JP2001331427A - Electronic mail system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic mail system for automatically confirming the termination of mail, eliminating the limit of the number of the characters of the mail and easily confirming even the mail in the past. SOLUTION: This electronic mail system 1 is provided with a mail reading and recording means 11 for periodically reading prescribed mail from an existing electronic mail server 3 and recording it in a mail data DB 23, a mail access information transmission means 12 for transmitting address information for accessing a mail perusal image for perusing the mail recorded in the mail data DB 23 to a portable telephone set 4, an authentication means 13 for authenticating a user accessing the mail perusal image based on the address information and a mail display means 14 for reading the mail of the authenticated user from the mail data DB 23 and making it perusable by the browser of the portable telephone set 4. Since the mail is perused by a browser function, the limit of the number of the characters is eliminated.

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 more particularly, to an electronic mail system that can efficiently read an electronic mail with a small communication terminal such as a mobile phone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art E-mail widely used as information transmission means has been used in personal computers (PCs) in the past, but has recently been used in mobile phones. By the way, on a PC, incoming mail is sent to a predetermined mail server
It must be accessed and confirmed from the C side. For this reason, each user (user) has to perform an operation of accessing a predetermined mail server every time the user confirms the arrival of mail, which is complicated. In particular, since mail is not sent to the user until the user confirms the incoming call, the user who wants to check the contents of the received mail as quickly as possible may check for incoming mail every few minutes, which makes the operation complicated. In addition, in the case of connection by dial-up line used by general users,
There is a problem that a fee is charged every time the connection is made, and the cost increases.

On the other hand, in a mobile phone, when an e-mail addressed to the mobile phone is sent, the e-mail is directly sent to the mobile phone from a telecommunications carrier (carrier) that provides a mobile phone service. Email is automatically and instantly sent to the mobile phone. For this reason, there is an advantage that an incoming call confirmation operation such as a PC can be unnecessary, and an incoming mail confirmation is not required, so that unnecessary communication charges are not generated. In addition, a mobile phone has the advantage that mail can be easily checked even when going out. For this reason, in recent years, an e-mail sent to a personal computer at work or at home has been often transferred to an e-mail for one's own mobile phone, and the e-mail has been often checked with the mobile phone.

[0004]

However, a portable telephone has a small display device such as a liquid crystal display for miniaturization, and has a very small memory capacity as compared with a personal computer or the like. The number of characters was limited to about 250 characters. For this reason, even if an e-mail with a long sentence that is longer than the limited number of characters is received, there is a problem that only the limited number of characters can be read, and the contents thereafter cannot be confirmed. In particular, if the sender of the email recognizes that it is for a mobile phone and composes the email,
There are few problems because the sender often creates a message with careful attention to the character limit, but when forwarding mail addressed to a personal computer such as a company and reading it on a mobile phone, consider the character limit at the sender. However, there is a problem that the contents cannot be sufficiently grasped in some cases, and the usability is poor.

[0005] Furthermore, the mail sent to the mobile phone is
It is stored in the memory of the mobile phone. However, since this memory capacity is smaller than that of a personal computer, etc., it is not possible to store many mails. Has to be deleted, and there is also a problem that past mail cannot be checked again.

[0006] On the other hand, in order to eliminate such a problem of the number of characters and the memory capacity, in recent years, the full text of an e-mail has been transmitted by using a browser function for browsing an Internet homepage which has been mounted on a mobile phone. A service that makes it readable has also been launched. That is, an e-mail addressed to a mobile phone or a personal computer is transmitted to the Web.
The contents of the mail can be browsed by writing the information on the homepage and accessing the homepage from a mobile phone.

However, in order to check the mail written on the homepage, it is necessary to access the service site of the homepage and check whether there is any new mail. In other words, the same operation as that for confirming the arrival of an e-mail on a normal PC is required, and the operation is complicated, and the same problem that a communication fee is increased occurs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail system which can automatically confirm the arrival of an e-mail, has no character limit on the e-mail, and can easily confirm past e-mails. is there.

[0009]

An electronic mail system according to the present invention comprises: a mail reading and recording means for periodically reading a mail sent from an existing electronic mail server to a predetermined mail address and recording the mail in a mail data database; A mail access information transmitting means for transmitting address information for accessing a mail browsing screen for browsing mail recorded in the mail data database to a preset communication terminal; and the mail browsing based on the address information. Authentication means for authenticating a user who has accessed the screen, and mail display means for reading the mail of the authenticated user from the mail data database and enabling browsing by a browser of a communication terminal. Things.

[0010] In the present invention, since the e-mail can be browsed by accessing the e-mail system using the browser function of the communication terminal, the e-mail is not directly transmitted to the communication terminal such as a mobile phone. Such restrictions on the number of characters can be eliminated. For this reason, even if the e-mail is a long sentence, the entire sentence can be reliably viewed. Also, the mail reading and recording means of the e-mail system regularly accesses the existing e-mail server, and notifies the communication terminal of the newly added e-mail only by adding the address information for browsing to the communication terminal. In addition, the user does not need to confirm the incoming of the electronic mail by himself / herself, and can automatically know the incoming. For this reason, the operation of confirming the arrival of the mail can be made unnecessary, complicated work can be eliminated, and the communication fee and the like can be reduced.

The mail reading and recording means is a mail address database in which a user code for specifying a user, the mail address to be read from an electronic mail server, and electronic mail server information for specifying the existing electronic mail server are recorded. , And is preferably configured to read out the mail addressed to the mail address recorded in the mail address database from the electronic mail server.

If such a mail address database is provided, each user can set a mail address that the user wants to transfer to the communication terminal in this system, and the convenience is improved. In addition, even if a user has a plurality of e-mail addresses, by inputting those e-mail addresses, e-mails addressed to the respective e-mail addresses can be browsed collectively on a communication terminal, thereby further improving convenience. Can be improved. Further, the present system can be used, for example, when reading an e-mail from only a fixed e-mail server in the company. However, if e-mail server information corresponding to each e-mail address is registered, a plurality of different e-mails can be used. E-mail can also be read from the mail server,
Convenience can be further improved, and the service of the electronic mace system can be provided to unspecified general users. For this reason, a new and useful mail service can be provided to a user who receives an e-mail with a mobile phone having a particularly limited number of characters.

[0013] The mail reading and recording means may record a user code of the read mail, a mail identification code for identifying each mail having the same user code, a mail header, and a mail text in the mail data database. preferable.

If the mail header containing the information of the sender and the like and the mail body are separately stored, the information recorded in the mail header such as the sender and the subject is taken out and the summary information of each mail is obtained. Can be easily created. In addition, since a mail identification code is provided, a plurality of mails having the same user code can be reliably identified and processed such as display.

[0015] The mail access information transmitting means transmits the address information with an authentication code added thereto, and when the browser of the communication terminal accesses the mail browsing screen using the address information with the authentication code added. Preferably, the authentication means is configured to automatically perform authentication based on the added authentication code.

In the communication terminal, for example, by selecting the address information sent from the mail access information transmitting means, the communication terminal is connected to a mail browsing screen (eg, an electronic mail service homepage) specified by the address. At this time, if an authentication code is added to the address information sent from the mail access information transmitting means, when the address information is selected, the authentication code can also be sent to the e-mail system, and the authentication of the e-mail system can be performed. The means can automatically execute the authentication by the code. This eliminates the need for each user to input information for authenticating the user, such as an ID and a password, on the communication terminal, thereby improving operability when browsing mail.

In the case where at least a plurality of mails of the authenticated user are recorded in the mail data database, the mail display means creates summary information of each of these mails and displays a list on a mail browsing screen. When the user selects a specific mail, it is preferable that the entire text of the mail is displayed on the mail browsing screen. Here, it is preferable that the summary information includes at least the sender of the mail and the subject.

With this configuration, the user can
Even when a plurality of mails are recorded, by referring to the list in which the summary information of the mails is described, it is possible to easily specify the mail that the user wants to view the full text, and to efficiently browse the mail contents.

The mail display means displays a search screen on a mail browsing screen, searches mail data in the mail data database based on a keyword input on the search screen, and displays summary information of the corresponding mail. It is preferable to have a search function for creating and displaying a list on the mail browsing screen.

If such a search means is provided, only e-mails that match a predetermined keyword can be displayed in a list, and an e-mail whose full text is to be viewed can be easily selected from the list, so that the e-mail contents can be efficiently viewed. .

Here, a user setting database including at least a user code for specifying the user, identification data of the user, a password of the user, and a communication terminal mail address used for transmission to the communication terminal. It is preferable to have

If the system is configured to record user identification data (ID) and password (PW) in a database,
Each user can also access and input this database, thereby facilitating the setting operation. Note that the user setting database includes information on a time during which an incoming mail can be notified to a communication terminal and a condition for selecting mail for which an incoming notification is not performed, such as a mail including a predetermined sender or specific information. It is preferable to record information such as filter conditions to be set.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electronic mail system 1 according to the present embodiment. E-mail system 1
Is composed of a computer, specifically, a control device 10 composed of a CPU and the like for executing various programs, a storage device 20 composed of a hard disk and a memory for storing each database and programs, a modem, a terminal adapter, and a router. And the like, and a communication control device 30 including Furthermore, a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a printer, and the like (not shown) are also provided as appropriate.

The electronic mail system 1 is connected to a communication network 2 via a communication control device 30. The communication network 2 includes various lines capable of at least data communication, such as an analog public network, a digital public network (ISDN), a digital private line, a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone, and a LAN. In the present embodiment, a mobile communication network 2A and an Internet network 2B composed of a public line network and a dedicated line are provided.

A mail server 3 installed in each company or Internet provider is connected to the communication network 2, and a mobile phone 4 and a PD with a communication function are connected to the mail server 3.
A (personal digital assistants) 5 and a PC (personal computer) 6 are connected. In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 4 and the PDA with a communication function are used.
5 constitutes a communication terminal. That is, the communication terminal only needs to have a communication function and a browser function. Further, the present invention is not limited to a single device having a communication function and a browser function, but may be, for example, a combination of a mobile phone having a communication function and a PDA having a browser function.

The control device 10 includes a mail reading and recording means 1
1, mail access information transmitting means 12, authentication means 13,
It is provided with mail display means 14. The storage device 20 stores a user database (hereinafter abbreviated as DB) 21, a mail address DB 22, a mail data DB 23, and a user setting DB 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user DB 21
A user name 211 and a user code 212 are stored. The user name 211 stores the name of a user who uses the e-mail system 1, and the user code 212 stores a code uniquely determined according to the user name.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mail address DB 22 stores the user code 221 and the mail address 2
22, mail server information 223, and password 22
4, reading interval 225 are stored. The mail address 222 stores an existing mail address that the user wants to transfer to a communication terminal such as the mobile phone 4. In the mail server information 223, information for specifying each mail server 3 in which a mail addressed to the existing mail address is stored is stored. For example, in each mail server 3 for Internet mail, the address information of the receiving mail server (POP server) is stored. The password 224 stores a password for performing authentication when reading the mail at the mail address 222 from each mail server 3.

In the reading interval 225, a time interval is set in which the mail server 3 is accessed to check the incoming mail and read it. These information can be set by each user accessing the e-mail system 1 via the communication line network 2 and inputting using the mobile phone 4 or the PC 6 or the like. A user who wishes to transfer mail from a plurality of mail servers 3 can set the mail server information 223, password 224, and read interval 2 for each mail address 222 as shown in "CC00004" in FIG.
25 may be set.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mail data DB 23 stores the user code 231 and the mail identification code 23.
2, a mail header 233, a mail body 234, and a transmitted flag 235 are stored. This mail data DB2
3 stores the mail content read from each mail server 3 separately into a mail header 233 and a mail body 234. The mail header 233 stores the head of the electronic mail in which various control information such as the sender of the mail, the route information, and the title are described. The mail body 234 stores a body part following the mail header.

The mail identification code 232 is set so that when a plurality of mails addressed to the same user (user code) are registered in the mail data DB 23, these mails can be identified. Sent flag 235
As described later, predetermined data (for example, “1”) is recorded at the time of notification to the communication terminal, and predetermined data (for example, “0”) is recorded when notification is not performed, such as when the notification is suspended. Be recorded.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user setting DB 24 stores the user code 241, user ID 242,
User PW243, mobile phone mail address 244,
A transfer start time 245, a transfer end time 246, and a filter condition 247 are stored. The user ID 242 and the user PW 243 are data used when the authentication unit 13 authenticates a user who accesses the electronic mail system 1. Mobile phone email address 24
4 stores a mail address of the mobile phone 4 which is a communication terminal for transferring a mail in the electronic mail system 1. In the transfer start time 245 and the transfer end time 246, a time at which the system 1 starts and ends a mail transfer is stored.

In the filter condition 247, the condition of the mail that the user wants to refuse to read the mail is registered.
For example, if it is desired to reject all e-mails from a specific sender, the sender's e-mail address may be registered. Each user accesses the e-mail system 1 via the communication network 2 and obtains the information,
It can be set by inputting at C6.

The operation of the electronic mail system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

(A) Mail reading and recording process from mail server 3 The mail reading and recording means 11
The mail server 3 is configured to access the mail server 3 at a time interval set by the read interval 225 of the mail address DB 22 to read out the corresponding mail and record it in the mail data DB 23 for each one. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the mail reading / recording means 11 counts the time using a timer (step 1, hereinafter, step is abbreviated as “S”), and determines whether a set time, for example, 30 minutes, has elapsed. Is determined (S2).

When the set time has elapsed, the mail reading / recording means 11 reads the user code 2 from the mail address DB 22.
21, mail address 222, mail server information 22
3. The information (reading destination mail information) necessary for reading the mail addressed to the user, such as the password 224, is obtained from the existing mail server 3 used by the user (S3).

The mail reading and recording means 11 accesses the mail server 3 using the read mail information (S).
4). If there is no new mail addressed to the user (S5), the process returns to the timer count (S1). On the other hand, if there is a new mail (S5), it is checked whether the read mail matches the filter condition 247 (S6). If the mail does not match the filter condition 247, the read mail is stored in the mail data DB 23. To record.
At this time, the mail data is separately recorded in the mail header 233 and the mail text 234. When recording the user code 231, the same user code 231
Is searched for, and if not, a code (for example, “1”) for identifying the first mail is recorded in the mail identification code 232. When the same user code 231 is recorded, a code different from the mail identification code 232 attached to the data (for example, “the maximum value of the identification code 232 added to the same user code + 1” )) Is recorded (S7). On the other hand, when the read mail matches the filter condition 247 (S6), the process returns to the timer count (S1).

When a new mail is recorded in the mail data DB 23 (S7), the mail arrival notification processing (S7)
8) is performed, and when the process is completed, the process returns to the timer count (S1).

(B) Mail Incoming Notification Process As shown in FIG. 7, the mail incoming notification process is performed based on a user setting D based on the user code from which the new mail has been read.
B24 is searched, and the mobile phone mail address 244 of the transfer destination of the user is read (S11).

Here, it is checked whether it is within the transferable time (S12). In the present embodiment, the transfer start time 24
5. If no time is recorded in the transfer end time 246 (initial setting), it is treated as being always transferable, and if a time is entered in these, a notification process is performed if it is within the time. If not, the notification process is not performed.

When the transferable time is checked (S1
If the transfer is possible in 2), the mail access information transmitting means 12 transmits the mail access information necessary for browsing the mail, specifically, a mail browsing screen (a mail browsing Web ( WWW, world wide w
eb)) URL (uniform resource locators: Web
Address), user ID 242, user PW24
3. The mail identification code 232 and the summary information of the mail data are stored in the mobile phone mail address 244 of the user.
(S13). Here, the summary information of the mail data includes at least information of a transmission source and a title (subject) of the mail. However, the content of the mail data to be added may be appropriately adjusted according to the number of mails to be transmitted and the number of characters. For example, if there is only one sent outgoing mail and the entire text can be sent,
The whole text may be added and transmitted. Also, if there are multiple emails or if the number of characters in the body exceeds the limit,
The text may be summarized and added. In this way, the user can understand the contents of the e-mail more and the convenience is improved.

The mail data transmitted to the mobile phone mail address 244 records data (for example, "1") indicating that transmission has been completed in the transmitted flag 235 of the mail data DB 23 (S14). In the transmitted flag 235, data indicating an untransmitted state is recorded as an initial value (for example, “0”), and the data is overwritten only when the transmission has been completed. Then, the mail access information transmitting means 12 retransmits the mail data whose transmission flag 235 is “0” when the transfer start time has come, such as when the notification process is not performed outside the time. When the above processing is completed, the timer count (S
Return to 1).

(C) E-mail reading access processing The e-mail access information transmitted to the above-mentioned mobile phone is
Mobile communication network 2A such as each base station of a mobile phone service company
Is transmitted to the mobile phone 4 of each user via the. On the screen 4A of each mobile phone 4, like a normal mail,
When the new mail arrival is displayed, and each user opens the mail access information in the new mail,
An email is displayed. In the body of this mail, the number of newly arrived mails 301, the URL 302 of the mail browsing Web, and the summary information 303 of the newly arrived mails are described. UR
L302 includes a user ID 242 ("Who = xx" in FIG. 8).
xx "), the user PW 243 (" Pass = yyy "), and the mail identification code 232 (" No = zzz "). Further, in the summary information 303, the sender of each mail and the subject are described together with the identification code.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the user who has received the mail selects the URL 302 portion of the received mail and presses a predetermined key, "Web to tag" (a function of shifting to a homepage browsing mode) is activated. Working, that UR
The information of L302 is transmitted to the electronic mail system 1 (S21). In the electronic mail system 1, the URL 3
02, and the user ID is entered in the URL 302.
242, user PW243, mail identification code 232
Is checked (S22).

Here, normally, when the received mail access information is selected and the electronic mail system 1 is accessed by the “Web to tag” function, the ID 242, P
W243 and the identification code 232 are automatically added. On the other hand, when the user accesses the mail browsing screen of the e-mail system 1 using the browser function of the mobile phone 4 or the PC 6 in order to view the mail received in the past again, the ID 242, the PW 243, the identification code 23
2 is not automatically entered. Therefore, in the electronic mail system 1, the ID 242, the PW 243, the identification code 23
It is checked whether or not there is 2 and the processing is changed depending on whether or not there is 2.

If the ID 242 and the PW 243 do not exist (S23), the electronic mail system 1 transmits the input screen of the ID 242 and the PW 243 shown in FIG. 10 to the user's mobile phone 4 (S24) and displays it on the screen 4A. (S
25). When the input screen of the ID 242 and the PW 243 is displayed on the mobile phone 4, the user can enter the predetermined ID, P
W is input and transmitted to the e-mail system 1 (S2
6).

The electronic mail system 1 transmits the transmitted I
D and PW are collated using the user setting DB 24 (S2
7) If they match, the process proceeds to menu processing described below (S28, S29). On the other hand, if they do not match, the input screen transmission process is repeated (S24).

On the other hand, if the access information received by the electronic mail system 1 includes the ID 242 and PW 243 (S23), the ID and PW are collated using the user setting DB 24 (S30). ID2
42, the process proceeds to an input screen transmission process of the PW 243 (S3
1).

If the ID and PW match, (S
31) Then, it is checked whether or not there is an identification code 232 (S32). If there is no identification code 232, the process shifts to menu processing (S29). On the other hand, if there is the identification code 232, the process shifts to a one-page mail display process for sequentially displaying the entire text of the mail specified by the identification code 232 (S3).
3).

(D) Menu processing Upon shifting to the menu processing, the electronic mail system 1
As shown in FIG. 11, the menu screen is transmitted to the mobile phone 4 (S41), and the menu screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the screen 4A of the mobile phone 4 (S42). Then, the user selects a menu to be executed from the menu, and transmits the menu to the electronic mail system 1 (S43).
Specifically, the “Web to tag” function is executed by selecting a menu and pressing a predetermined key, or the menu is selected and transmitted by inputting a menu number with a key of the mobile phone 4.

When the e-mail system 1 receives the information of the selected menu (S44), it determines whether the incoming call order has been selected (S45), whether the keyword search has been selected (S46), and the user setting. (S4
7) are sequentially determined, and the selected processes, that is, the incoming mail display process (S48), the keyword search process (S49), and the user setting process (S50) are executed.
When a key for ending the menu screen (for example, a key for executing another function or the like) is selected on the menu screen and an instruction to end the menu is issued (S51), the menu processing ends. If the end is not instructed, the process returns to the menu screen transmission process (S41).

(E) Incoming Order Mail Display Process As shown in FIG. 13, when the process proceeds to the incoming order mail displaying process, the electronic mail system 1 displays the incoming mail list on the Web.
(S61), and is displayed on the screen 4A of the user's mobile phone 4 for each screen of the incoming mail list as shown in FIG. 14 (S62). Here, in the incoming mail list, not only a new mail but also a mail list of each user recorded in the mail data DB 23 of the electronic mail system 1 is displayed from the top in the order of arrival.

Then, the user presses the next page key (for example, the number "9" of the mobile phone 4) (S63), and when the next page key input is detected by the electronic mail system 1 (S6).
4) The next page of the list screen is displayed (S65). Also,
The user selects an e-mail to be viewed from the list of e-mails using the “Web to tag” function (S6).
3) When the selection input is detected by the electronic mail system 1 (S66), display processing of the selected mail (mail one-page display processing) is performed (S67).

Further, the user presses a key for returning to the menu (for example, the number "0" of the mobile phone 4) (S6).
3) When the "menu return input" is detected by the electronic mail system 1 (S68), the process returns to the menu processing (S6).
9).

(F) One-Page Mail Display Process In the one-page mail display process, as shown in FIG. 15, the selected mail is processed into a Web format and transmitted one page at a time (S71), and as shown in FIG. Then, it is displayed on the screen 4A of the mobile phone 4 (S72). Then, the user presses a predetermined key (button) of the mobile phone 4 (S73), and when a predetermined process is instructed (S74), the instructed process is executed (S75).

For example, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, in the mobile phone 4, since the Web information is transmitted one page at a time on the screen, when the next page key (for example, the "9" key of the mobile phone) is pressed, the next page is pressed. The page data is displayed. Similarly, when the next mail key (for example, the "#" key) is pressed, the next mail is selected and the first page thereof is displayed. On the other hand, when the previous mail key (for example, “7” key) is pressed, the previous mail is selected and 1
The page is displayed.

When a reply key (for example, the "2" key) is pressed, a reply mail creation screen for the selected mail is displayed.
At this time, the reply mail can be easily input, for example, the address of the sender of the selected mail is automatically input as the destination of the reply mail. Further, when the delete key (for example, the “4” key) is pressed, a mail deletion processing screen is displayed. When the delete execution key is pressed on the screen, the selected mail is deleted from the mail data DB 23.

Pressing a return key (eg, “*” key) returns to the mail list screen, and pressing a menu key (eg, “0” key) returns to the menu screen. As shown in FIG. 16, the processing of each of these keys is also displayed at the end of the mail body, so that the user who has browsed to the end of the mail can easily select the processing.

(G) Keyword Search Process As shown in FIG. 18, when the process proceeds to the keyword search process, the electronic mail system 1 displays the keyword input screen on the W
It transmits via eb (S81). Then, a keyword search screen as shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the screen 4A. When the user inputs a keyword and presses "search" (S82), the e-mail system 1 uses the received keyword to send a mail data DB.
The mail data (header, body) of the user stored in the server 23 is searched (S84). When the return key is pressed on the search screen (S82, 83), the process returns to the menu processing (S85).

When a search is executed and a matching mail is extracted, the number of the extracted mail data, the sender,
The subject is processed so as to be viewed on the Web and displayed on the Web (S86). As in the case of the incoming-order mail display processing, the user browses the list displayed on the Web using the browser function (S87), and based on the user's next page display or mail selection processing (S88), the next page display processing or selection is made. One page display processing of the received mail is performed (S89).
Since these processes are the same as the incoming mail display process, the details are omitted.

When these processes are completed, the process returns to the keyword input screen, and the processes are continued as appropriate (S81). In addition,
In the one-page mail display process, as shown in FIG. 17, it is possible to move directly to each screen.

(H) User setting processing When "User setting" is selected from the menu, a setting screen is displayed. On the setting screen, "Mail user setting", "Server setting", "Filter setting", and "Accept password change selection" are displayed. Is performed. For example, in the "mail user settings", you can set the destination of the new arrival notification, set the e-mail address at the time of reply, set the new arrival notification (yes / no), set the notification permitted time zone (notification start time, notification end time), etc. The setting information is stored in the user setting DB 24.

Similarly, in the “filter setting”, the filter condition 247 can be set.
47 is also recorded in the user setting DB 24. As the filter condition 247, in addition to setting the above-mentioned transmission source, it is also possible to set to prohibit reading (receiving) of a mail when a specific keyword is included in the subject or body. In “Change Password”, the password (P
W) 243 can be changed and stored in the user setting DB 24. This allows the user to periodically change the PW 243 and improve security.

In the “server setting”, an existing mail address is set (a plurality of mail addresses are set) and stored in the mail address DB 22 as setting data of the user.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since emails can be processed and displayed in Web format,
It can be browsed by a browser function of a communication terminal such as the mobile phone 4. Therefore, unlike the case where a mail is directly transmitted to the ordinary mobile phone 4, there is no limit on the number of characters of the mail, and even if the sentence is a long sentence, the entire sentence can be reliably viewed.

(2) Since the mail reading and recording means 11 accesses the mail server 3 periodically and notifies the arrival of a new mail by e-mail when the new mail arrives, the user can notify the arrival of the e-mail by himself / herself. There is no need to confirm, you can automatically know the incoming call. For this reason,
It is possible to eliminate the need for an operation for confirming the arrival of mail, thereby eliminating complicated operations and reducing communication fees.

(3) Since the summary mail 303 such as the mail sender and the subject is added to the notification mail of the incoming call,
The user can immediately determine whether the mail needs to be confirmed, and can easily perform the mail browsing operation.

(4) The notification mail of the incoming call also has the address information (URL 302) for reading the text of the mail. Therefore, when the user opens the notification mail, the user must open the homepage of the address indicated. You can check the email immediately. In particular, in the mobile phone 4,
If the URL 302 of the homepage is described, "W
Since the homepage can be easily browsed using the “eb to tag” function, the e-mail can be confirmed by a simple operation.

(5) In addition, the URL 302 includes an ID and PW for specifying the user and an identification code of each mail.
If you access the e-mail system 1 using
The input of D and PW is not required, the mail specified by the identification code can be browsed immediately, and the mail can be confirmed by a very simple operation.

(6) Since the mail data is stored in the mail data DB 23, the previous mail other than the new mail can be browsed again. In particular, the e-mail system 1 composed of a server computer, etc.
Since the storage device 20 including a hard disk or the like having a much larger storage capacity than that of the mobile phone 4 or the like is provided, it is possible to store a much larger number of mails than when storing the mail in the memory of the mobile phone 4. It is possible to easily refer to past e-mails.

(7) Each user has a mail address DB
Since a plurality of e-mail addresses can be registered in the e-mail server 22 and the e-mails of the plurality of e-mail addresses can be browsed collectively on the mobile phone 4, the convenience can be further improved. In particular, by registering each mail server 3 in the mail server information 223 in the mail address DB 22, the e-mail can be read from a plurality of different e-mail servers 3, and the convenience can be further improved.
In addition, since the service of the electronic mail system 1 can be provided to an unspecified general user, the electronic mail system 1 is new and especially suitable for a user who receives an e-mail with the mobile phone 4 having a strict number of characters. A useful mail service can be provided.

(8) Since the mail display means 14 is provided with a keyword search function, it is possible to display only a list of mails that match a predetermined keyword, and to easily select a mail whose whole text is to be viewed from the list. Can be browsed efficiently.

(9) Each user has a user setting DB2
4 and the mail address DB22, the transfer start time 245,
Since the transfer end time 246, the filter condition 247, the reading interval 225, and the like can be set, a usage method according to the usage status of each user can be set, and a convenient service can be provided.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications and the like within a range that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

For example, the summary information is not limited to the sender and subject of the mail, but may be, for example, a number of characters in the body, and these may be set as appropriate according to the number of characters, the number of mails, and the like. May be performed.

The electronic mail system 1 may be for employees of each company or for general users, and may use a communication terminal such as the mobile phone 4 having a strict number of characters for mail. Service to a wide range of users.

Further, the specific configurations and processing contents of the mail reading and recording means 11, the mail access information transmitting means 12, the authentication means 13, and the mail display means 14 of each control device 10 are not limited to those of the above-described embodiment. May be added so that appropriate processing can be executed. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the setting is made such that the mail that matches the filter condition 247 is not read from the electronic mail server 3.
It may be used as a condition for reading the mail but not for notifying the mobile phone 4. In addition, the storage device 20
The data items of each of the DBs 21 to 24 are not limited to the above embodiment, and may be appropriately added or changed according to the implementation.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention, an incoming mail can be automatically confirmed, and there is no limit on the number of characters of the mail, and even a past mail can be easily confirmed. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic mace system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user database 21 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a mail address database 22 of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail data database 23 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a user setting database 24 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a mail reading and recording process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a mail arrival notification process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an incoming notification mail according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a mail browsing access process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen of an ID and a PW according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of menu processing according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu selection screen according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an incoming mail display process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a list display screen of incoming mail according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of one-page mail display processing according to the embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a view showing an example of a mail one-page display screen of the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an operation example from a mail one-page display screen of the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a keyword search process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a keyword search screen according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 E-mail system 2 Communication line network 2A Mobile communication network 2B Internet network 3 E-mail server 4 Mobile phone 4A screen 10 Control device 11 E-mail reading and recording means 12 E-mail access information transmitting means 13 Authentication means 14 E-mail display means 20 Storage device 21 User database 22 Email address database 23 Email data database 24 User setting database 30 Communication controller

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Mail reading and recording means for periodically reading mail sent from an existing e-mail server to a predetermined mail address and recording the mail in a mail data database; and browsing mail recorded in the mail data database. Mail access information transmitting means for transmitting address information for accessing a mail browsing screen to be set to a preset communication terminal; and authenticating means for authenticating a user who has accessed the mail browsing screen based on the address information. And an e-mail display means for reading an e-mail of the authenticated user from the e-mail data database and making the e-mail data browsable by a browser of the communication terminal. 2. The e-mail system according to claim 1, wherein the e-mail reading / recording means specifies a user code for specifying a user, the e-mail address to be read from an e-mail server, and the existing e-mail server. The electronic mail server is configured to read an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address recorded in the e-mail address database from the e-mail server with reference to an e-mail address database in which e-mail server information to be recorded is recorded. Mail system. 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein the mail reading and recording means includes: a user code of the read mail; a mail identification code for identifying each mail having the same user code; a mail header; Body and
Is recorded in the mail data database. 4. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the mail access information transmitting unit adds an authentication code to the address information and transmits the address information. The electronic device is configured to automatically perform authentication based on the added authentication code when accessing the mail browsing screen using the address information to which the authentication code is added. Mail system. 5. The e-mail system according to claim 1, wherein said mail display means is provided when at least a plurality of mails of the authenticated user are recorded in a mail data database. The summary information of each e-mail is created and displayed on the e-mail browsing screen, and when the user selects a specific e-mail, the full text of that e-mail is displayed on the e-mail browsing screen. Characterized e-mail system. 6. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the mail display unit displays a search screen on a mail browsing screen, and the mail data is displayed based on a keyword input on the search screen. Search mail data in the database,
An e-mail system having a search function for creating summary information of a corresponding mail and displaying the summary information on a mail browsing screen. 7. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein a user code for identifying the user, identification data of the user, a password of the user, and transmission to the communication terminal. An electronic mail system comprising a user setting database having at least a communication terminal mail address used for the communication terminal.