JP4571036B2 - Mobile terminal with mail function - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a mail transmission / reception function using a plurality of methods, and more particularly to a technique for improving convenience when creating a mail.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are services such as SMS (Short Message Service) that can exchange short text messages between mobile phones. Since this service has a standard for each company, in principle, it is possible to send and receive only between subscribers of the same company, and the number of characters in messages that can be sent and received is limited to several tens of characters. However, there is a feature that transmission / reception costs are low.

  On the other hand, services for connecting to the Internet from mobile phones have been provided, and so-called e-mail transmission and reception are also possible. This e-mail exchanges text messages over the Internet, and can send and receive long messages. The number of characters in this message may differ depending on the business operator or model, and a technique for dividing and transmitting as a plurality of e-mails in consideration of the case where the number of characters that can be received is exceeded on the receiving side is disclosed (Patent Document 1). reference).

As described above, at present, many mobile phones have at least two methods for exchanging messages with other mobile phones, and the user uses different message exchange methods depending on the message transmission partner and message length. Can be done.
JP 2002-247102 A

However, when creating a message, it is necessary to decide in advance which method is used to send the message and then create the message to be sent.
Therefore, if the content you want to convey during message creation cannot be written with the maximum number of characters that can be transmitted, or if you want to convey more messages, create a message from the beginning with another method with a large number of characters that can be transmitted, Had to be created with a message.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone having a mail function that does not need to be aware of the number of characters that can be transmitted in a message being created.

  In order to solve the above problems, the mobile terminal of the present invention is a mobile terminal having a plurality of methods of mail transmission function having different numbers of characters that can be transmitted, and storage means for storing destinations corresponding to each of the plurality of methods, The selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of methods, the specifying means for specifying the destination corresponding to the selected method, the character number acquiring means for acquiring the number of characters of the mail body being created, and the selecting means A transmission means for transmitting e-mail, and the selection means is different from the selected method when the number of characters acquired by the character number acquisition means is equal to or greater than the maximum number of the selected methods. Reselection, the designation means designates a destination corresponding to the reselected scheme.

  Since the mobile terminal according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, it is possible to change the mail transmission method even while the mail is being created. Therefore, even if the number of characters in the mail body increases, transmission according to the number of characters You will be able to send emails in the same way. Furthermore, when the transmission method is changed, the destination is changed according to the transmission method, so that it is not necessary to consider the destination designation method for each transmission method.

Therefore, even if you start composing an email with a transmission method with a small number of characters that can be sent, you can compose an email without worrying about the number of characters in the email body. can do.
In addition, when there are a plurality of methods capable of transmitting the mail having the number of characters acquired by the character number acquisition unit, the selection unit may select a method having a smaller number of characters that can be transmitted.

As a result, even if the number of characters in the mail body being created is small, the mail can be transmitted by a transmission method suitable for the number of characters, so that it is possible to transmit the mail without waste. This is because the transmission fee varies depending on the mail transmission method and the number of characters transmitted.
In addition, the mobile terminal further includes an acquisition unit that externally acquires one of the methods that can transmit an email having the number of characters acquired by the character number acquisition unit, and the selection unit is selected as an email being created Instead of the existing method, the method acquired by the acquisition unit may be newly selected.

Thereby, since the user can select the transmission method, the user can set the mail transmission method in consideration of the other party.
Further, the storage means stores a telephone number as a destination corresponding to a method of sending mail by a circuit switching method among the plurality of methods, and an email address as a destination corresponding to a method of sending mail by a packet switching method The selecting means may designate a telephone number if the newly selected method is a circuit switched method, and may specify an e-mail address if the newly selected method is a packet switched method. Good.

Thus, when the transmission method is changed to SMS mail, the telephone number is the destination, and when the transmission method is changed to E-mail, the mail address is the destination. Therefore, for example, even if the transmission method is changed from SMS mail to e-mail, there is no need to redesignate the destination.
<Embodiment>
<Overview>
The mail function of the mobile phone according to the present invention is to change the current mail transmission method without changing the created mail body when the number of characters of the created mail body reaches the number of transmittable characters. By changing to a method that can send more characters, you can create emails to the end without interrupting the task of creating emails.

When this method is changed, if the method designated as the mail destination is changed to a different method, the destination is automatically changed.
Hereinafter, a mobile phone according to the present invention will be described.
<Configuration>
Hereinafter, a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

It is assumed that the mobile phone according to the present embodiment has a function of transmitting two types of mail, SMS mail (hereinafter referred to as “SMS mail”) and E-mail.
SMS mail has a feature that the number of characters of mail that can be sent is small, but since it reaches the other party directly when sent, it can be confirmed that it has arrived. On the other hand, e-mail has a remarkably large number of characters of e-mail that can be transmitted, but is stored once in the server and arrives after the other party can receive it. In addition, the e-mail has a feature that a large-capacity file such as an image can be attached and transmitted.

These differences between SMS mails and e-mails arise from their different mail transmission methods.
The SMS mail, like a conversation on a normal mobile phone, delivers the mail to the transmission partner by circuit switching, while the e-mail delivers the mail to the transmission partner by packet switching.
Hereinafter, these transmission methods will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a mail transmission method that can be transmitted by a mobile phone.
A mail from the mobile phone 1000 is sent to the base station 9000 by a digital wireless communication method such as a PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) method. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that communication is performed by a PDC method that employs TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).

At this time, the SMS mail is converted into a data format conforming to a standard unique to each carrier, stored in a TDMA frame, and transmitted to the base station 9000. On the other hand, the e-mail is stored in a TDMA frame with data as a packet and transmitted to the base station 9000.
Both SMS mail and e-mail are sent to the base station as PDMA TDMA signals, although the contents are different.

The base station determines which mail signal the transmitted signal is, and if it is an SMS mail, it is connected to the telephone network 9110 via the mobile communication switch 9100 and has a one-to-one communication with the transmission partner. Establish a circuit. Then, send mail through the established line. That is, calling the other party and sending characters instead of voice.
On the other hand, if it is an e-mail, the packet processing device 9200 performs a process for assembling the packet and is sent to the packet switching network 9210. The packet switch constituting the packet switch network interprets the header of the packet, and the packet reaches the other party while being transferred between the packet switches through the optimum line. The receiving side generates mail from a plurality of received packets.

Next, the configuration of the mobile phone according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 1000.
The cellular phone 1000 includes an address book storage unit 2000, a mail method storage unit 3000, a control unit 1100, an operation unit 1200, a display 1300, a transmission / reception unit 1400, a mail creation unit 1500, a character number monitoring unit 1600, a mail transmission method selection unit 1700, and a mode. A change unit 1800 is included.

First, the address book storage unit 2000 has a function of storing a so-called address book. The address book is information that associates a personal name with a telephone number, a mail address that is a mail destination, an address, and the like.
The mail method storage unit 3000 has a function of storing the SMS mail and e-mail specifications, for example, the number of characters that can be transmitted and the communication method.

The data stored in these storage units will be described in detail later in <Data>.
The control unit 1100 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown), and performs general control processing necessary for the mobile phone such as message display control and communication control, and also performs control processing unique to the present invention.

The operation unit 1200 has a function of detecting an input medium such as a numeric keypad or a confirmation key that is generally included in a mobile phone and an operation thereof.
In addition, the display 1300 has a function of displaying data passed from the control unit 1100.
The transmission / reception unit 1400 has a function of transmitting / receiving data.

The transmission / reception unit 1400 includes a packet communication unit 1410 and a line communication unit 1420, and the mobile phone 1000 supports two types of communication methods.
Here, the packet communication unit 1410 has a function of performing communication by a packet switching method. Specifically, the contents of the mail are processed into a data format that conforms to the standards of the operator and stored in a TDMA frame. Send.

The line communication unit 1420 has a function of performing communication using a line switching method. Specifically, the line communication unit 1420 generates a plurality of packets by dividing the content of the mail, stores the packets in a TDMA frame, and transmits them.
The mail creation unit 1500 has a function of creating SMS mail and e-mail. Specifically, the mail mode selected by the user is entered, and the mail destination is set and the mail text is created in accordance with the user's operation. Hereinafter, a case where an SMS mail is created is referred to as an SMS mail mode, and a case where an email is created is referred to as an email mode.

It is assumed that the created mail destination and mail text are stored in the internal work memory by the mail creating unit 1500.
Next, the character number monitoring unit 1600 has a function of monitoring the number of characters in the mail text created by the mail creating unit 1500. The number of characters is managed each time a user adds or deletes characters in the mail body.

Further, the character number monitoring unit 1600 stores the current mail mode and the like, and when the number of characters in the created mail text reaches the number of transmittable characters, notifies the mail transmission method selecting unit 1700 to that effect. The mode change unit 1800 also has a function of requesting to change the mail mode.
The mail transmission method selection unit 1700 has a function of determining the type of mail being created, in other words, a method for transmitting mail.

Specifically, a message is displayed on the display 1300 and the user is allowed to select the type of mail.
The mode changing unit 1800 has a function of changing the mail mode currently created by the mail creating unit 1500. At that time, the mail address is also changed so as to match the new mail mode. Specifically, in the case of SMS mail, it is a telephone number, and in the case of E-mail, it is a mail address.

Here, all or a part of each process by each unit such as the control unit 1100 is realized by a CPU (not shown) executing various programs.
<Data>
Hereinafter, main data used by the mobile phone 1000 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the mail method information 3100.
This mail method information 3100 is stored in the mail method storage unit 3000 and indicates the mail specifications.
The mail method information 3100 includes a mail type 3110, the number of characters 3120, and a communication method 3130.

The mail type 3110 represents the mail name and identifies the mail type.
The number of characters 3120 is the number of characters when expressed in full-width in the mail text that can be transmitted by the mail represented by the mail type 3110. In this embodiment, it is represented by the number of double-byte characters, but may be a data size or the like. .
For example, since the mail represented by the mail type 3110 “SMS mail” has the number of characters 3120 “50”, the mail text can be transmitted up to 50 characters.

A communication method 3130 represents an exchange method for transmitting mail. For example, a mail represented by a mail type 3110 “SMS mail” is transmitted by a communication method 3130 “circuit switching method”.
Next, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the address information 2100.
This address information 2100 is stored in the address book storage unit 2000 and indicates one personal information. A plurality of address information 2100 are collected to form an address book.

The address information 2100 includes a name 2110, a mobile phone number 2120, a home phone number 2130, a mobile mail address 2140, and a PC mail address 2150.
The name 2110 is the name of the individual represented by the address information 2100, and there is no same name in the address book and can be a search key.
The mobile phone number 2120 is a mobile phone number of an individual represented by the name 2110, and the home phone number 2130 is a home fixed phone number.

A mobile mail address 2140 is a mail address to a mobile phone of an individual represented by a name 2110, and a PC mail address 2150 is a mail address to a personal computer at home.
Note that “(normal)” of the mobile phone number 2120 “0901112345 (normal)” indicates that this phone number is normally used out of the mobile phone number 2120 and the home phone number 2130 when calling this individual. . Here, when calling a certain person, this number is called unless a special operation is performed. In the case of SMS mail, this telephone number is set as the destination at the start of creation.

The same applies to the mobile mail address 2140. In this case, it is set as the destination at the start of mail creation.
<Operation>
Hereinafter, the operation of the above-described mobile phone 1000 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing mail creation / transmission processing of the mobile phone.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a mail creation screen in the mail creation / transmission process. Assume that the mail creation screen 7000 displays the email creation screen 7100, the email creation screen 7200, and the email creation screen 7300 in time series.
The operation using FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the mail creation screen.
First, the user instructs creation of an SMS mail from the operation unit 1200. For example, the user presses an SMS mail creation button.

The operation unit 1200 that has detected the SMS mail creation instruction notifies the mail creation unit 1500 of the fact via the control unit 1100.
Receiving the notification of the SMS mail creation instruction, the mail creation unit 1500 performs the process of starting the creation of the SMS mail (step S100). The creation start process is to notify the character number monitoring unit 1600 that the mail to be created is an SMS mail, and to make the creation of the mail conform to the user.

  The number-of-characters monitoring unit 1600 that has received an SMS mail stores the type of the mail mode in the internal work memory. Further, the number of transmittable characters is acquired from the mail mode and the mail method information 3100 and stored. For example, since the current mail mode is the SMS mail mode, the number of characters 3120 of the mail type 3110 “SMS mail” is “50”, and 50 characters are stored as the number of transmittable characters.

In addition, to create a mail according to the user, specifically, a mail creation screen is displayed on the display 1300 via the control unit 1100 and input is performed. On the mail creation screen (7000, 7100, 7200), a mail destination field (7010, 7210, 7310) and a mail text field (7020, 7220, 7320) are displayed.
While viewing the SMS mail mail creation screen displayed on the display 1300, the user operates the operation unit 1200 to create a mail destination and a mail text (see step S110, mail creation screen 7000).

A mail address field 7010 is referred to an address book or the like, and a mail address is entered. In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, a telephone number or an e-mail address is described as it is (hereinafter the same). A name 2110 (see FIG. 4) or the like may be displayed so that the user can easily recognize who the destination is.
This mail destination is stored in the work memory in the mail creation unit 1500 together with the name 2110. The address book can be searched using the name 2110 as a key.

To create a mail text, the control unit 1100 converts kana input from the operation unit 1200 into kanji, and the mail creation unit 1500 receives characters that are confirmed by pressing a confirmation key or the like, and the mail creation unit 1500 performs internal work. Accumulate in memory.
When mail creation unit 1500 receives the confirmed character, it notifies current number of characters to character number monitoring unit 1600. After notification, if there is an instruction to continue creation from the character number monitoring unit 1600, the next character is input.

  The number-of-characters monitoring unit 1600 that has received the number of characters compares the stored number of transmittable characters (step S120), and if the received number of characters has reached the number of transmittable characters (step S120: NO), sends a message to that effect. The method selection unit 1700 is notified. This notification may be made, for example, when the number of characters that can be transmitted is exceeded, or may be determined at the Kana input stage after determining the number of characters after conversion to Kanji. Depends on the system.

The mail transmission method selection unit 1700 that has received the notification to that effect displays a pop-up message 7110 on the display 1300 via the control unit 1100 (step S200).
This pop-up message 7110 is displayed for two purposes. There are two purposes: notifying the user that no more characters can be entered because the mail text has reached the maximum number of characters that can be sent, and giving the opportunity to change to a mail with more characters that can be sent.

The pop-up message 7110 has a switch button 7111 for instructing to switch to another mail and an edit button 7112 for instructing to continue editing the current mail.
When the user presses one of the buttons (7111, 7112) of the pop-up message 7110, the operation unit 1200 detects and notifies the control unit 1100. The mail transmission method selection unit 1700 that has been notified by the control unit 1100 that the button has been pressed issues an instruction to the control unit 1100 to delete the pop-up message 7110.

  At this time, the mail transmission method selection unit 1700 that has received from the control unit 1100 that the edit button has been pressed (step S210: edit) notifies the character number monitoring unit 1600 of that fact. The character number monitoring unit 1600 that has received the notification notifies the mail creation unit 1500 of an instruction to continue creation, and the received mail creation unit 1500 continues to edit and create email (step S110, email creation screen 7300). In this case, there is no change in the mail destination field 7310 and the mail text field 7320.

  When the switching button 7111 is pressed (step S210: switching), the mail transmission method selection unit 1700 that has received the notification from the control unit 1100 notifies the number-of-characters monitoring unit 1600 of that fact. Receiving the notification, the character number monitoring unit 1600 instructs the mode changing unit 1800 to switch from the stored current SMS mail mode to the email mode. Thereafter, the e-mail mode is stored as the current mail mode stored, and the number of characters that can be transmitted in the e-mail is stored. For example, it is 5000 characters (see FIG. 3).

  Upon receiving an instruction to switch to the e-mail mode, the mode changing unit 1800 requests that the mail destination name 2110 stored in the mail creating unit 1500 be handed over, and searches the address book using the passed name 2110 as a key. To do. From the address information 2100 having the corresponding name 2110, an e-mail address with “(normal)” designation is selected, and the contents of the address are passed to the e-mail creating unit 1500.

The mail creation unit 1500 that has received the mail address displays the received mail address in the mail destination field 7210 (step S220). For example, in the e-mail creation screen 7200, the e-mail destination column 7210 contains the mobile mail address 2140 (see FIG. 4) “aabb@xxx.ppp.jp” of the name 2110 “Hanako Yamada”.
Thereafter, a mail is created in the e-mail mode (step S230, mail creation screen 7200). In this case, the mail destination field 7210 is changed, but the mail body field 7220 is not changed. The entered mail text remains unchanged. That is, even if the mode is changed to the e-mail mode, the user can continue to create the mail text as it is, and there is no need to change the destination from the telephone number to the mail address.

  In creating the mail text, the number of characters in the email text is checked in the same procedure as in step 120. If the number of characters that can be sent and the email reaches 5000 characters (step S240: NO), a pop-up is performed in step S200. In the same procedure as that for displaying the message 7110, a warning message with the content “the number of characters that can be sent by e-mail has been reached” is displayed (step S250). If the OK key is pressed here, the creation of the mail text is continued (step S230).

If the number of characters in the mail text has not reached the number of characters that can be transmitted (step S240: YES) and the control unit 1100 detects pressing of the character input key via the operation unit 1200, it is determined to continue creating the mail text (step S260: Edit) A mail text is created (step S230).
If it is detected that the transmission key is pressed (step S260: transmission), the control unit 1100 instructs the mail transmission method selection unit 1700 to select the mail transmission method.

  Upon receiving the instruction, the mail transmission method selection unit 1700 inquires of the character number monitoring unit 1600 about the current mail mode, and selects the communication method 3130 from the acquired mail mode and the mail method information 3100. For example, since the current mail mode is an e-mail mode, the communication method 3130 “packet exchange method” of the mail type 3110 “E-mail” is selected. The mail transmission method selection unit 1700 notifies the control unit 1100 of the selected communication method 3130 as the mail transmission method.

Upon receiving the notification of the mail transmission method, the control unit 1100 receives the mail destination and the mail text stored in the mail generation unit 1500 from the mail generation unit 1500 and passes them to the transmission / reception unit 1400 together with the received mail transmission method. Instruct to send.
The transmission / reception unit 1400 that has received the transmission instruction issues an instruction to transmit mail to the packet communication unit 1410 or the line communication unit 1420 in accordance with the received mail transmission method, and the communication unit (1410 or 1420) that has received the instruction Send mail according to each method.

Since the current mail mode is the e-mail mode, the packet is exchanged (step S270).
If the number of characters that can be sent is not reached with the SMS mail that has started to be created, and the character input key is pressed, the creation of the SMS mail text is continued (step S130: edit). If the send key is pressed, the created SMS mail is sent by the circuit switching method in the same procedure as in step S270 (step S140).

<Supplement>
The mobile phone according to the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment. However, the mobile phone can be partially modified, and the present invention is of course not limited to the above-described embodiment. That is,
(1) In the embodiment, a pop-up message is displayed and the user is allowed to select whether or not to switch to e-mail. However, it may be possible to set in advance that the mode is automatically switched.

In this case, it is necessary for the mail transmission method selection unit 1700 to store the fact that the automatic switching is performed.
In the embodiment, a mobile phone having two types of mail functions, SMS mail and e-mail, has been described as an example. Therefore, the pop-up message is a message asking whether to switch to e-mail. It is also possible to display all communication methods that can be transmitted and allow the user to select them.
(2) In the embodiment, only the change from SMS mail to e-mail, that is, mail from a small number of characters that can be transmitted to a mail that has a large number of characters that can be transmitted has been described. When the number of characters that can be transmitted by SMS mail is reduced, it may be changed to SMS mail again.

That is, when a part of the mail text is deleted, the method is changed to a method capable of transmitting the reduced number of characters, and the destination is changed to a method suitable for the communication method.
In this case as well, the user may make a selection by a pop-up message or the like, or may be set to be changed in advance.
Further, the mail mode may be selected based on the number of characters in the mail body when sending the mail.
(3) In the embodiment, it is described that there is one mail type for each of the two communication methods (see FIG. 3), but there may be a plurality of mail types with different numbers of transmittable characters for one communication method. .
(4) A program for causing the CPU to execute each control process (see FIG. 2 and the like) for realizing each function of the mobile phone shown in the embodiment is recorded on a recording medium or via various communication paths. It can also be distributed and distributed. Such a recording medium includes an IC card, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a ROM, a flash memory, and the like. The distributed and distributed program is used by being stored in a memory or the like that can be read by a CPU in the device, and the CPU executes the program to realize each function of the mobile phone shown in the embodiment. Is done.

  This is useful as a technique for selecting a mail type during mail creation in a portable terminal having a plurality of mail functions.

It is the schematic which shows the transmission system of the mail which a mobile telephone can transmit. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone 1000. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of contents of mail method information 3100. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of contents of address information 2100. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the mail preparation transmission process of a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the example of the mail preparation screen in mail preparation transmission processing.

Explanation of symbols

1000 cellular phone 1100 mail creation unit 1100 control unit 1200 operation unit 1300 display 1400 transmission / reception unit 1410 packet communication unit 1420 line communication unit 1500 mail creation unit 1600 character number monitoring unit 1700 mail transmission method selection unit 1800 mode change unit 2000 address book storage unit 2100 Address information 3000 Mail method storage unit 3100 Mail method information 7000 7100 7200 7300 Mail creation screen 7010 7210 7310 Mail destination field 7020 7220 7320 Mail text field 7110 Pop-up message 9000 Base station 9100 Mobile communication switch 9110 Telephone network 9200 Packet processing device 9210 Packet exchange network

Claims (4)

A mobile terminal having a multi-method mail transmission function with different number of characters that can be transmitted,
Storage means for storing a destination corresponding to each of the plurality of methods;
Selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of methods;
A designation means for designating a destination corresponding to the selected method;
Character number acquisition means for acquiring the number of characters in the mail body being created,
In the method selected by the selection means, comprising a transmission means for sending mail,
When the number of characters acquired by the number of characters acquisition unit is greater than or equal to the maximum number of characters of the selected method, the selection unit re-selects a method different from the selected method, and after selecting the different method again If the number of characters acquired by the number-of-characters acquisition unit is less than the maximum number of characters, re-select the method that was originally selected, or select the different method based on an instruction from the user. Select one of the methods
The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the designation unit designates a destination corresponding to the scheme selected last by the selection unit. The selection unit further selects a method having a smaller number of characters that can be transmitted when there are a plurality of methods capable of transmitting an email having the number of characters acquired by the character number acquisition unit. Mobile devices. The portable terminal further includes an acquisition unit that acquires from the outside one of the methods capable of transmitting an email with the number of characters acquired by the character number acquisition unit,
The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit newly selects the method acquired by the acquisition unit instead of the method selected for the mail being created. The storage means stores a telephone number as a destination corresponding to a method of sending mail by a circuit switching method among the plurality of methods, and stores an e-mail address as a destination corresponding to a method of sending mail by a packet switching method. And
The selection means designates a telephone number when a new selection method is a circuit switching method, and designates an e-mail address when a new selection method is a packet switching method. 1. The mobile terminal according to 1.

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