JP2002033759A - System and method for electronic mail utilization - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic mail utilizing system that enables users to utilize electronic mails, without the need for making a utilization contract with providers in advance or for imposing restrictions by communication terminals on the users. SOLUTION: An account setting means 21 sets a temporary utilization account used temporarily by a user, a temporary utilization account storage means 22 stores the temporary utilization account, and an electronic mail transmission means 24 transmits an electronic mail sent from a communication terminal 10 to a transmission destination of the electronic mail, by using the temporary utilization account.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an e-mail use system and an e-mail use method that enable the use of e-mail, and more particularly, to an e-mail that can be used without being restricted by a communication terminal. The present invention relates to a mail use system and an electronic mail use method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a user who intends to use an e-mail makes a contract with a predetermined Internet provider in advance, obtains a predetermined e-mail account,
Using the e-mail account, e-mail is used. In general, the e-mail account of the contracted user is registered on the personal computer, mobile phone, etc. owned by the user, and the user must enter the e-mail account every time as long as the personal computer, mobile phone, etc. is used It is possible to use an e-mail without performing the operation.

[0003]

However, in the conventional method, in order to use e-mail, it is necessary to sign a contract with a provider in advance, and when e-mail is to be used only temporarily, for example. However, there is a problem that convenience is not sufficient.

In the conventional method, an e-mail can be freely used according to a contract with a provider. To use the e-mail, a personal computer, a mobile phone, or the like in which the obtained e-mail account is registered is used. Must be used,
There is also a problem that public communication devices such as public telephones and communication terminals owned by others cannot easily use e-mail.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an electronic mail using system and an electronic mail using method capable of using electronic mail without making a contract with a provider in advance. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail using system and an electronic mail using method that can freely use electronic mail without being restricted by a communication terminal.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in an electronic mail using system which enables the use of electronic mail, a communication terminal for transmitting the electronic mail by a user; Account setting means for setting a temporary use account temporarily used by a user, temporary use account storage means for storing the temporary use account, and the e-mail transmitted from the communication terminal, An electronic mail using apparatus having an electronic mail transmitting means for transmitting the electronic mail to a transmission destination of the electronic mail.

[0008] Here, the communication terminal transmits the e-mail input by the user, the account setting means sets a temporary use account used temporarily by the user, and the temporary use account storage means sets the temporary use account. Store account,
The e-mail transmitting means transmits the e-mail transmitted from the communication terminal to the destination of the e-mail using the temporary use account.

In the method of using e-mail which enables the use of e-mail, a temporary use account used temporarily by a user is set, the temporary use account is stored, and the temporary use account is used. An e-mail utilization method is provided, wherein the e-mail is transmitted to a destination of the e-mail.

[0010] By doing so, it is possible to use electronic mail without concluding a usage contract in advance and without being restricted by the communication terminal.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an electronic mail using system 1 in the present embodiment.

An electronic mail use system 1 includes a communication terminal 10 through which a user transmits an electronic mail, and a communication terminal 10
An electronic mail using device 20 that enables the use of electronic mail transmitted from the Internet is used, and the electronic mail using device 20 is communicably connected to the Internet 30.

The communication terminal 10 includes a wired telephone, a public telephone,
Wired communication terminals such as cable TV, mobile phones, PHS,
Radio communication terminals such as communication satellites and broadcasting satellites, or a combination of these with a personal computer, a PDA terminal having a communication function, and the like, which are capable of communicating with the electronic mail utilizing device 20, are used. 10 is
It is connected so as to be able to communicate with the electronic mail using device 20 via a wired communication network, a wireless communication network, the Internet, or the like.

The electronic mail using device 20 is transmitted from an account setting unit 21 for setting a temporary use account temporarily used by the user, a temporary use account storage unit 22 for storing the temporary use account, and the communication terminal 10. Transmission content confirmation means 2 for returning the e-mail to the communication terminal 10 from which the e-mail was transmitted for confirmation of the transmission content
3. The e-mail transmitting means 24 for transmitting the e-mail transmitted from the communication terminal to the destination of the e-mail using the temporary use account, and the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account transmitted from the communication terminal 10 It is constituted by account connection means 25 for connecting to the specified account.

Next, the operation of the electronic mail using system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, a processing operation when a user transmits an e-mail using a temporarily set e-mail account using the communication terminal 10 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network related to transmission of an e-mail performed using a temporarily set e-mail account. A user who intends to transmit an e-mail using the e-mail using device 20 first uses the communication terminal 10 to apply for a connection to the e-mail using device 20 owned by the provider 40.
Specifically, the electronic mail using device 20 on the Internet dials the telephone number of the electronic mail using device 20.
Accessing this site corresponds to this connection application. The e-mail using device 20 that has received the connection application from the communication terminal 10 makes a connection with the communication terminal 10,
After the connection process, the account setting means 21 sets a temporary use account assigned to the connected communication terminal 10. The temporary use account set as described above is stored in the temporary use account storage unit 22, and the stored temporary use account is used when sending the e-mail of the user.

When registration of the temporary use account is completed,
Next, the user creates an e-mail using the communication terminal 10. The e-mail is created by the user using the communication terminal 1
This is performed by voice input of the content of the e-mail using 0, and the e-mail input in this way is transmitted to the transmission content confirmation means 23 of the e-mail using device 20. The transmission content confirmation unit 23 that has received the e-mail from the communication terminal 10 returns the transmitted e-mail to the communication terminal 10 so that the user can confirm the contents.
The e-mail returned to the communication terminal 10 is
Then, the user confirms the content of the e-mail that is output as voice.

Here, if the user determines that the content of the e-mail is corrected, the user performs a predetermined process indicating the correction, for example, presses a predetermined number button of a mobile phone, and creates the electronic mail. And instruct the user to correct the content of the e-mail. This instruction is transmitted to the electronic mail using device 20, and the electronic mail using device 20 is in a state of waiting for the corrected electronic mail. The user uses the communication terminal 10 to perform voice input of the e-mail of the corrected content, and the e-mail input in this manner is again input to the e-mail use device 20.
Is transmitted to the transmission content confirmation means 23. The transmission content confirming unit 23 that has received the corrected e-mail transmits the transmitted e-mail to the communication terminal 10 again for content confirmation, and the transmitted e-mail is output by the communication terminal 10. .

If the user confirms that there is no correction in the contents of the e-mail after performing such e-mail contents confirmation processing, the user performs a processing to that effect, for example, a predetermined number button on the mobile phone. The user gives an instruction to send the created e-mail. This transmission instruction is received by the transmission content confirmation unit 23 of the electronic mail using device 20, and the transmission content confirmation unit 23 gives the electronic mail transmission unit 24 a transmission instruction of the created electronic mail. The e-mail sending means 24 receiving the e-mail sending instruction is connected to the communication terminal 1.
The created e-mail is transmitted to the e-mail transmission destination provider server 50 that is the destination of the e-mail, using the temporary usage account stored in the temporary usage account storage unit 22 and assigned to the temporary usage account storage unit 22. When the transmission of the e-mail is completed, the e-mail using device 20 transmits a transmission end notification indicating that the transmission of the e-mail is completed to the communication terminal 10,
The user confirms that the e-mail has been sent. Note that the transmission end notification performed after the transmission of the e-mail may be omitted. The transmission of the e-mail may be performed in a state where the contents of the e-mail are encrypted and abbreviated.

When a series of processes is completed, the temporary use account stored in the temporary use account storage means 22 and assigned to the communication terminal 10 which has completed the process is deleted, and the environment is cleared. Wait for a new connection.

Next, the above processing operation will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation when the user sends an e-mail using the temporarily set e-mail account. [S1] Using the communication terminal 10, the e-mail using device 2
Apply for connection to 0. [S2] The communication terminal 10 is connected to the electronic mail using device 20. [S3] The temporary use account is set using the account setting means 21. [S4] The temporary use account set in step S3 is stored in the temporary use account storage unit 22. [S5] E-mail input or correction processing is performed. [S6] The electronic mail input or corrected in step S5 is transmitted. [S7] The transmitted e-mail is received. [S8] In order to confirm the content of the input e-mail, the e-mail received in step S7 is
Return to. [S9] Whether or not to modify the contents of the e-mail is selected. If correction is selected, the process proceeds to step S5. If the user selects not to make the correction, step S1
Go to 0. [S10] Whether or not to transmit the input e-mail is selected. If transmission is selected, step S11
Proceed to. If the user selects not to make the call, the process ends. [S11] The created electronic mail is transmitted using the temporary use account assigned to the communication terminal 10 and stored in the temporary use account storage unit 22. [S12] From the electronic mail using device 20 to the communication terminal 10
, A transmission end notification indicating that the e-mail has been transmitted.

Next, a user who has already signed a contract with a predetermined provider and has an e-mail account
The processing operation when using the electronic mail using the electronic mail use system 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network related when a user having an e-mail account uses an e-mail using an existing e-mail account.

A user who wants to connect to the user-contracted provider server 60 having a mail account using the electronic mail using system 1
First, the communication terminal 10 is used to dial the telephone number of the e-mail using device 20 owned by the provider 40, and a connection application is made to the e-mail using device 20. The e-mail using device 20 that has received the connection application from the communication terminal 10 makes a connection with the communication terminal 10,
After the connection process, the user requests the communication terminal 10 to input an e-mail service provider and an e-mail account with which the user has contracted.

The communication terminal having received the input request outputs the request by voice or the like, and the user who confirms the request receives the voice of the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account with which the user has contracted. Make the input. The e-mail service provider and the e-mail account thus input are transmitted to the e-mail utilization device 20,
It is received by the account connection means 25. The e-mail service provider and the account connection means 25 having received the e-mail account connect to the user contracted provider server 60 having the account specified by the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account.

When the user who has connected to the provider contracted provider server 60 transmits an e-mail, the user first uses the communication terminal 10 to perform the same procedure as described above. Create an e-mail to send. The created e-mail is transmitted to the e-mail using device 20, and after confirming the contents through the transmission contents confirming means 23, the e-mail sending means 24 sends the e-mail to the user contracted provider server 60 via the Internet 30. Sent. The transmission of the e-mail is performed in a state where the created e-mail is encrypted and abbreviated, and the e-mail transmitted to the provider contracted server 60 is again transmitted to the transmission destination via the Internet 30. To the destination e-mail destination provider server 70. That is, the user uses the e-mail using device 20 from the communication terminal 10 to connect to the e-mail use environment of the user contracted provider server 60 which is a server of the provider to which the user has already made a contract, and An e-mail content is input from the communication terminal 10 to the connected e-mail use environment. After the input is completed, the contents of the e-mail input to the e-mail use environment of the provider contracted server 60 are transmitted to the e-mail destination provider server 70 to which the e-mail is transmitted via the Internet 30. Is done. The content of the e-mail transmitted in this manner is input from the communication terminal 10 to the e-mail usage environment of the user-contracted provider server 60 and is encrypted and transmitted until it is transmitted to the e-mail destination provider server 70. Abbreviated. The recipient of the e-mail connects to the e-mail destination provider server 70, obtains the transmitted e-mail, decrypts the e-mail, converts the e-mail into regular text, and then browses the contents of the transmission. here,
Abbreviations are short abbreviations of frequently used phrases, and the phrase before the abbreviation (regular document)
Are associated by a predetermined correspondence table owned only by the parties that send and receive e-mails. This correspondence table is stored in a communication terminal or the like owned by the party, and the user who has obtained the abbreviated e-mail is
By using this correspondence table, the abbreviated electronic mail is converted into a regular document.

It should be noted that the encryption of the e-mail contents here
The abbreviation is performed only from the time when the communication terminal 10 is input to the e-mail use environment of the provider server 60 with the user contract, and the abbreviation of the e-mail content is performed in the e-mail environment of the provider server 60 with the user contract. After decryption and normalization of the text, the decrypted email content may be transmitted to the email destination provider server 70.

On the other hand, the user-contracted provider server 6
When the user who has made the connection to the e-mail server browses the e-mail sent to the user, the user transmits the e-mail from the e-mail transmission / reception provider server 70, which is the source of the e-mail, and receives a user contract. The electronic mail stored in the already-provided provider server 60 is obtained using the communication terminal 10. Since the obtained e-mail is encrypted and abbreviated as in the case described above, first, the user uses the communication terminal 10 to decrypt the obtained e-mail, convert it into a regular document, and obtain the obtained e-mail. View e-mail.

As described above, the transmission and reception of the e-mail are performed in a state where the e-mail is encrypted and abbreviated, so that the confidentiality of the contents of the e-mail is ensured. In addition, the communication time and the communication fee can be reduced.

Next, the above connection operation will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation when a user having an e-mail account uses an e-mail using an existing e-mail account. [S21] Using the communication terminal 10, a connection application to the electronic mail using device 20 is made. [S22] The communication terminal 10 is connected to the electronic mail using device 20. [S23] The user requests the communication terminal 10 to input an e-mail service provider and an e-mail account with which the user has contracted. [S24] The user inputs an e-mail service contractor and an e-mail account with which the contract is made. [S25] A connection is made to the account specified by the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account entered in step S24.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the temporary use account used by the user is temporarily set by the account setting means 21, and the temporary use account storage means 22 is used.
As a result, the temporary use account is stored, and the electronic mail transmitted from the communication terminal 10 is transmitted to the destination of the electronic mail using the temporary use account by the electronic mail transmitting means 24. It is possible to use e-mail without signing a usage contract.

In addition, since a temporary use account to be used temporarily by the user is set every time the user uses the e-mail, the user is not restricted by the communication terminal and can be used in various situations. , It is possible to freely use e-mail.

The above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing content of the function that the electronic mail using device 20 should have is described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Then, by executing this program on a computer, the above processing is realized on the computer. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device and a semiconductor memory. When distributing to the market, CD-ROM (Compact Disk ReadOnly)
Memory) or a floppy (registered trademark) disk or the like, and stores the program in a portable recording medium, distributes the program, or stores the program in a storage device of a computer connected via a network, and transfers the program to another computer through the network. You can also. When the program is executed by the computer, the program is stored in a hard disk device or the like in the computer, and is loaded into the main memory and executed.

Further, the billing for the electronic mail use system 1 may be collected from the user's call charge, or may be performed by the user's credit settlement, electronic money settlement, or the like. At this time, the communication fee when the user connects to the electronic mail using device 20 using the communication terminal 10 may be borne by the service provider (so-called toll free (registered trademark)).

Further, in the present embodiment, the input of the e-mail by the communication terminal 10 is performed by voice input, but the character may be input by a dial button of a telephone, a keyboard of a personal computer, or the like.

In this embodiment, the transmission content confirmation means 23
To return the electronic mail by voice to the communication terminal 10, but it is also possible to return the electronic mail whose character has been converted by voice recognition and output the returned electronic mail by the communication terminal 10. .

Further, in the present embodiment, the electronic mail transmitting means 24 transmits the electronic mail by voice. However, the electronic mail transmitting means may convert the voice of the electronic mail into characters by voice recognition and transmit the electronic mail by the character. Good.

Further, in this embodiment, the user inputs the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account to which the contract is made by voice. However, the user may input characters from a telephone dial button, a personal computer keyboard, or the like. It may be.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, a temporary use account which is temporarily used by a user is set, the temporary use account is stored, and the e-mail sent from the communication terminal is transmitted to the e-mail destination. , It is possible to use e-mail without making a contract with the provider in advance.

Further, a temporary use account to be used temporarily by the user is set each time the user uses the e-mail, so that the user is not restricted by the communication terminal and can be used in various situations. , It is possible to freely use e-mail.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an electronic mail using system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network related to transmission of an e-mail performed using a temporarily set e-mail account.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when transmitting an e-mail using a temporarily set e-mail account.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network related when a user having an e-mail account uses an e-mail using an existing e-mail account.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation when a user who owns an e-mail account uses an e-mail using an existing e-mail account.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... E-mail use system, 10 ... Communication terminal, 20 ...
E-mail using device, 21 ... Account setting means, 22
... temporary use account storage means, 23 ... transmission contents confirmation means, 24 ... e-mail sending means, 25 ... account connection means, 30 ... Internet, 50 ... e-mail destination provider server, 60 ... user-provided provider server, 70 … E-mail destination provider server

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B049 AA01 BB00 CC05 CC36 DD01 DD03 FF03 FF06 GG04 GG07 GG10 5K030 GA16 HA06 HC01 JT02 KA20

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An e-mail use system that enables use of e-mail, a communication terminal for transmitting a mail by a user, and an account setting for setting a temporary use account used by the user temporarily. Means, temporary use account storage means for storing the temporary use account, and e-mail transmission for transmitting the e-mail transmitted from the communication terminal to a destination of the e-mail using the temporary use account An electronic mail using apparatus comprising: an electronic mail using apparatus. 2. The electronic mail using system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic mail is inputted by voice to said communication terminal. 3. The electronic mail according to claim 2, wherein the electronic mail transmitting unit converts the electronic mail input by voice to the communication terminal into the electronic mail in characters and transmits the electronic mail. Usage system. 4. The electronic mail sending means sends the electronic mail input by voice to the communication terminal as a voice electronic mail.
The e-mail usage system described. 5. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the e-mail using device further includes a transmission content confirmation unit that returns the e-mail transmitted from the communication terminal to the communication terminal from which the e-mail is transmitted, in order to confirm transmission contents. 3. The electronic mail using system according to claim 2, wherein 6. The electronic mail using system according to claim 5, wherein the electronic mail returned to the communication terminal by the transmission content confirmation unit is output as voice by the communication terminal. 7. The electronic mail using system according to claim 5, wherein the electronic mail returned to the communication terminal by the transmission content confirmation unit is output as characters by the communication terminal. 8. The electronic mail using system according to claim 1, wherein said temporary use account stored in said temporary use account storage means is deleted after a line is disconnected. 9. The communication terminal receives an e-mail service provider and an e-mail account to which the user subscribes, and the communication terminal inputs the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account To the e-mail using device, the e-mail using device further includes an account connection unit configured to connect to an account specified by the e-mail service provider and the e-mail account transmitted from the communication terminal. 2. The electronic mail using system according to claim 1, wherein: 10. The electronic mail using system according to claim 9, wherein the input of the electronic mail service provider and the electronic mail account is performed by voice. 11. The electronic mail using system according to claim 9, wherein the input of the electronic mail service provider and the electronic mail account is performed by character input. 12. The electronic mail using system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the electronic mail is performed in an encrypted state. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the encryption is to convert the contents of the e-mail into abbreviations associated in a correspondence table owned only by the e-mail users. E-mail usage system. 14. An e-mail use method for enabling use of e-mail, comprising: setting a temporary use account that is temporarily used by a user; storing the temporary use account; A method of using e-mail, wherein the e-mail is transmitted to a destination of the e-mail.