JP2001024691A - Server system and method for providing address information in the server system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to simply execute setting, operation and management by providing a shared address book storing address information shared by plural applications to a client. SOLUTION: An information server 13 converts format of application service information according to the throughput of a communication network 16 capable of using application service information provided from an E-mail server 11, a groupware A server 12 and a groupware B server 14 via an access server 15 and the communication network 16 and that of a portable terminal and provides the format-converted information to the portable terminal. The server 13 has the function of information exchange. The server 13 is provided with a shared address book 13a and a personal address book A 13b. The shared address book 13a registers and manages the address information of mail addresses managed by respective programs for E mails, groupware A and groupware B in common.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an address book function in a server system that provides a plurality of applications having a mail function to a client (user).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Application service information provided by various application services provided by various application software installed in a server computer is transmitted to a public network (telephone line, IS
DN line) or wired LAN (Local Area Ne)
mobile PC (mobile personal computer), PDA (Personal Digital (D)
Information exchange devices for providing personal information terminals called "ata) Assistants) and portable information terminals such as smartphones have been proposed. This information exchange device is disclosed in JP-A-10-301864 and JP-A-10-326230.

In a system equipped with this information exchange apparatus, a communication network used by converting the format of the applied service information according to the processing capability of the mobile terminal and the communication network using the applied service information and providing the converted information to the mobile terminal. It is possible to provide the above-mentioned application service information in a remote place where a server computer does not exist irrespective of the types of a network and a portable terminal, as if the user were in a place where a server computer exists.

In such a system, when sending an e-mail using the e-mail function provided by an application program, an address book managed / provided by the application program is referred to in order to designate a destination of the e-mail. Will be. In this case, the user who uses the portable terminal refers to the common address book and the personal address book managed by the application program via the information exchange device.

[0005] However, each time the address book is referred to, access must be made via an application program, and connection and communication between the information exchange apparatus and the application program are complicated. In addition, an address book must be created for each application program, and setting, operation, and management by the user are troublesome.

[0006]

As described above, connection and communication between an information exchange apparatus and an application program have been complicated when referring to an address book using a mail function. Further, an address book must be created for each application program, and there is a problem that setting, operation, and management by a user are troublesome.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and provides a shared address book that can be referred to from a plurality of application programs having a mail function, and centrally manages the address book. It is an object of the present invention to provide a server system having an address book that can be easily set, operated, and managed by a user without performing connection and communication, and an address information providing method in the server system.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a server system for providing a client with services of a plurality of applications having a mail function, wherein the server system comprises a shared address holding address information shared by the plurality of applications. A means for providing a book to a client is provided.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to realize an address book that can be easily set, operated, and managed by a user without complicated connection and communication with each application.

[0010] Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned shared address book,
It is characterized in that information indicating which application uses the registered address information is registered.

According to such a configuration, when referring to the address book from the client, it is possible to provide only the address information corresponding to the application currently used by the client.

Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned shared address book,
It is characterized in that information for specifying a user who can refer to the registered address information is registered. According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide address information according to the client when referring to the address book from the client.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. LAN (Local Ar
e-mail server 11, group A wear server 12, information exchange server 1
3, groupware B server 14, access server 15
Are connected to each other, and constitute a server system 20.

The e-mail server 11 is a server computer on which an e-mail program having an e-mail function is mounted as an application program and provides the client with an e-mail function.

The groupware A server 12 is a server computer on which a program of groupware A having a mail function as an application program is mounted and which provides a client with a mail function.

The groupware B server 14 is a server computer on which a groupware B program having a mail function as an application program is mounted and which provides a client with a mail function.

The information exchange server 13 is an access server 1
5. Application service information according to the processing capability of the communication network 16 and the mobile terminal using the application service information provided by each of the e-mail server 11, the groupware A server 12, and the groupware B server 14 via the communication network 16. Is provided to the portable terminal after conversion. The information exchange server 13 has a function as an information exchange device by mounting a middleware program on a server computer. The information exchange server 13 is provided with a shared address book 13a and a personal address book A13b.
The shared address book 13a is for registering and managing the address information of the mail destinations managed by the respective programs of E-mail, groupware A and groupware B in common. The personal address book A13b is an address book set by the user of the mobile terminal A17 for personal use.
It is shared by each program of e-mail, groupware A, and groupware B.

The mobile terminal A17, the mobile terminal B18, and the mobile terminal C19 are connected to the server system 2 via the communication network 16.
0, such as a portable PC, a personal information terminal, and a smartphone.

The access server 15 has a function as a connection destination for connecting a terminal to the server system 20 via the communication network 16. Mobile terminal A17, mobile terminal B18,
A browser program is mounted on the mobile terminal C19, and by connecting to the information exchange server 13 via the browser program, an application service provided by an application program mounted on each server is received.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of data registered in the shared address book 13a. This shared address book 13a is composed of information registered in four items of name, mail address, classification, and access level. The information registered in the item “name” indicates the name of the user who owns the address information on the right side.
The information registered in the item “address information” indicates the address information of the user specified by the name on the left.
The information registered in the item "classification" indicates which application program uses the address information on the left side thereof. When “E” is registered in the item of this classification, it indicates that the address information on the left side is the address information used in the e-mail function of the e-mail program. Similarly, when “A” is registered in the classification item, it indicates that the address information on the left side is the address information used in the mail function of the groupware A. Further, when “B” is registered in the classification item, it indicates that the address information on the left side thereof is the address information used in the mail function of the groupware B. The information registered in the item “access level” indicates information for specifying a user who can refer to the name and address information on the left side. When “1” is registered in the item of this access level, it means that all users can refer to the address information. Similarly, when “2” is registered in the item of the access level, it means that a user belonging to a specific group can refer to the address information. When there are a plurality of specific groups, each group is distinguished by using a plurality of numerical values registered in the item “access level”. If “3” is registered in the item of the access level, it means that only the system administrator of the server system 20 can refer to it.

The operation of the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The flowchart in FIG. 3 describes a case where the mobile terminal A17 connects to the groupware A server 12 of the server system 20 and uses the mail function of the groupware A.

First, a browser program is started on the portable terminal A17, and the URL (Uniform Resource) of the information exchange server 13 is executed by the browser program.
eLocator) is specified to connect to the information exchange server 13 (step 31). Upon receiving the connection from the mobile terminal A17, the information exchange server 13 transfers display information to the mobile terminal A17, and causes the mobile terminal A17 to display a list of application programs provided in the server system 20. By displaying this list of application programs on the mobile terminal A17, the user is prompted to select which application program to use. Next, an application program to be used is selected on the portable terminal A17 (step 32).

As a result of the selection by the user, the information exchange server 13 connects to the server computer in which the designated application program is installed in place of the portable terminal A17. In this example, it is assumed that the user has selected the groupware A. Therefore, the information exchange server 13 is connected to the groupware A server 12, receives the initial screen information for selecting the processing function from the groupware A server 12, and converts this to information matching the processing function of the portable terminal A17. And transfer. The mobile terminal A17 selects a function to be used from the transferred initial screen information (scanner 33). It is assumed that the mail function is selected as a result of this selection. In the following step 34, it is determined whether the selected function is a mail function (step 34).

If the result of this determination is that a function other than the mail function has been selected, the routine proceeds to step 36, where the processing of the selected function is performed. This function includes, for example, referencing a bulletin board. In this processing, the information exchange server 13 intervenes between the groupware A server 12 and the mobile terminal A17, and the groupware realized by the groupware A server 12 based on the selection and instruction from the mobile terminal A17. The function of A will be executed.

On the other hand, when the mail function is selected,
Proceeding to step 35, mail processing is performed. Details of the processing of the mail function will be described later. After the mail processing function in step 35 is completed, or after the other processing functions are completed in step 36, an initial screen is displayed on the portable terminal A17 in step 37 to determine whether to use another function. Let me choose. As a result of this selection, if the processing is to be continued, the process returns to step S33. If no other processing is to be performed, all the processing of the groupware A ends.

Next, the case of sending a mail will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 as the mail processing function in step 35 in the flowchart of FIG. The information exchange server 13 receives the initial screen information for performing the processing of the groupware A from the groupware A server 12, converts the initial screen information into information matching the processing function of the mobile terminal A17, and transfers the information.

The mobile terminal A17 implements a predetermined mail function by selecting a function to be used from the transferred initial screen information. It is assumed that the information exchange server 13 adds icon information for using the address book to the initial screen information transferred from the information exchange server 13 to the portable terminal A17. If an icon cannot be displayed on the mobile terminal, information such as a button in place of the icon is displayed. In any case, the information registered in the address book can be referred to by selecting an icon or a button corresponding to the address book on the portable terminal.

When sending a mail, there are three procedures: creation of a mail sentence, designation of a mail transmission destination, and transmission.
Among these procedures, the order of creating the mail text and specifying the address of the destination is performed depending on the user's selection of the process.
Now, after the user creates a mail message in step 41, the destination address is specified (step 4).
2). At this time, first, the icon of the address book displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal A17 is selected. With this selection, the information exchange server 13 displays the information registered in the shared address book 13a on the screen of the mobile terminal A17 and receives the selection of the address.

Specifically, the application program currently used by the portable terminal A17 is the groupware A
And if the user currently using the mobile terminal A17 is not a system administrator or a user belonging to a specific group, the item of “classification” in the address book 13a shown in FIG. Of the names registered as “A” and the address information corresponding to this name, those having “1” registered in the item of “access level” are displayed in a list. Thereafter, the user specifies the destination address of the mail by selecting the address information of the predetermined destination from the displayed name and address information list screen on the mobile terminal A17. Thereafter, the transmission of the mail is designated by specifying the transmission of the mail created in step 43, and the processing of the mail is completed.

In a state where information registered in the shared address book 13a is displayed in a list on the screen of the portable terminal A17, by selecting a specific address, the "address information" corresponding to the selected "address information" is selected. The information of "name" and "access level" can be registered in the personal address book. FIG. 1 shows that the mobile terminal A17
3 shows a state in which a user holds a personal address book A13b created for personal use. This personal address book does not need to be stored in the information exchange server 13, but may be stored locally in each mobile terminal. FIG. 1 shows a state where the personal address book 18a is held in the portable terminal B18.

In the above description, the embodiment in which the information exchange server 13 is provided independently has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a middleware program for realizing the information exchange server 13 is implemented by any application program. It may be implemented in a server computer. Further, the configuration may be such that a plurality of application programs and a middleware program for realizing the information exchange server 13 are mounted on one server computer.

[0032]

According to the present invention, by providing a shared address book that can be referred to from a plurality of application programs having a mail function and centrally managing the address book, complicated connection and communication with each application can be prevented. Address information can be referenced. Also, the user can easily set, operate, and manage the address book.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of data registered in a shared address book 13a.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a mobile terminal A17 and a groupware A server 12 of a server system 20, and the groupware A;
The flowchart figure explaining operation | movement at the time of using the mail function of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a mail processing function in step 35 of the flowchart in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 LAN 11 Email server 12 Groupware server A 13 Information exchange server 13a Shared address book 13b Personal address book A 14 Groupware server B 15 Access server 16 ‥ Communication network 17 ‥‥ Mobile terminal A 18 ‥‥ Mobile terminal B 18a ‥‥ Personal address book B 19 ‥‥ Mobile terminal C 20 ‥‥ Server system

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A server system for providing services of a plurality of applications having a mail function to a client, wherein the server system includes means for providing a client with a shared address book holding address information shared by the plurality of applications. A server system characterized by being provided. 2. The server system according to claim 1, wherein the server system holds a personal address book common to the plurality of applications for each client connected to the system. 3. The shared address book, wherein information indicating which application uses the registered address information is registered.
Server system as described. 4. The server system according to claim 1, wherein information specifying a user who can refer to the registered address information is registered in said shared address book. 5. A server system for providing a client with services of a plurality of applications having a mail function, wherein an address book holding address information shared by the plurality of applications is provided to provide address information to the client. Address information providing method in a server system. 6. In the shared address book, information indicating which application uses the registered address information is registered, and address information corresponding to the application used by the client is provided to the client. 6. The method for providing address information in a server system according to claim 5, wherein 7. In the shared address book, information for specifying a user who can refer to the registered address information is registered, and an address is provided to the client based on the information for specifying a user to whom the address information can be referred. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the information is provided.