JPH0514404A - Mail management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize the mail management system compatible with the network configuration and the mail address configuration of the mail service in which all mail box resources are read while the mail box resources used by one user are decentralized in the network. CONSTITUTION:Each exchange 9 is provided with a mail management section 6 having a function which defines a mail box address used to manage flexibly the cross reference between user terminal equipments and mail boxes in existence decentralizingly in the exchange 9 and registers/deletes a mail box address corresponding to each terminal equipment from each terminal equipment 1 and managing the mail address, and with a communication management section 5 managing the communication system for the network, and each user terminal equipment 1 reads a mail without taking notice of decentralized arrangement of mail boxes while the mail boxes are decentralized in the plural exchanges 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention In a communication system centering on an exchange, the present invention registers information such as information to be transmitted asynchronously when the caller is absent or in a mailbox corresponding to the callee. The present invention relates to a mail management method that is sent when a callee requests it later.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional example based on the mail management disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-85647, and FIG. 6 shows the mailboxes 3a ...
The detailed example of 3n is shown. In the configuration of FIG. 5, 1a to 1n are terminals, 2a to 2n are control devices corresponding to the terminals 1a to 1n, 3a and 3b are mailboxes, 8 is a control line, and 9 is an exchange main body. Also, the above-mentioned mailboxes 3a to 3
In FIG. 6 showing the configuration in n, 10 is a mail table management unit, 11 is an empty mail table management unit, and 12a to 12a.
2m is a mail table managed by the mail table management unit 10, and 13a to 13m are empty mail table management unit 1
1 shows a managed free mail table.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of the control device shown in FIG. 1. A process when the mail transmission terminal 1a registers a mail in the mailbox of the terminal 1b will be described. The control device 2a corresponding to the terminal 1a receives and processes the mail transmission request. The control device 2a requests the control device 2b corresponding to the terminal 1b, which is the destination of the mail, to send the mail, and simultaneously notifies the mail information. Upon receiving this request, the control device 2b registers mail information in the managed mailbox 3b. In FIG. 6, which shows a detailed view of the mailbox 3 b, the registered mail information is registered in the mail tables 12 a to 12 m and is chained under the mail table management 10.
In addition, the unused mail tables 13a to 13m
Are similarly chained under the empty mail table management unit 11.

When registering a mail in this mail box 3b, one free mail table 13a managed by the free mail table management unit 11 is assigned. If this empty mail table 13a does not exist, the registration is not possible and the control device 2b is notified. This control device 2
b notifies the control device 2a that the registration is impossible, and the terminal 1
Notify that the mail cannot be registered to a. When one free mail table can be assigned, the registration time, the ID of the terminal 1a that is the sender ID, and the mail information to be registered are written in this table and registered at the end of the chain of the mail table management unit 10. After the above process is completed, the mailbox 3b notifies the control device 2b of the completion of the mail registration, and the result is notified to the terminal 1a via the control device 2a that the mail registration is completed.

2. The operation will be described assuming that the mail reading terminal 1b reads a mail registered in its own mailbox. When the terminal 1b issues a mail read request, the control device 2b corresponding to the terminal 1b judges this request and requests the corresponding mailbox 3b of the terminal 1b to read the registered mail. In the requested mailbox 3b, the mail table managed by the mail table management unit 10 is searched, and if registered, the registration mails are sent to the terminal 1b in the order of oldest registration time. If there is no mail table registered here, the fact that there is no corresponding mail to be read out is notified to the terminal 1b via the control device 2b that there is no received mail. When the relevant mail is sent to the terminal 1b, the internal information of this mail table is cleared, and the empty mail table management unit 11
Released by being chained to. When the transmission of the relevant mail is completed, the mail box 3b notifies the control device 2b of the completion of reading the mail, and this information is further sent to the terminal 1b.
Will be notified.

[0006]

In the conventional mail management system, the mail service is intended for a mailbox that exists one-to-one with a user terminal in a single exchange, but the mailbox resources that exist in one exchange are It is necessary to use the mailboxes on multiple exchanges for one user when there are restrictions. However, the conventional mail management method does not take into consideration the case where the mailboxes are distributed and used in a plurality of exchanges, and when the mailboxes corresponding to one user exist in the network in a distributed manner, respectively. However, there is a problem in that a read request must be issued to the.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and enables a user to call an e-mail without being aware of resource distribution, and is a signal forming a network. The objective is to obtain a general-purpose mail management system so that even if the components such as the system change, it can be dealt with by changing only the individual mail management unit and communication control unit.

[0008]

A mail management system according to the present invention has two types of IDs, a mailbox address that can uniquely identify a mailbox existing among a plurality of exchanges and a user ID that can also identify a user terminal.
By providing a mail management unit for managing the relationship between two IDs in each exchange, this mail management unit hides the distributed information of this mailbox from general users,
Furthermore, by processing only the signaling method that composes the target network, and also having a structure in which the network configuration is hidden from general users, the user can call mails without being aware of distribution to all network configuration elements (signaling method). It is characterized by being realized without depending on.

[0009]

In the mail management system according to the present invention, even if a plurality of exchanges form a network such as a distributed arrangement and it is necessary to disperse and hold the mailboxes in a plurality of exchanges corresponding to one user terminal, it is easy. It is possible to read the mail addressed to a specific user, and read the mail only when a mail read request is made and send the corresponding mail to the exchange that houses the terminal. You can use it,
Services can be realized by a structure that does not depend on the signaling system that constitutes the network.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of an exchange according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is different from the conventional example shown in FIG.
The communication control unit 5, the mail management unit 6, the mail address management unit 7, and the control device 2n among the control devices 2a to 2n.
Is added to the network-compatible control device. Further, FIG. 2 shows an example of a network corresponding to the present invention. The detailed configuration of each of the mailboxes 3a to 3n is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. further,
FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of the control device to assist the subsequent description.

In the present embodiment, unlike the conventional example, the terminal and the mailbox address are not one-to-one, and by providing the mail management unit 6, the user can freely register the corresponding mailbox, and a plurality of mail addresses can be set for one user. It is configured so that the mailbox of can be assigned. Figure 2
In the network configuration shown in (2), it is assumed that the terminal 1a accommodated in the exchange 9a makes a mail read request to the corresponding mailbox. In addition, exchange 9
An example of registering a mailbox used by the terminal 1a accommodated in a will be described. In this case, it is assumed that the corresponding mailbox exists in the exchanges 9a and 9b. This exchange 9
Each of a and 9b has the same configuration as shown in FIG. 1, and the configuration of the mailbox accommodated in each exchange is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. Note that the network shown in FIG. 2 is a digital dedicated line, and the signal system used is CCITT No. Although the description is given as a 7 common line signal system, the effect of the present invention does not change even if other signal systems are used.

First, after making necessary definitions, a mail reading process and a mail address registration / deletion process from a user terminal will be described. 1. Defining mailbox address Define a mailbox address to identify the mailbox network wide. The mailbox is uniquely identified by the mailbox ID in one exchange. An ID for identifying the exchange is added to this ID and defined as follows, which is called a mailbox address. Exchange ID @ Mailbox ID Here, the exchange I used
D is CCITT No. In the 7-signal system, an exchange signal station code or the like is used. This allows the switch to be uniquely identified in the network in this signaling scheme.
It is D.

2. Function definition of the mail management unit 6 The mail management unit 6 manages the relationship between the user terminal in the own exchange shown in FIG. 1 and the mailbox address in the network used by the user. This relationship is changed by the registration / deletion request from the user, and the user I from the control device 2
It is notified as the corresponding mailbox address by the reference request of the corresponding message box using D as a key. The relationship between the mailbox and the user is managed by a mail address management unit 7, which is a database, and the mail management unit 6 has a database management unit function having an interface with the control device. The mail management unit 6 only manages the mail address and the like, and is not concerned with the operation of the mail service. Using this function, the mail management unit 6 responds to registration / deletion / reference requests from the control device of each mailbox.

3. The function definition control device 2 of the communication control unit 5 performs communication via the communication control unit 5 when communicating with the mailboxes in the exchanges distributed over the network. Communication control unit 5
Control device 2 hides the communication method for connecting the exchanges. For example, CCITT N
o. In the case of the 7-signal system, communication using this system is performed.
The routing at this time is performed by using the exchange ID notified from the control device 2. In this case, the control device 2 is unaware of how the exchange ID is used in the signaling system, and the communication control unit 5 causes the CCITT
No. In case of 7, it is interpreted as a signal station code.
The communication control unit 5 is not aware of the realization of a mail service.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
1. Reading Mail (a) Configuration It is assumed that the exchange 9a in the network configuration example shown in FIG. 2 has an exchange ID: ex1 and a mail is read from the terminal 1a accommodated in this exchange. This ex1
The detailed configuration of the exchange is as shown in FIG. (B) Mail read request In FIG. 1, the terminal 1a notifies the corresponding control device 2a of a mail read request addressed to itself.

(C) Receiving this request, the inquiry control device 2a for the corresponding mail address inquires the mail management unit 6 about the mailbox address targeted by the terminal 1a. The mail management unit 6 uses the ID of the terminal 1a as a key to request a reference to the corresponding mailbox address managed by the mail address management unit 7. As a result, the mail address management unit 7 notifies the mail management unit 6 of the corresponding mailbox address, and the mail management unit 6 receives this notification, and notifies the notified mail address to the control device 2.
Notify a. As an example, it is assumed that the notified email addresses are the following two types. ● ex1 mailbox ID1 ● ex2 mailbox ID2

(D) Analysis of mail address The mail management unit 6 notified of the relevant mailbox address information analyzes the first mailbox address "ex1 mailbox ID1". The analysis starts with the first ID (the ID before the start as seen from the left). Switch ID in this case
Ex1 is analyzed, and it is determined that the mailbox ID1 is within the own exchange because ex1 is the own exchange. Similarly, when the exchange ID is not the own exchange, it is determined that the mailbox accommodated in another exchange is the target.

(E) Read out local mail As a result of mail address analysis, "ex1 mailbox I
It is determined that D1 ″ is a mailbox accommodated in the exchange 9a similar to the terminal 1a which is the mail read request terminal. Therefore, the control device 2a reads the local mail (mailbox address ID1) in the exchange 9a. The control device 2a receives the mailbox address I.
From D1, it can be specified that the corresponding mailbox is the mailbox 3a in the own exchange 9a. Therefore, the control device 2
A notifies the mail read request to the mailbox 3a. In the mailbox 3a that has received this request, the mail tables 12a to 12m managed by the mail table management unit shown in FIG. 6 are sequentially notified to the terminal 1a, and thereafter,
It is released by chaining to the empty mail table management unit 11. When the notification of the corresponding mail is completed, the control device 2a is notified of the completion of the mail reading.

(F) Remote Mail Reading Next, the control device 2a performs a reading process for the second mailbox address "ex2 mailbox ID2". By performing the email address analysis process in the same way as the analysis for "ex1 mailbox ID1",
It can be seen that this mail address is the mailbox address ID2 accommodated in the exchange 9b having the exchange ID: ex2. As a result of this analysis, the control device 2a performs a remote mail reading process. The control device 2a requests the communication control unit 5 to read the mail registered in the mailbox address ID2 of the exchange ID: ex2. The CCITT No. managed by the communication control unit that has received this request. In order to communicate by the 7 common line signaling system, the exchange ID: ex2 is judged to be a signal station code, and a request for reading the mailbox address ID2 is notified to this exchange.

It is assumed that the exchange ID: ex2 that receives this request corresponds to the exchange 9b. The configuration of this exchange 9b is the same as that shown in FIG. The communication control unit 5 of the exchange 9b that has received the mail read request transmits this request to the control device 2n. In this case, the control device 2n
Is not a control device for a specific terminal, but a control device for a network. Therefore, one control device corresponding to the network exists in each exchange. The control device 2n that has received this request can uniquely determine the mailbox ID2 in the exchange 9b, and determines that it is the mailbox 3n.

As a result, the control device 2n reads the mail registered in the mailbox 3n by the same method as the local mail reading process. The read mail is transmitted to the communication control unit of the exchange 9a via the communication control unit 5, and further transmitted to the terminal 1a via the control device 2a of the exchange 9a.
Will be notified to. When the reading of the mailbox 3n of the exchange 9b is completed, the control device 2n receives the end notification in the mailbox 3n, and similarly to the notification of the mail, the communication control unit 5 of the exchange 9a, which is the source of the request, transmits the notification. Is notified to the control device of the exchange 9a and further to the control device 2a. (G) E-mail reading completion The control device 2a judges that the e-mail reading from the corresponding mailbox has been completed, and notifies the terminal 1a of the e-mail reading completion. Thus, the distributed mail reading process by the exchange 9a is completed.

2. Registration / Deletion of E-mail Address All management of the relationship between the e-mail address and the user according to the present invention is performed by the e-mail management unit 6, and the e-mail management unit 6 registers this relationship in a database existing in the e-mail address management unit 7. .. Here, the description will be added assuming that the mail address is registered from the terminal (1a). There are two registered email addresses. ● ex1 mailbox ID1 ● ex2 mailbox ID2

The control device 2a corresponding to the terminal 1a receives the mail address registration request from the terminal 1a. The control device 2a determines the mail address registration / deletion request and notifies the mail management unit 6 of it. In the mail management unit 6, the request terminal 1a
Determines to use the mailboxes of "ex1 mailbox ID1" and "ex2 mailbox ID2",
In the case of the registration processing in the mail address management unit 7, the data is deleted in the case of the data addition / deletion processing. When the mail address management unit 7 completes the processing, the mail management unit 6 is notified of the result. At this time, in addition to the reason that the database processing in the e-mail address management unit 7 has failed to write, if there is a registration request again for a mailbox address that has already been registered, it will be processed as registration failure, and the result will be mailed. The management unit 6 is notified. Further, the result is transmitted to the control device 2a and finally notified to the terminal 1a, so that the user can know the result.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the signaling method that constitutes the network is CCITT No. Although the 7 common line signaling system has been described, the communication control unit hides this network configuration from the service even with other signaling systems, and changes to the signaling station code as shown in the embodiment of the present invention. The same processing can be performed by interpreting it as the exchange ID in each signal system, and even in this case, the effect of the present invention does not change.

Further, according to the present invention, security management when transmitting / receiving information between networks can be considered. In this case, the mail registration right, mail read right, etc. are set by the administrator in the network as the right for user correspondence or group correspondence grouping users, and refer to this right when accessing the mailbox in mail processing. As a result, it may be possible to judge whether the mail service can be executed. According to the configuration of the present invention, the mail management unit 6 can be in charge of this determination, and the effectiveness of the present invention does not change in any of these cases.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the conventional 1
In the mail service that was closed inside the exchange, the mailbox that existed for the terminal was defined as a mailbox address that can identify the mailbox network-wide, and the mail that manages the relationship between the user terminal and this address. By providing a management unit, it is possible to flexibly manage the relationship between the user terminal and the mailbox to be used, and by providing a communication management unit, it is possible to communicate using the signaling method that constitutes the network. The mailbox address is hidden in the mail management, and the network function is hidden in the communication management, and the user can read the mail without being aware of the distribution of the mailboxes. Further, it can be realized by a general-purpose structure without depending on the signaling system constituting the network, and as a result, it is possible to effectively use the mail management resources in a distributed manner.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an exchange according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a control device flowchart showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of an exchange in a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of management of a mailbox.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2a to 2n control device 3a to 3n mailbox 4 network line 5 communication control unit 6 mail management unit 7 mail address management unit 8 control line 9a to 9c switch 10 mail table management unit 11 empty mail table management unit 12a to 12m mail table 13a ~ 13m free mail table

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A mail box is provided for each terminal, and mail sent from a calling terminal is stored in a mail box corresponding to the called terminal, and is stored in response to a mail read request from the called terminal. In the mail management method that sends stored emails to this terminal, define a mailbox address that flexibly manages the correspondence between the user terminal and the mailboxes that are distributed among multiple exchanges, and from each terminal to each terminal Register the corresponding mailbox address /
It has a function to delete, has a mail management unit that manages this mail address, and a communication management unit that manages the communication method that configures the network.Each user terminal is aware of this distribution while keeping it distributed to multiple exchanges. A mail management method characterized by reading mail without performing