of the communication line can be shortened. Therefore, it is efficient in terms of reducing communication costs. It also has the effect of extending the battery life of the device. Further, since the process of once disconnecting and reconnecting the communication line is executed without notifying the user, for example, a misunderstanding that a communication error has occurred due to the disconnection of the line. Is not given to the user.

Here, if a communication error occurs during the process from step S350 to step S380 in FIG. 11, or if the process is interrupted by the user selecting the return key, the reception selection is performed. Reception of mail or deletion of selected mail is interrupted. At this time,
The in-process flag set in step S320 is not reset, and the set state is maintained as it is. Also,
The selection information is also retained without being deleted. However, the setting information of the reception mark or the deletion mark of the received e-mail or the deleted e-mail is deleted. In addition, as the selection information, not only the reception mark or the deletion mark may be reset, but also the processed information may be deleted from the unreceived mail list information. It is preferable that the held information is held even when the power of the apparatus is turned off. For example, it is preferable that the held information is stored in the ROM 140 which is a nonvolatile memory.

As described above, when the process of selecting an e-mail in FIG. 6 is started in a state where the in-process flag is held, in step S110 of the mail list obtaining process in FIG. The status is confirmed.
If the in-process flag is set, step S1
At 20, the first display unit 50 displays a message indicating that there is an in-process mail, that is, that the selected mail processing including reception of the set selected mail and deletion of the selected mail is suspended. Will be In addition, a selection screen for selecting whether to newly acquire a mail list or to continuously execute e-mail processing is displayed. FIG.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a first display unit 20 in 20. In this example, the fact that there is a mail in process is indicated by displaying "There is a mail that could not be processed last time."

If the user selects function key F1 to select a new mail list in step S120 in FIG. 7, the process flag is reset in step S130, and the process in step S140 is executed. A new mail list is obtained. On the other hand, when the user selects the function key F2 and selects to continue the previous operation, the selection receiving process in step S30 of FIG. 6 is executed. When the selection reception process is started, as described above, the state of the in-process flag is checked in step S301 of FIG. Here, since the in-process flag has already been set, the mobile phone PT is determined in step S302.
The connection of the line, the connection of the server and the connection of the corresponding mailbox are executed. During the series of processes, a screen indicating that each process is being executed is sequentially displayed on the first display unit 50.

Then, in step S303, it is determined whether there is a setting for the received mail. That is, it is determined whether there is an e-mail with the reception mark set. If there is an incoming mail setting, step S3
Proceeding to step 60, the reception selection mail is received, and the processing of step S370 and thereafter is executed. On the other hand, when there is no setting of the received mail, the process proceeds to step S370, the deletion selection mail is deleted, and the processing of step S380 and thereafter is performed.

Therefore, even if the processing of the selected mail to be received or the selected mail to be deleted is interrupted due to a communication error or the like, the next time the e-mail selection processing is executed,
The process can be continued by checking the in-process flag indicating that there is an unprocessed reception selection mail or deletion selection mail, that is, interruption information indicating that the selection mail processing has been interrupted. As a result, it is possible to continue receiving and receiving unreceived selected mails and deleting undeleted deleted selected mails without having to start over from acquiring unlisted mail list information. Can receive and delete emails.

When the selected mail processing is interrupted,
Instead of continuing to process unprocessed selected mail, such as unreceived selected mail and undeleted deleted mail,
The selection mail processing may be performed again. In this case as well, the efficiency is lower than in the case where the processing of the unprocessed selected mail is continued, but the selected mail processing can be performed without acquiring the list information of the unreceived mail. E-mail reception and deletion can be executed efficiently.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the following modifications are possible. is there.

(1) In the e-mail selection processing of the above embodiment, an example will be described in which both the selection of an e-mail to be deleted and the selection of an e-mail to be received are possible. However, it may be necessary to always select an e-mail to be received.

(2) In the selective reception process of the above-described embodiment, an example will be described in which, when the reception of the selected mail or the deletion of the selected mail is interrupted, the in-process flag is kept set. However, the work-in-progress flag may be held only when the reception of the selected mail is interrupted. In this case, the order of the processes in step S370 and step S380 in FIG. 11 can be changed.

(3) In the above embodiment, the portable mail terminal 100 has the two display units 50 and 60.
Only one display unit may be provided, or three or more display units may be provided.

(4) Portable mail terminal 10 of the above embodiment
0 enables transmission and reception of e-mail by connecting to the portable telephone PT, but the portable mail terminal 10
0 may have a function of a mobile phone.

(5) In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the portable mail terminal 100 has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to various devices such as a portable telephone, a portable information terminal, and a personal computer. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a portable mail terminal 1 as one embodiment of the present invention.
It is an explanatory view showing the appearance of 00.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the portable mail terminal 100.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing two display units 50 and 60 in FIG. 1A in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a sent mail list screen displayed on a first display unit 50 by selecting and executing a sent box in a “mail box” process.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a received mail list screen displayed on a first display unit 50 by selecting and executing a received box in a “mail box” process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of an electronic mail selection process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a mail list acquisition process in step S10.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a mail list display process in step S20.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an unreceived mail list screen.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of an unreceived mail displayed in detail.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a selective reception process in step S30.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a selective reception end process.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a received mail list screen after selection processing is completed.

FIG. 14 shows a first display unit 50 in step S120.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen.

[Description of Signs] 20: body case section 23 ... storage section 24 ... first lid 24b ... battery box 25 ... second lid 25b ... media box 30 ... display case section 40 ... hinge section 50 ... first display section (Monochrome LCD) 60 ... second display unit (color LCD) 65 ... touch panel 65K1-65K9 ... touch panel key 70 ... camera 80 ... keyboard 82 ... touch pen 90 ... connection cable 100 ... portable mail terminal 110b ... bus 120 ... ROM 130 ... RAM 132 ... Overall management unit 134 ... Mail processing unit 135 ... List acquisition unit 136 ... Selection setting unit 137 ... Selection reception unit 138 ... Image processing unit 150 ... Monochrome LCD controller 160 ... Color LCD controller 162 ... VRAM 165 ... Touch panel controller 170 … Video capture Key device 180: Keyboard controller 190: Memory card interface 200: Mobile phone interface MC: Memory card PT: Mobile phone

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A portable mail terminal, comprising: an input unit for a user to instruct an operation of the portable mail terminal; an electronic mail processing unit capable of receiving an electronic mail via a communication line; A display unit for displaying the received e-mail, wherein the e-mail processing unit connects the communication line when the user instructs an e-mail selection reception process via the input unit. After acquiring the list information of the received e-mails, a list acquisition unit that disconnects the communication line, based on the list information of the unreceived e-mails displayed on the display unit in the disconnected state of the communication line. A selection setting unit that allows the user to set an e-mail desired to be received as a reception selection mail; and a user receiving the reception selection mail following the setting of the reception selection mail. If the instructed through the input unit, a portable mail terminal, wherein connecting the communication line, and a selection receiving unit that executes the selected mail processing including receiving the reception selection mail. 2. The portable mail terminal according to claim 1, wherein the selection setting unit further selects and deletes the e-mail that the user wants to delete based on the list information of the unreceived e-mails. A portable mail terminal that allows setting as mail, and wherein the selection receiving unit executes a selection mail process including receiving the reception selection mail set by the user and deleting the deletion selection mail. 3. The portable mail terminal according to claim 1, wherein the selection receiving unit indicates that the selected mail processing has been interrupted when the selected mail processing has been interrupted. A portable mail terminal that holds interruption information and selection information indicating a selected mail processed by the selected mail processing. 4. The portable mail terminal according to claim 3, wherein the list acquisition unit is configured to output the interruption information when the user instructs a selection reception process of the e-mail via the input unit. The portable mail terminal, wherein when it is held, it does not execute the acquisition of the list information of the unreceived e-mails, and the selection receiving unit executes the selected mail processing based on the held selection information. 5. The portable mail terminal according to claim 4, wherein the selection receiving unit transmits the selection information to the selected mail that has been processed to substantially indicate that the processing has been completed. Generate a portable email terminal. 6. The portable mail terminal according to claim 4, wherein the list acquisition unit, when the interruption information is held, selects mail processing by the selection reception unit and the list mail. A portable mail terminal that allows the user to select one of processing of acquiring list information of unreceived e-mails by an acquiring unit. 7. The portable mail terminal according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail processing unit instructs the user to perform a batch receiving process of the electronic mail via the input unit. A portable mail terminal for connecting the communication line to collectively receive unreceived e-mails. 8. The portable mail terminal according to claim 1, wherein the disconnection of the communication line in the list obtaining unit and the connection of the communication line in the selection receiving unit are performed by the communication unit. A portable mail terminal that does not ask the user for confirmation. 9. An electronic mail receiving method in a portable mail terminal capable of receiving an electronic mail via a communication line, wherein: (a) when receiving an instruction from the user to selectively receive an electronic mail, A step of disconnecting the communication line after connecting the communication line and obtaining a list information of unreceived e-mails; and (b) transmitting the list information of the unreceived e-mails in the disconnected state of the communication line. Displaying a selection screen for setting an e-mail that the user desires to receive from the list information as a reception selection mail; and (c) following the setting of the reception selection mail by the user. An e-mail receiving method, wherein when receiving the selected mail is instructed, the communication line is connected and the selected mail is received. 10. A computer-readable recording medium in which a computer program for causing a user to receive an e-mail desired to be received by a portable mail terminal capable of receiving an e-mail via a communication line is provided. A function of disconnecting the communication line after connecting the communication line and obtaining list information of unreceived e-mails when receiving an instruction of an e-mail selection reception process by the user; and In a disconnected state, including a list information of the unreceived e-mail, a function of displaying a selection screen for setting the e-mail the user desires to receive from the list information as a reception selection mail, When the user instructs reception of the reception selection mail following the setting of the reception selection mail, connects the communication line, A computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program for causing the portable mail terminal to realize the function of receiving the reception selection mail.