JP2002135292A - Mail transfer system, service providing server and method for controlling service providing server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mail transfer system, capable of utilizing even a terminal having no special purpose software for a mail transfer service conducted by using the special purpose software, a service providing server used for the system, and to provide a method for controlling the service providing server. SOLUTION: A Web server (service providing server) 13 provides main transmitting/receiving operating screen information for a terminal MS for not recording at least mail transmitting/receiving program. When the server 13 receives a transmission inquiry of a mail based on the provided operation screen information, the server 13 inquires to transmit the mail to a mail server 11; while when the server 13 receives the main reception inquiry, the server 13 inquires the server 11 to receive the mail to its terminal MS, and includes the information of the mail to the terminal MS received from the server 11 in the operation screen information during providing to the terminal MS.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a mail transfer system, a service providing server for transferring mail to and from a mail server, and a method for controlling the service providing server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of mobile communication, a mail transfer service has been provided in which a destination of a mail can be specified only by a telephone number. In this mail transfer service, a so-called PULL type delivery system for transmitting mail addressed to the mobile terminal stored in a mail server when a request for receiving mail from the mobile terminal is provided, and a mail from another mobile terminal. When there is a transmission request, there is a so-called PUSH type delivery method in which a destination mobile terminal is called and mail is transmitted immediately, and a user can select a delivery method.

The above-described mail transfer service is performed using a dedicated terminal or dedicated software (a mail sending / receiving program).
Users of mobile terminals that do not have dedicated software could not use this service.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. A mail transfer system which enables a mail transfer service provided by using dedicated software to be used by a terminal having no dedicated software. It is an object of the present invention to provide a service providing server and a method for controlling the service providing server used in the server.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mail transfer system for transferring mail, the mail transfer system comprising: It is characterized by comprising a mail server that performs transfer, and a service providing server that provides operation screen information for sending and receiving mail to at least another terminal that does not record the mail sending and receiving program.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer system according to the first aspect, the service providing server sends a mail to the mail server when the other terminal requests transmission of the mail. While making a transmission request, if there is a mail reception request from the other terminal, a mail reception request is made to the mail server to receive the mail, and the received mail is provided to the other terminal. It is characterized in that it is included in the operation screen information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer system according to the second aspect, the mail server is a terminal in which the destination of the requested mail is a terminal on which the mail transmission / reception program is recorded, and In the case of a terminal that is permitted to receive a call, the destination terminal is called to immediately deliver the mail, and the destination of the requested mail is a terminal that does not record the mail transmission / reception program or a terminal that does not receive the mail. In the case of a terminal that does not allow the mail, the mail is stored in a predetermined memory.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer system according to the third aspect, when the mail server receives a request for receiving a mail from the service providing server, the mail server sends the mail to the terminal that has made the reception request. A mail is retrieved from the messages stored in the memory, and information of the mail addressed to the terminal that has made the reception request is transmitted to the service providing server.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the mail transfer system according to the third aspect, the mail server acquires a telephone number of the terminal from a network address of the terminal accessing the service providing server, Based on the telephone number, the terminal acquires information on whether or not the terminal is a terminal on which the mail transmission / reception program is recorded and the terminal is permitted to receive a call.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the mail transfer system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the plurality of terminals are mobile terminals accommodated in a mobile communication network.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the service providing server transmits and receives the mail to and from a mail server that transfers mail to a terminal on which a mail transmitting and receiving program is recorded. It is characterized by providing operation screen information for sending and receiving e-mail to another terminal that does not record a program for use.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing server according to the seventh aspect, when the other terminal requests the transmission of the mail, the request is transmitted to the mail server. If there is a request to receive a mail from the other terminal, a request for receiving a mail is made to the mail server to receive a mail, and the operation screen information providing the received mail to the other terminal. It is characterized by being included in.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing server according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the terminals are a plurality of mobile terminals accommodated in a mobile communication network.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a service providing server for transmitting / receiving a mail to / from a mail server for transferring a mail to / from a terminal storing a mail transmitting / receiving program, the method comprising: A providing step of providing operation screen information for mail transmission / reception to another terminal that does not record the mail transmission / reception program, and when there is a mail transmission request from the other terminal, the mail server Sending a request to send the mail, and if there is a request to receive mail from the other terminal, send a mail reception request to the mail server to receive the mail, and receive the received mail. Receiving the operation screen information being provided to the other terminal.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

(1) Embodiment (1.1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This mail transfer system 10
This is a system for providing a mail transfer service to a plurality of mobile terminals MS receiving a packet communication service of a mobile packet communication network MPN.
2. It comprises a Web server 13 and a center calling server 14. In addition, this mail transfer system 10
This is a system that provides a mail transfer service that specifies a mail destination by a telephone number (telephone number of the destination mobile terminal MS), and a communication protocol different from a communication protocol applied to Internet mail is applied.

Also, in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal MS
DA (Personal Digital Assistant) and PC (Personal
Computer) is used, but the function of the mobile terminal MS may be built in the PDA or the PC. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the mobile terminal M
S, PDA, etc. are collectively called a mobile terminal MS.

The mail server 11 is a mobile terminal MS that records a mail transmission / reception program among the mobile terminals MS.
Is a server that forwards mail to The management server 12 is a server that manages setting information including user setting information set by the user of the mobile terminal MS, in addition to information on the telephone numbers and capabilities (such as the number of displayable characters) of all the mobile terminals MS. Further, the management server 12 has a function of transmitting setting information in response to a request from the mail server 11 or the Web server 13 and a function of registering or updating user setting information based on an instruction from the Web server 13. I have.

Web server (service providing server) 13
Provides a Web screen for the user of the mobile terminal MS to register and update the user setting information managed by the management server 12 to the mobile terminal MS, and a Web screen ( Server for providing operation screen information). By using the browser function of the mobile terminal MS, the Web screen for sending and receiving mail can be instructed to display the screen on the mobile terminal MS, update the screen, input the text and address of the mail, and send the mail. It has been done.

Here, the above-mentioned mail sending / receiving program is not provided in all mobile terminals MS, but this browser function is a function provided in all mobile terminals MS. Therefore, in the mail transfer system 10, by using the Web server 13, even the mobile terminal MS that does not record the mail transmission / reception program can use the mail transfer service provided by the system 10. ing.

The center calling server 14 is a mail server 1
1 calls a mobile terminal MS requested to make a call via a packet gateway (not shown), and calls the mobile terminal MS.
Is a server that immediately transmits the mail transmitted from the mail server 11 to the server. Therefore, this mail transfer system 1
0 indicates that the center call server 14 sends the mail to a so-called P
USH transmission is enabled.

(1.2) Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described. First, a case in which the mobile terminal MS requests the mail server 11 to send and receive mail will be described.
A case where a request to send / receive mail to the eb server 13 will be described.

(1.2.1) In the case of sending a mail transmission / reception request to the mail server FIG.
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a basic operation when a reception request is made. First, a user of a mobile terminal MS (hereinafter, referred to as “mobile terminal MSA”) that records a mail transmission / reception program operates the mobile terminal MSA to execute the mail transmission / reception program when requesting transmission of a mail. A mail is created by inputting the telephone number and text of the destination mobile terminal MS (not limited to MSA). Thereafter, the user operates the mobile terminal MSA to send a mail transmission request to the mail server 11 via the mobile packet communication network MPN (step S1).

The mail server 11 receives the mail in response to the transmission request from the mobile terminal MSA, and requests the management server 12 to obtain the setting information (step S2). Management server 1
2 retrieves the setting information of the mobile terminal MS of the telephone number based on the telephone number of the destination by the setting information acquisition request, and transmits the corresponding setting information to the mail server 11 as a setting information acquisition response (step S3). Then, when the setting information acquisition response is returned, the mail server 11 returns a transmission response to the mobile terminal MSA requesting the transmission (Step S).
4).

Next, the mail server 11 determines whether or not the destination mobile terminal MS specifies PUSH transmission based on the received setting information (step S5). here,
If the destination mobile terminal MS has specified PUSH transmission (step S5: YES), the mail server 11 issues a center calling request to the center calling server 14 (step S6), thereby determining the destination. Call the mobile terminal MS. Then, the mail server 11 transmits the center call server 1
4 returns a center call request response (step S
7) Send a mail to the destination mobile terminal MS. At this time, the mail server 11 transmits the mail in a format (such as the number of characters in one line) adapted to the destination mobile terminal MS based on the setting information transmitted from the management server 12.

On the other hand, if the destination mobile terminal MS has not specified PUSH transmission in step S5 (step S5: NO), the mail server 11
If UL transmission is specified, the received mail
It is stored in a memory such as a DD (hard disk drive) (step S8). It should be noted that the mail server 11
Even if the H transmission is designated, if the PUSH transmission fails, the transmission is changed to the PULL transmission and the mail is stored in the memory. In this manner, in the mail transfer system 10, the mail requested to be transmitted is transferred based on the setting information of the destination mobile terminal MS.

Next, when making a mail reception request, the user of the mobile terminal MSA operates the mobile terminal MSA and makes a mail reception request to the mail server 11 while the mail transmission / reception program is being executed (step S1). S9). In this case, the mail server 11 searches for a mail addressed to the mobile terminal MSA that has made the reception request, creates mail list information, and sends it to the mobile terminal MSA that has made the reception request (step S10). Displays the mail list screen. When the user specifies a mail whose contents are to be displayed from the mail list screen, the mobile terminal MSA
A request for acquiring the contents of the mail is made to the mail server 11 (step S11), and the mail body is transmitted from the mail server 11. As a result, the contents of the mail desired by the user are displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal MSA (step S12).

(1.2.2) When Requesting Transmission / Reception of E-mail to Web Server Next, FIG. 3 shows a basic operation in the case where a request for transmission of e-mail is made to the Web server 13 and then a request for reception is made. It is a sequence diagram shown. The mobile terminal MS and the Web server 1
Communication with HTTP3 is HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Prot.)
ocol) communication. First, the user of the mobile terminal MS operates the mobile terminal MS to operate the mobile packet communication network MPN.
When a menu display request is made to the Web server 13 via the server (step S20), Web screen information of the menu screen is transmitted from the Web server 13, and the menu screen is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal MS (step S21).

When the user of the mobile terminal MS operates the mobile terminal MS and selects an item for creating a mail from the displayed menu screen, the mobile terminal MS requests the web server 13 to create a mail creation screen. Perform (Step S
22). The Web server 13 transmits the screen information of the mail creation screen in response to the request, and displays the mail creation screen on the screen of the mobile terminal MS (step S23).

Next, the user of the mobile terminal MS inputs the telephone number and the text of the destination mobile terminal MS (including the MSA) on the mail creation screen, and selects an item of mail transmission on the mail creation screen. Mobile terminal MS to Web server 1
3 is requested to send a mail (step S24).
Then, the Web server 13 receives the mail input to the mail creation screen by the transmission request, and
(Step S25). As a result, the mail server 11 obtains the setting information of the destination mobile terminal MS from the management server 12 in the same manner as in the case where the mobile terminal MSA has made a transmission request (steps S25 and S2).
6) The mail is transferred by PUSH transmission or PULL transmission based on this setting information.

Next, when the user of the mobile terminal MS operates the mobile terminal MS and selects the item of mail reception from the displayed menu screen, the mobile terminal MS requests the Web server 13 to receive the mail. (Step S27). In this case, the Web server 13 requests the mail server 11 to receive a mail addressed to the mobile terminal MS in response to the reception request (step S28). As a result, mail server 1
In a manner similar to the case where the mobile terminal MSA has made a reception request, mail 1 is searched for mail addressed to the mobile terminal MS, and mail list information is created.
The data is transmitted to the server 13 (step S29). And W
The web server 13 transmits the screen information of the mail list screen from the received mail list information to the mobile terminal MS and displays the screen information on the screen of the mobile terminal MS (step S30).

Next, the user of the mobile terminal MS operates the mobile terminal MS to specify a mail whose contents are to be displayed from the displayed mail list screen.
b) Instruct the mail contents reference to the server 13 (step S
31). In this case, the Web server 13
1 by making a request to obtain the mail contents (step S
32), the body of the mail from the mail server 11 is We
It is transmitted to the server b (step S33). As a result, the Web server 13 transmits screen information including the content of the received mail to the mobile terminal MS and displays the screen information on the screen of the mobile terminal MS (step S34). In this way, the Web server 13 provides an arbitrary mobile terminal MS with an e-mail transmission / reception screen regardless of the presence / absence of the e-mail transmission / reception program.

Therefore, in the mail transfer system 10, the mail transfer service can be used even in the mobile terminal MS in which the mail transmission / reception program is not recorded. In addition, the mobile terminal MSA that records the mail transmission / reception program is the mail server 11 or the web server 1.
Either of the three methods can be used to send and receive mail.

(3) Modification (3.1) First Modification In the above embodiment, the mobile packet communication network MPN
The present invention has been described for the case where the present invention is applied to a case where mail is transferred to a mobile terminal MS belonging to a mobile terminal MS belonging to a fixed terminal or the like, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Is also applicable.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the packet communication network, and can be applied to a data communication network that performs data communication in another format, and the communication protocol described in the embodiment is merely an example.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, a mail transfer service that has been performed using dedicated software can be used by a terminal that does not have dedicated software.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mail transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a basic operation when a mail transmission / reception request is made to a mail server.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a basic operation when a request to send / receive mail is made to a Web server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 mail transfer system, 11 mail server, 12 management server, 13 web server (service providing server), 14 center call server, MS mobile terminal, MPN mobile packet communication network.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaki Satomi 2-11-1, Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in NTT Docomo (reference) 5K030 HA06 HC09 JT09 LD11

Claims (10)

[Claims] In a mail transfer system for transferring a mail, a mail server for transferring a mail to a terminal on which a mail sending / receiving program is recorded, and at least another terminal on which the mail sending / receiving program is not recorded, And a service providing server for providing operation screen information for sending and receiving mail. 2. The mail transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the service providing server sends a mail transmission request to the mail server when the other terminal requests transmission of the mail. If there is a request to receive a mail from the other terminal, a request for receiving a mail is made to the mail server to receive a mail, and the operation screen information providing the received mail to the other terminal. A mail transfer system characterized in that the mail transfer system is included. 3. The mail transfer system according to claim 2, wherein the mail server is a terminal in which the destination of the requested mail is a terminal on which the mail transmission / reception program is recorded, and permits an incoming call. In the case of a terminal, the destination terminal is called to immediately deliver the mail, and the destination of the requested mail is a terminal that does not record the mail transmission / reception program or a terminal that does not permit incoming calls. In the case of (1), the mail is stored in a predetermined memory. 4. The mail transfer system according to claim 3, wherein the mail server, when receiving a mail reception request from the service providing server, stores the mail addressed to the terminal that has made the reception request in the memory. A mail transfer system that searches the received message and transmits information of a mail addressed to the terminal that has made the reception request to the service providing server. 5. The mail transfer system according to claim 3, wherein the mail server acquires a telephone number of the terminal from a network address of the terminal accessing the service providing server, and obtains the telephone number based on the telephone number. A mail transfer system, wherein the terminal is a terminal on which the mail transmission / reception program is recorded, and obtains information as to whether or not the terminal is permitted to receive a call. 6. The mail transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of terminals are mobile terminals accommodated in a mobile communication network. 7. A service providing server for transmitting / receiving a mail to / from a mail server for transferring a mail to / from a terminal storing the mail transmitting / receiving program, wherein at least the mail transmitting / receiving program is recorded. A service providing server for providing operation screen information for sending and receiving e-mails to other terminals. 8. The service providing server according to claim 7, wherein when there is a request to send a mail from the other terminal, a request to send the mail is sent to the mail server.
If there is a request to receive a mail from the other terminal, a request for receiving a mail is made to the mail server to receive a mail, and the operation screen information providing the received mail to the other terminal. A service providing server characterized in that the service providing server includes: 9. The service providing server according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of terminals are mobile terminals accommodated in a mobile communication network. 10. A method for controlling a service providing server for transmitting / receiving a mail to / from a mail server for transferring a mail to / from a terminal storing a mail transmitting / receiving program, wherein at least the mail transmitting / receiving program is A providing step of providing operation screen information for sending and receiving mail to another terminal that has not recorded the request; and, when a request for sending mail is received from the other terminal, a request for sending the mail to the mail server. And when receiving a mail reception request from the other terminal, performs a mail reception request to the mail server to receive the mail, and provides the received mail to the other terminal. And a receiving step of including the operation screen information in the operation screen information.