KR20030021504A - Realtime Interactive communication System and Method using Electronic Mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system and method for a real time two-way communication using an E-mail is provided to execute a two-way messaging, a file transmission, and analyze user action in real time by making a receiver read a corresponding E-mail and performing person-to-person communication between a transmitter and a receiver when the transmitter transmits an E-mail including a code capable of inserting a mail-link client. CONSTITUTION: A mail link(120) executes various functions for transmitting and receiving an E-mail, creates authentication information of an E-mail to be transmitted, includes a mail link client code for connecting a transmitter to a receiver in an E-mail, and transmits the E-mail. A mail server(130) is linked with the mail link(120), divides an E-mail into packet data using an E-mail program which performs a job for transmitting/receiving the E-mail, transmits a corresponding E-mail to a mail server of a receiver, stores the E-mail transmitted from the mail link(120) in a database, and transmits a corresponding E-mail to an E-mail receiver by a mail confirmation request of the E-mail receiver. An MUA(Mail User Agent)/web mail(140) is connected to the mail server(130) and executes a support for making the E-mail receiver prepare an E-mail message and read a received E-mail.

Description

Real-time interactive communication system and method using e-mail

The present invention relates to a real-time interactive communication system and method using e-mail, and more particularly, provides a direct communication means of the sender and the receiver via e-mail, the sender and the receiver in real time messaging, file transfer, user behavior analysis (tracking) The present invention relates to a real-time interactive communication system and method using e-mail capable of performing the same.

The Internet is now becoming an integral part of our lives. Started by the needs of the US Department of Defense in the late 1960s, the Internet has now evolved into a system used by more than 100 million people around the world. The increase in Internet users is being accelerated by the development of the World Wide Web (WWW), which provides a convenient user interface. This Internet makes many parts of our lives needing information retrieval convenient and affects all parts of politics, economy and culture. In particular, as a tool of information and communication, the Internet enables the form of business that we did not think of in the past and changes the form of corporate management very rapidly. In addition to the WWW, there are numerous services such as e-mail, ftp, telnet, mailing lists, and newsgroups. One of the most widely used Internet services is the e-mail service. Thus, e-mail services were first commercially available on the World Wide Web and play a very important role as business and marketing tools for specific websites.

In general, an e-mail must specify a recipient when communicating a message, and due to the nature of the e-mail, there are a number of restrictions: the time constraints of sending and receiving e-mails, the limitation of the amount of e-mail messages, the amount of file attachments, and the distrust of the recipient of the attachment. It contains them. In other words, e-mails can be communicated only when the e-mail is written, the recipient's confirmation is sent, and the reply is sent again. As a result, email is time-constrained due to the difficulty of real-time interaction, users can deliver personal messages, but the volume of messages is quite limited, and attachments cannot be attached beyond the allotted amount of the email account manager. Moreover, the recipient has limitations such as not opening the attachment unless the sender is certain. In addition, e-mail companies are focusing on unconditional membership acquisition rather than solving these problems, and thus, user-oriented services are not properly performed. The result is an increase in the number of unvalidated members, leading to increased administrative costs for unmanaged members and a drop in customer trust.

Recently, a system that enables voice calls between e-mail recipients and marketers has been introduced, but this is simply an extension of the chat window, which is a service that links CTI to user e-mail. Therefore, such a system has problems such as an increase in call costs, system installation, maintenance, and expensive equipment, securing additional marketers, and inefficiency due to impossibility of confirming recipients.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique and a method capable of directly sending and receiving a message, a file, and the like by directly communicating in real time to a receiver and a sender who feel the time constraints, message size, and limitations of a conventional unidirectional email.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned general problems, and an object of the present invention is to include a code capable of inserting an email-link client in an email sent by a sender, and then the receiver. And two-way communication between the sender and the receiver at the same time as the user browses the e-mail, and can perform two-way messaging (eg, text, voice, image data), file transfer, and real-time user behavior analysis. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to install a sender program including a mail-link tool and a mail-link server in the sender's computer for administrator authentication and ease of use or by using a browser. It is to provide a real-time interactive communication system and method using an email that is executed by the administrator authentication method through a server that can be used in.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a real-time two-way communication system according to the present invention,

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating and sending an email.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication process between a mail link client and a mail link server.

♣ Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ♣

100: real-time interactive communication system 120: mail link

122: mail link tool 124: first database

126: mail link server 130: mail server

140: MUA / Webmail 148: Mail Link Client

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a communication system for real-time two-way communication between a sender and a receiver using an e-mail, and performs various functions for transmitting or receiving an e-mail, and generates authentication information of an e-mail to be sent. And a mail link including a mail link client code for linking the email sender and the email receiver in the email to be sent; The email program is connected to the mail link, and the email program that sends and receives the email is used to split the email into packet data, send the email to the recipient's mail server, and send the email from the mail link to the second database. A mail server that stores and sends the email to the email recipient by a mail confirmation request of the email recipient; And a MUA / webmail that is connected to a mail server and supports an email recipient to create an email message or view a received email.

In addition, the present invention is a communication method for performing a real-time two-way communication between the sender and the receiver by using an email, using the mail link tool of the mail link to create an email, and to generate the authentication information by generating the authentication information of the created email 1 storing the information in a database, inserting the authentication information and the mail link client code into the created email, and sending the email to the mail server; Storing the sent email in a second database and sending the email to the email recipient's MUA / webmail by the email recipient's mail confirmation request; When the email recipient checks the email, the mail link client is automatically executed to connect with the mail link server of the mail link; Transmitting authentication information to a connected mail link server; Comparing the authentication information transmitted from the mail link client with the authentication information stored in the first database, and transmitting an authentication result message for determining real time communication with the mail link client; And if the authentication is not successful, terminating the connection with the mail link client, and if the authentication is successful, communicating with the mail link client.

According to the present invention, the email sender includes a code for inserting a mail link client in the created email, thereby forming a communication path between the sender and the receiver just by confirming the email. Therefore, the e-mail recipient can directly communicate with the sender in real time without installing a separate program for communicating with the e-mail sender, thereby enabling interactive online / offline status checking, interactive real-time message exchange, and file transfer. The email sent to the email recipient contains a mail link client code, which allows the email recipient to communicate with the mail link server on the sender's side via the mail link client. Thus, an email sender can communicate with an email recipient via a mail link server, and can communicate directly with the recipient in real time without uploading any type of information (e.g. images, documents, forms, etc.) to the web server. have. Thus, an email sender can respond promptly to the needs of the email recipient and provide active services and information. Here, the mail link client is a program that operates in the received mail of the email receiver, and can be produced in Java, shockwave, active-x, or the like. In addition, according to the present invention, the sender program including the mail link tool and the mail link server is in the form of an independent program installed on the sender computer for administrator authentication and convenience of use, or by using a browser without installing the independent program. It can be serviced by the administrator authentication method through a web server that can be used at any place.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a real-time interactive communication system and method using e-mail according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a real-time interactive communication system 100 according to the present invention. The real-time interactive communication system 100 includes a mail link 120, a mail server 130, and a mail user agent (MUA) /. It is configured to include a web mail 140.

The mail link 120 includes a mail link tool 122, a first database 124, and a mail link server 126. The mail link 120 performs various functions for sending or receiving an email, and sends authentication information of an email to be sent. It generates and sends a mail link client code for connecting the email sender 110 and the email recipient 150 in the email to be sent. Here, the authentication information includes an IP or DNS address where the sender's mail link server 126 is located, a recipient email address, and an authentication code for the corresponding email. The mail link 120 is a sender program executed in the sender computer or downloaded and executed from a specific website, and is initiated by the execution operation of the email sender 110. The mail link tool 122 provides various functions for the sender 110 to compose an e-mail, generates authentication information for the e-mail to be sent, and transmits the e-mail to the mail server 130. The first database 124 stores authentication information (ie, recipient email address, authentication code) of the corresponding email generated by the mail link tool 122. The mail link server 126 retrieves the authentication information of the email recipient 150 transmitted from the email recipient 150 through the first database 124 to perform real time communication with the email recipient 150. As mentioned above, the mail link 120 may be implemented in the form of a stand-alone program that is installed and operated directly on the sender's computer for caller authentication and ease of use, and may be implemented using a browser without installing the stand-alone program. It can also be installed and operated in a web server on the Internet to be used at the site.

The mail server 130 is connected to the mail link tool 122 of the mail link 120 and transmits the packet data to an email using an email program (eg, send mail) that performs an operation of sending and receiving an email. After splitting, control to send to mail server of receiver. In addition, by providing the sender 110 with the necessary information (ie, headers and body parts) to send the e-mail over the Internet, instructs the sender 110 to require input of the corresponding item, and encodes the input content. Perform. The mail server 130 includes a second database (not shown) that stores emails sent from the email sender 110. Tens of thousands of e-mails are sent to the mail server 130 a day, and it is necessary to organize them by database to organize when and where e-mails are sent and who sent them. That is, the second database performs a function of storing, deleting, and extracting an email according to a request of the mail server 130. When there is a request for receiving an email from the email receiver 150, the mail server 130 transmits the corresponding email stored in the second database to the email recipient 150. The protocol used for e-mail includes the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), an e-mail sending protocol that defines the control procedures between two computers that send and receive messages, verify connectivity between two computers, verify recipients, and verify message body delivery. And Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), which is an email receiving protocol that delivers all emails from the system to the user's computer.

The MUA / webmail 140 is connected to the mail server 130 and serves to support the recipient 150 to directly compose an email message or view the received email 142. Here, MUA refers to a user's email client program such as Netscape's email client or Microsoft's Outlook Express, etc., which cannot be controlled by the recipient browser. Webmail refers to an email client program (eg, Daum, Freechal, Hanmail, etc.) that can directly send and receive mail on the web, and is a program that can be controlled by a recipient browser. However, of course, the recipient browser control function can be added to the MUA. The email recipient 150 may check the received mail 142 sent from the mail server 130 using the MUA / webmail 140, and the received mail 142 may check the header 144 and the content 146. Include. The content 146 includes mail link client code that can communicate with the sender 110, and the mail link client 148 operates at the same time as the recipient 150 checks the email. The mail link client 148 is connected to the mail link server 126 so that the receiver and the sender can communicate. The mail link client 148 is executed at the same time that the recipient 150 browses the email and is executed in the received mail confirmed by the email receiver 150. The mail link client 148 may dynamically configure the interface of the web page, or create an interactive document that allows the user and the document to interact with a click. The mail link client 148 may be implemented as a Java applet or ActiveX. For example, a Java applet is an interpreter that executes an applet file through an inserted applet tag while simultaneously interpreting and generating a process, and active-x is an exe.dll file through an inserted object (OBJECT) tag. The CAB file including the file is transmitted to the user's computer (of course, when the user agrees in the consent request window) and stored on the receiver's hard disk and executed as an independent program. In addition, the mail link client 148 transmits authentication information including an email address and an authentication code of the receiver inserted into the received email to the mail link server 126. At this time, the connection to the mail link server 126 is made through the sender's IP or DNS address included in the authentication information. The mail link server 126 compares the authentication information of the corresponding email stored in the first database 124 based on the received authentication information, and if the received authentication information and the authentication information stored in the first database 124 match, The communication is maintained, and if the authentication information does not match, the connection with the mail link client 148 is disconnected.

After the communication between the mail link server 126 and the mail link client 148 is performed, a real-time two-way communication method (for example, when browser control is possible) is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 2001-12194 filed by the present applicant. Browser real-time control system and method), which will not be described here.

Hereinafter, an operation relationship of a real-time interactive communication system and method using an e-mail according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of creating and sending an e-mail, and assumes that an e-mail sender executes a mail link stored in his computer or accesses a specific web server on the Internet.

First, the email sender creates an email using the mail link tool in the mail link (S210). The mail link tool performs the same operation as a general mail transmission program, and the content portion of the mail may be input in the form of TEXT or HTML, and even when input in TEXT for the mail link service, the mail link tool may be converted into HTML. When all e-mails are created, the mail link tool generates an authentication code of the corresponding email (S220), and stores authentication information including the recipient email address of the corresponding email and the generated authentication code in the first database (S230). By generating the authentication code for each email written and storing in the first database, it is possible to communicate by a plurality of email recipients or to each recipient to check the created email.

The mail link tool then sends the recipient's email with authentication information (i.e. sender's IP address, recipient email address, verification code) to encrypt the email, and a mail link client for communication between the email recipient and the email sender. After inserting the code to be executed in the MUA / webmail (S240), and sends the corresponding email to the mail server (S250). Here, sending an email to a mail server includes sending the email to an external SMTP server when the sender does not have SMTP and internally delivering it to a message queue of SMTP if the sender has an SMTP server. The sent e-mail is stored in a second database existing in the mail server, and the mail is transmitted to the recipient's MUA / webmail by the receiver's mail request signal. In other words, the e-mail created by the e-mail sender is divided into a plurality of packet data and transmitted to the mail server to be transmitted along the fastest path, and the packet data is divided by numbering each packet data. The mail server to which the e-mail is sent is determined by reading the e-mail address of the 'TO:' portion of the e-mail header. That is, the fragmented packet data is sent to the address recorded in the 'TO:' portion of the header via at least a few and as many as hundreds of different computers.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication process between a mail link client and a mail link server.

First, the email recipient checks the email received through MUA or webmail using POP3 (S305). At this time, when there is a mail confirmation request from the email recipient, the mail server transmits the corresponding email stored in the second database to the email recipient's MUA or webmail. At the same time as the email recipient checks the mail, the mail link client is operated by the code of the mail link client included in the content (S310), and the mail link is sent through the sender IP or DNS address of the authentication information included in the received mail. The client connects to the mail link server of the email sender (S315). When the mail link client is connected to the mail link server, the mail link client transmits authentication information (i.e., recipient mail address and authentication code) included in the received email to the mail link server in order to confirm whether the email recipient is authenticated ( S320).

The mail link server receives the authentication information transmitted from the mail link client, compares the received authentication information with the authentication information stored in the first database, and authenticates whether the two authentication information matches (S325). Next, the mail link server transmits the authentication result message according to the comparison result to the mail link client so that the email recipient can check whether the mail is authenticated (S330). If the authentication is not successful (that is, the received authentication information and the stored authentication information do not match) (S335), the mail link server terminates the connection with the mail link client and then terminates all processing. On the other hand, if the authentication is successful (that is, when the received authentication information and stored authentication information match) (S335), the authentication code for the mail is extracted from the first database and discarded (S345) and at the same time with the mail link client Start communication (S350). The reason for destroying the verification code is to prevent duplication and reuse of the mail. However, the destruction of the authentication code is optional and can be excluded or modified at the option of the system designer.

Next, the mail link server determines whether the communication is completed (S355), and if the communication is not completed, proceeds to step S350 to continue communication with the mail link client, and when the communication is completed, access the mail link client. After finishing, all processing ends. Here, communication completion is accomplished by the email recipient terminating the MUA / webmail or the email sender terminating the mail link server.

As such, according to the present invention, since the two-way real-time communication is possible through e-mail, the present invention can be applied to various fields. For example, it can be used for a marketing system based on one-to-one communication with a customer, and can also be used for a data exchange system between individuals applying peer-to-peer (P2P).

The above description is only for explaining one embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously changed within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the shape and structure of each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention may be modified.

As described above, according to the real-time interactive communication system and method using email according to the present invention, the sender and the receiver can be implemented in real time via email, thereby enabling two-way messaging between the email sender and the email receiver (eg, text, Voice, image data), file transfer, and real-time user behavior analysis.

In addition, by using the present invention, in the case of an enterprise, it is possible to focus on each individual customer to establish a long-term and personalized relationship, and to meet customer-specific needs.

Claims (10)

In a communication system for performing a real-time two-way communication between the sender and the receiver by using an email, A mail link which performs various functions for sending or receiving an e-mail, generates authentication information of an e-mail to be sent, and includes a mail link client code for linking the e-mail sender and the e-mail recipient in the e-mail to be sent; The e-mail is divided into packet data using an e-mail program connected to the mail link and performs an operation of sending and receiving an e-mail, and then the e-mail is sent to the recipient's mail server. A mail server for storing the data in a database and transmitting the email to the email recipient by a mail confirmation request of the email recipient; And And a MUA / webmail connected to the mail server, the email recipient supporting a user to compose an email message or view a received email. The method of claim 1, wherein the mail link is A mail link tool for providing an e-mail sender with various functions for composing an e-mail, generating authentication information for an e-mail to be sent, and including the authentication information and a mail link client code in the e-mail to be sent to the mail server; A first database interconnected with the mail link tool and storing authentication information of the email generated by the mail link tool; And A mail link server interconnected with the first database and comparing the authentication information of the corresponding email transmitted from the MUA / webmail with the authentication information stored in the first database to determine real time communication with the email recipient. Real-time interactive communication system using an email, characterized in that. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the authentication information includes an IP sender's IP or DNS address, a recipient's email address, and an authentication code for the corresponding email. The real-time interactive communication system using e-mail according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mail link is implemented in the form of an independent program installed and operated in a sender computer or installed in a web server on the Internet. The mail of claim 1, wherein the received email of the MUA / webmail includes a header and content, wherein the content includes mail link client code that operates concurrently with the confirmation of the received email and communicates with the mail link server. Real-time interactive communication system using an email, characterized in that. 6. The mail link client according to claim 5, wherein the mail link client transmits the recipient mail address inserted in the received email and the authentication code of the email to the mail link server, and in accordance with an authentication result message sent from the mail link server. Real-time two-way communication system using an email, characterized in that for determining whether to connect to the server. In the communication method for performing a real-time two-way communication between the sender and the receiver by using an email, (a) Create an email using the mail link tool of the mail link, generate authentication information of the created email, store the authentication information in the first database, and insert the authentication information and the mail link client code into the created email. Sending the email to a mail server; (b) storing the sent email in a second database, and sending the email to the MUA / webmail of the email recipient by a mail confirmation request of the email recipient; (c) when the email recipient checks the email, the mail link client is automatically executed to connect with the mail link server of the mail link; (d) transmitting the authentication information to the connected mail link server; (e) comparing the authentication information transmitted from the mail link client with the authentication information stored in the first database and transmitting an authentication result message for determining real time communication with the mail link client; And (f) if the authentication is not successful, terminating the connection with the mail link client, and if the authentication is successful, performing communication with the mail link client. The method of claim 7, wherein the authentication information includes an IP sender's IP or DNS address, a recipient's email address, and an authentication code for the corresponding email. The method of claim 7, wherein (g) if the authentication is successful, the method further comprises the step of destroying the authentication code of the corresponding mail stored in the first database. The method of claim 7, wherein the mail link is implemented in the form of an independent program installed and operated on the sender's computer or installed and operated in a web server on the Internet.