JPH09134390A - Method for reporting absence information in electronic mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively utilize absence information included in a schedule system and to easily transmitting receiver's absence information indicating an basence period, a reason of the absence, a current existing position, etc., to a transmitter without having the receiver previously input absence information. SOLUTION: A server acquires a receiver's side schedule from a destination inputted from a mail transmitter (step 402) and compares receiving time with absence start/end time included in the schedule (steps 405, 406). Consequently necessary absence information (an absence period, the contents of absence, an absence section, etc.) is extracted and stored in a memory (step 408) and the transmitter is informed of the details of the absence information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail system and a schedule management system, in the case where the recipient of the mail is absent, the absence of the electronic mail is notified to the sender to facilitate the sending and receiving of the mail. Regarding information notification method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic mail system is realized by a storage-type communication service, and a service request is processed by three phases of an outgoing call, a delivery call, and a result notification call. In an outgoing call, the processing node accumulates this message by sending the message after the sender has requested the processing node to deliver the message. In the delivery call, the processing node sends a delivery message to the recipient of the receiving terminal. There is also a method in which the recipient accesses the processing node when it is convenient and reads the message addressed to himself / herself. In the result notification call, the processing node notifies the sender that the message has been delivered to the receiver,
Even if the delivery fails for some reason, the fact is notified to the sender. Note that the result notification call includes a method of directly calling and communicating with the sender similarly to the delivery call, and a method of accessing the processing node when the sender is convenient and reading the notification call if there is a notification call. Conventionally, an email user creates an email to be sent using an email system, specifies a destination, selects the email type (eg, express delivery, ordinary, etc.), and automatically sends the email. Was there. At that time, if the recipient is absent, the sender can receive the notification regarding the absence if the recipient inputs the absence information (absence period etc.) in advance. As a related document related to this, for example, there is one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-342409. On the other hand, the schedule management system is a system including a memory that stores a schedule describing the schedule of the recipient of the mail.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional method has the following problems. (1) If the recipient inputs the absence information in advance, the sender can receive the notification regarding the absence, but the recipient needs to enter the absence information, which is troublesome. (2) Although the absence information is entered in the schedule management system, the absence information is also entered in the mail system, which is a double trouble for the recipient.
E-mail system and schedule management system are not used effectively together. (3) Absence information obtained by the sender was only simple information such as the absence period, so it is not possible to grasp the details of the absence information such as the reason for absence and where he / she is currently. Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the first object of the present invention is to provide absent information in an e-mail that allows the recipient to easily notify the sender of the absent information without inputting the absent information in advance. To provide an information notification method. A second object of the present invention is to provide an absent information notification method in an e-mail that can effectively utilize the absent information of the schedule management system and reduce the time and effort required for the user to input the absent information. It is in. A third object of the present invention is not only the absence period, but also the absence information notification in an e-mail that can easily inform the sender of the details of the absence information of the recipient such as the reason for absence and where he / she is currently. To provide a method.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, in the absent information notifying method for electronic mail according to the present invention, in the cooperation of the mail system composed of the server and the client and the schedule management system, the server:
Stores the processing unit, display unit, input unit, mail sending information and recipient absence information for executing the mail management program and schedule setting and management related to mail creation, transmission, and reception. Memory and a schedule information management table for managing schedule information, and one of the clients is a processing unit for creating and sending a mail,
A display unit for displaying schedule information and an input unit for inputting a schedule are provided. The client receives the destination and presence / absence of notification of absence information input from the sender of the mail, attaches the contents of the mail, and sends the mail to the destination. When the server detects mail transmission, it determines whether notification of absentee information is required. If notification of absentee information is required, the server searches the name in the schedule information management table that matches the destination and Get absence information. The reception date and time is compared with the absence start / end date and time in the absence information, and necessary absence information is stored in the memory. Notify the sender of the stored absence information.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, the name of a recipient to whom an e-mail is sent is collated with the name in a schedule management system that stores a schedule in which the schedule of the recipient is described. For example, the recipient's schedule is acquired from the schedule management system, and the presence or absence of notification of absence information is determined by comparing the reception time of the email with the absence start time and end time that are the contents of the schedule. When it is determined that there is a need, the sender is notified of a plurality of absence information such as the absence period, the absence content, and the absence category of the recipient. This allows
In the e-mail system, the recipient can notify the sender of details of the absence information such as the reason for absence and where he / she is currently, as well as the absence period in advance without the recipient inputting the absence information in advance. By effectively utilizing the absence information of the schedule management system, the receiver's time and effort for entering the absence information can be reduced by half.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied. An information processing system to which the absent information notification method of the present invention is applied includes one or more information processing devices (hereinafter, referred to as “server”) 1 having a function related to a mail schedule, and this information processing device 1.
Is connected via a network 3 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and includes one or more information processing devices (hereinafter, referred to as “clients”) 2 that request processing related to mail schedules. The server 1 and the client 2 (2a, 2b) send and receive data via the LAN 3. The server 1 includes a processing unit 10 that performs absentee notification processing and other electronic mail processing, a memory 11 that stores recipient absent information and contents of electronic mail to be transmitted,
A display unit 12 for displaying absent information and the like to the operator, and an input unit 13 for the operator to input data from a mouse or keyboard.
A mail management program storage file 14 for managing electronic mail information, a user's schedule setting, a schedule management program storage file 15 for managing this, and a table necessary for managing the schedule. The schedule information management table 16 for storing the schedule information is provided. One of the clients 2 is a processing unit 20 for performing an electronic mail transmission / reception process, and a display unit 2 for displaying a user's schedule, absentee information of the recipient, and the like.
1 and an input unit 22 for key input. The processing unit 10 executes a mail management program 14 for creating, sending, and receiving a mail and a schedule management program 15 for setting and managing a schedule.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schedule display screen according to the present invention. The schedule is input from each user through the input unit 22 of the client 2.
A display screen of the schedule is displayed on the display unit 21 adjacent to the input unit 22 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the daily schedule is between 9:00 and 17:00, but a screen corresponding to 24 hours is also possible. The schedule information managed by the server is available 24 hours a day. On the screen, for each date, it is divided into the case of staying in the building, the case of a short-term business trip (absence), and the case of a long-term business trip (absence). The entered schedule information of each user is managed by the schedule information management table 16 of the server 1. FIG. 3 is a data configuration diagram of the schedule information management table in the present invention. In the schedule information management table 16, the name 150 of the person who is inputting the schedule, the absentee start date and time 151 indicating the period of absence, the absentee end date and time 152, the meeting and overseas business trip, etc. The information includes absent contents 153 indicating absences such as annual vacation, and absences 154 information for distinguishing between being in a building and short-term / long-term business trips.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the mail transmission process on the client side according to the present invention. First, the mail transmission processing 200 of the client A when the mail is transmitted from the client A to the client B will be described. The client receives the destination input by the sender of the mail (step 201) and attaches the contents of the mail to this (step 202). After receiving selection information as to whether or not notification of absence information is necessary (step 20).
3) Then, the mail is sent to the destination (step 204), and the mail sending process 200 ends. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of internal information of a mail sent from the client side. When the mail is sent, the sending information such as the sender, the destination, and the absence information notification as shown in FIG. 5 is sent to the server, and the server receives this and temporarily stores it in the memory 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the absence information notification processing on the server side in the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the absence information storage / transmission processing on the server side as well. Next, from client A to client B
The flow of the absent information notification processing of the server when the mail transmission to is detected will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. First, when the server detects the mail transmission from the client A to the client B (step 301), it determines whether or not the absence information notification is necessary (step 302). If it is not necessary, the absent information notification process 300 is ended as it is. On the other hand, when the absence information notification is required, the name 150 of the person who inputs the schedule in the schedule information management table 16 is acquired (step 303), and it is determined whether there is a name that matches the destination of the mail. (Step 304). If there is no matching name, a message indicating that there is no schedule for the person is sent to the sender of the mail (step 3).
06), the absent information notification processing 300 is ended. If there is a matching name, the current time (hereinafter referred to as "reception date and time") is acquired (step 305). And
The out-of-office information storage / transmission process is executed (step 40).
0).

The detailed flow of the out-of-office information storage / transmission process (step 400) will be described below with reference to FIG. First, 0 is substituted for the absence flag (step 401), and one absence information 155 having the matched name is acquired from the schedule information management table 16 (see FIG. 3) in step 304 of FIG. 6 (step 402). When the absence flag is 0, it means that the absence information to be sent to the sender is still 0, and when the absence flag is 1, it means that there is absence information to be sent to the sender. Next, the absence flag is determined (step 403), and if the absence flag is 0, it is determined whether or not there is absence information (step 40).
4) If there is no absence information, the absence information storage / transmission processing 400 is ended. As a result, the absent information notification processing 300 of FIG. 6 also ends. If there is absent information, the absence start date and time in the absence information is compared with the reception date and time (step 405). If the reception date and time is not larger than the absence start date and time, the recipient is set to the reception date and time. Since the absence has not started yet, the process returns to step 402 and the next absence information is acquired. If the reception date and time is larger than the absence date and time, the recipient is already absent at the reception date and time, and the reception date and time are then compared with the absence end date and time in the absence information (step 406). ).
If the absent end date and time is not larger than the reception date and time, the absent period ends at the reception date and time, and the process returns to step 402 to acquire the next absence information. If the out-of-office end date and time is greater than the receive date and time,
Since the reception date and time is during the absence of the recipient and one piece of absence information to be sent to the sender has occurred, 1 is assigned to the absence flag (step 407) and the absence information is stored in the memory 11. It is stored (step 408).

FIG. 8 is a format diagram when the absence information is transmitted from the server side according to the present invention. In the flow of FIG. 7, 1 is set to the absence flag (step 40
7) The absent person, the absent person start date and time, the absent end date and time, the absent content, and the absent category information as shown in FIG. 8 are stored in the temporary memory 11 (step 408).
Then, the absent end date and time is substituted for the absent end, and the process returns to step 402 (step 409). Note that the absent end time here is the end time of the first day (for example, 17:00) when the absent period extends for two days or more. On the second day, the same absence information is acquired from the schedule management information table as different contents on the second day.
After the absence information is stored in the memory 11, the end time of the second day is substituted for the absence end. In step 403, if the absence flag is 1, it is determined whether or not there is absence information (step 410), and if there is no absence information, the process proceeds to step 412 to notify the sender that there is no absence information. If there is absent information, it is determined whether or not the absent end and the absent start date and time match (step 411),
If they match, the absent period still continues, so the process returns to step 408 and the absent information is stored in the memory 11 again. The absence start date and time in this case is the start time (for example, 9:00) on the second day. On the contrary,
If they do not match, the absence information stored in the memory 11 in step 408 is transmitted to the sender (step 41
2) The out-of-office information storage / transmission process 400 ends. As a result, the absence information notification processing 300 also ends.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen on the client of the out-of-office information transmitted from the server to the client A, and FIG. 10 shows an example of a display screen when the absent contents are different. It is a figure. The absent information sent from the server to the client is, as shown in FIG. 9, the absentee's name and absent period (from XX month XX to XX month XX) on the display screen of the client. Absence details (for example, because of an overseas business trip) and absence classification (for example,
Display long-term or short-term). Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the display screen on the client in the case where the absence continues and the absent contents are different, the absentee's name, the absence period distinguished for each column, and the distinguished absence contents And the absent category that is distinguished is displayed. In this case, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 10, it is possible to display the scheduled opening time of the mail. It is also possible for the server to determine whether the notification of the absence information is necessary by the sender side setting the difference between the reception time of the recipient and the absence end time (time until opening).

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention,
If the recipient of the e-mail is absent, by linking the mail system and the schedule management system, it is possible to automatically notify the sender of the details of the recipient's absent information. It is possible to send and receive mail smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schedule display screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a data configuration diagram of a schedule information management table according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a mail transmission process on the client side according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a format of information transmitted when a client side transmits a mail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing absent information notification processing on the server side according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing absent information storage / transmission processing on the server side according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a format example of information transmitted when the server side transmits absence information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an absent information display screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the absent information display screen according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: server, 2: client, 3: LAN, 2a, 2
b: display unit, 11: memory, 12: display unit, 13: input unit, 10: processing unit, 14: mail management program storage file, 155: absence information, 15: schedule management program storage file, 150: absentee Name, 20:
Client processing unit, 16: Schedule information management table, 21: Client display unit, 22: Client input unit, 151: Absence start date and time, 152: Absence end date and time, 153: Absence content, 154: Absence classification, 200: E-mail transmission processing, 300: Absence information notification processing, 400: Absence information storage / transmission processing.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In an electronic mail system for sending and receiving electronic mail via a communication line, when an electronic mail is received, a name of a recipient who is the destination of the electronic mail and a schedule describing the schedule of the recipient are described. The step of collating the stored name in the schedule management system, and if both match, the schedule of the recipient is acquired from the schedule management system, the reception time of the e-mail and the absence start time which is the contents of the schedule. And the end time to determine whether or not notification of absentee information is necessary. And a step of notifying the sender of the information. 2. The absent information notification method for electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein the absent information notified to the sender describes the earliest time at which the recipient can read the electronic mail as a scheduled opening time. An absent information notification method in electronic mail, characterized by: