JP2003122680A - Electronic mail distributing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the flexibility of the selection of the distribution destination of an electronic mail, and to make the maintenance management of a data base simple. SOLUTION: An electronic mail transmitter prepares a mail in which designation information and retrieval reference value of a data base retrieval system are included in a mail address. A mail distributing system 1 for performing data management based on a hierarchical name space analyzes an address part attached to the electronic mail. The group of electronic mail addresses is obtained as the destinations of distribution by using a rule base 5 in which a rule for calculating the group of the mail addresses from a relation data base, and referring to a data base 9 in which personal information is managed. A DB front end 7 and an update processing system 11 automatically collect the personal information through the Internet, and execute the processing of the addition, erasure, and change of the data of the data base 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail delivery system, and more particularly to an electronic mail delivery system that searches a user database and dynamically finds a destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic mail is an essential tool in modern society. In the electronic mail system, the sent mail is stored in the mail server. Mail server
Send mail to a mail server that has a destination mailbox. The mail server that receives the mail notifies the destination user that the mail has arrived. The owner of the mailbox retrieves the mail stored in the mail server. Regarding the protocol of e-mail, Reference 1
[Kevin Johnson "Internet Email Protocols: A Devel
oper's Guide "(Addison-Wesley, 1999)].

The electronic mail system basically has a system configuration for sending electronic mail to individuals. The email address is in the form of ID @ domain. For example, (to
(yama@keio.ac.jp). Even if you wanted to send e-mail only to specific members of the group, you were supposed to send e-mail to individuals.
In order to perform broadcast communication, it was necessary to specify all of a plurality of destinations in the destination field.

Therefore, a mailing list technique has been widely used in which a plurality of destinations are grouped together for the purpose of facilitating the designation of the destination of the broadcast communication and simultaneously delivering the electronic mail to a plurality of destinations. ing. The delivery destination is considered to be a set of email addresses. The set is anthropomorphized and given a name. An email addressed to that name will be delivered to a defined set of email addresses. By using the group name as the destination, the same email can be sent to multiple people at once. For example, specify a mailing list of group names such as (faculty@keio.ac.jp). In this case, a representative destination name is fixedly determined, and the same number of mailing lists as the delivery target set must be defined in advance and used as destinations (static constraint). If the number of target people (for example, employees of a particular company) is N, there are 2 N powers of the subset, so it is virtually impossible to prepare a mailing list in advance for all requests. . Also, it is necessary to edit the delivery destination in the form of a mailing list.

There is also a method in which a mailing list is hierarchized in order to facilitate its operation, and when a destination of an electronic mail is designated, the hierarchized organization is displayed and a specific group is searched and designated. The contents of each list must be edited individually. There is a fixed hierarchical mailing list represented by Majordomo. For Majordomo, refer to Reference 2 [Yukihiro Yasuda, "Majordomo Complete Guide-Operation and Utilization of Mailing Lists for Linux and FreeBSD"]
(Mainichi Communications, 1998)].

An example of a conventional electronic mail delivery system will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the mail server 41 is a means for receiving an electronic mail and delivering the mail to the address obtained by searching the database.
The search statement generation means 42 is means for generating a search expression from the search method and the attribute value described in the address part of the mail. The database 43 is a database that stores personal information and organizational information.

In this electronic mail delivery system, the database 43 concerning personal information is connected to the electronic mail system, and the delivery destination is dynamically determined from the search result of the database 43. For example, the organization of ABC Electric Co., Ltd. is simply: Sales Department = {Sales Section 1, Sales Section 2} Sales Section 1 = {Employee A, Employee B} Sales Section 2 = {Employee C, Employee D , Employee E} Accounting Department = {Accounting Section} Accounting Section = {Employee F} Tennis Club = {Employee B, Employee D, Employee F} Golf Club = {Employee B, Employee F}. This data is stored in the database 43.

The definition of the in-house mailing list is all (dept): eigyo, keiri eigyo (dept): eigyo1, eigyo2 eigyo1 (dept): A, B eigyo2 (dept): C, D, E keiri (dept): F tennis (sports): B, D, F golf (spor
ts): B, F.

Based on this definition, the search method and the attribute value are described in the destination part of the mail. (Eigyo@dept.abc-d
When a mail addressed to (enki.co.jp) is input to the mail server 41, the mail server 41 passes the search method (dept) and the attribute value (eigyo) to the search statement generation means 42. The search statement generation means 42 generates a search expression from the search method (dept) and the attribute value (eigyo), and refers to the database 43. As a result, the mail addresses of the employees A, B, C, D and E are obtained and returned to the mail server 41. The mail server 41 sends a mail to the employees A, B, C, D, E according to the address.
To ship to. Similarly, (tennis@sports.abc-denki.
The e-mail addressed to co.jp) is delivered to employees B, D, and F. In this way, the electronic mail address and personal information are stored in the database, and the mail is delivered to the electronic mail address set obtained as a result of the inquiry to the database.

This requires a large number of list definitions and is difficult to maintain. Therefore, there is a system for searching a transmission partner with a user's attribute keyword in order to have flexibility in address designation. Based on the search of the personal information of the members stored in the database at corporations and groups,
It is an electronic mail system that flexibly and dynamically determines distribution destinations. A fixed attribute database is used to search each time a user having that attribute is specified, and the search result is designated as the destination. For example, when addressing a person aged 40, enter the address (40@age.keio.ac.j
p). In the fixed mailing list, setting the address as (age40@keio.ac.jp)
(40@age.keio.ac.jp) can be regarded as an extension or Skolem (conversion of a restricted variable to a constant by predicate logic).

By utilizing the search function of the database, a partial character string search or the like can be used to determine the delivery destination, and the delivery destination can be determined by various searches. By recording only one location of individual email addresses in the database, it is possible to change email addresses in a batch for all mailing lists, and centralize mailing list maintenance.

Personal email addresses change frequently under various circumstances. In order to reliably deliver a mail to a user having a specific attribute, it is necessary to separately confirm whether or not the specified condition itself exists. For all mailing lists to which a particular individual belongs, the e-mail address must be changed individually, and often the failure to deliver changes causes a delay in delivery. In order to reduce this work and improve efficiency, there is a private address book for each individual that creates a group of users who meet specific conditions. The attributes of the user cannot be changed or a new user having the corresponding attribute cannot be dynamically supported, and each user must voluntarily update. As a countermeasure, there is also a system that analyzes received mail and automatically updates attribute information and the like.

By the way, in the method of logically calculating the group to obtain the destination, the mail server stores the members belonging to the group for each group. When you receive an e-mail containing a destination specification written as a logical operation between groups, such as logical sum, logical difference, logical product, negation, etc., the members of the addressed group will be used , Performs a set operation corresponding to a logical operation. Based on the calculation result, the electronic mail is delivered to the workstation used by the member belonging to the group.

In this method, the sender must check all the people who are currently using the computer and specify them as the destinations. If you have a complicated condition that you want to send e-mail only to users other than yourself who belong to a certain group of people who can read e-mail immediately. However, it was necessary to specify all the individuals.

In order to avoid this, there is a method in which a person who satisfies a specific condition is automatically determined at the time of sending an electronic mail and is set as a destination to which the electronic mail is sent. Based on the computer usage status of each user and the result of searching the database,
Calculation is performed using a logical expression specified by the sender in advance. A user who meets the specified conditions at the time of sending an email will be the destination of the email.

Some examples of proposals regarding the conventional electronic mail delivery system will be given below. The "e-mail system" disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2977343 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-117239) accepts electronic mail addressed to a group and sends electronic mail to a workstation used by a member belonging to the group. It is a system that delivers mail. The mail server stores the members belonging to the group for each group. An electronic mail including a destination designation described as a logical operation between groups is accepted. By using the members of the group whose addresses are designated, a group operation corresponding to the logical operation is performed between the members of the group to specify the workstation to which the electronic mail is delivered.

The "address designation method in an electronic mail system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-32250 is an electronic mail system in which an address is specified by a broadcast list. The address specification information sent from the mail sender is decomposed into address code information and a logical operator. A destination code expanded using the destination indicated by the destination code as an element is subjected to a set operation.

The "electronic mail sending device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-288650 is a device that sends electronic mail to all parties who meet the conditions by designating the attributes of the destination. The user defines in advance the attributes unique to the destination as an attribute database. When sending e-mail, specify the condition of the attribute of the destination. The e-mail system refers to the attribute definition to find a destination that meets the conditions and sends the e-mail.

The "electronic mail system" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-252943 is a system for flexibly designating a destination with a destination list and a logical operator. The user adds a logical operator to the destination list as destination information. The mail server performs a set operation using a logical operator added to the destination information to create a destination set. Deliver mail to the mailbox corresponding to the recipient address according to the destination set.

The "electronic mail transmission method" disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-326733 is a method of sending a mail to a recipient designated by a keyword. Register the destination ID and keyword in the database in association with each other. When an e-mail with a keyword attached is accepted, the database is searched with the keyword. Network ID with matching keyword
Send an email to. An appropriate transmission partner can be selected again from the transmission destination candidates searched and displayed by the keyword.

Japanese Patent No. 2676941 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-97853)
The "e-mail sending method" disclosed in 1) is a method of automatically determining the destination depending on the computer usage status of the e-mail user at the time of sending the e-mail. Describe the condition of the destination of the e-mail with a logical expression using operators. Investigate the usage status of each computer user at the time of sending an e-mail based on the conditions of the destination. A database that describes the users of each computer is searched to create a list of e-mail destinations. E-mail is sent by performing a logical operation on the destination list using a logical expression.

The "e-mail address conversion method" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-202637 is a system for searching an e-mail address from personnel data. A name, an email address, etc. related to the email destination are extracted from the personnel information data and stored as an email destination database. The destination database is searched based on the search condition, and the relevant data is selected and extracted.

The method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-11374 is a method of automatically extracting a destination candidate by designating a keyword when sending an electronic mail. A matching received electronic mail is determined by searching a character string that matches the keyword in the electronic mail documents received in the past. Extract destination candidates from the sender address of the email,
Determine the destination.

The “electronic mail system using common attributes” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-24693 is a system for automatically registering user attribute information in an electronic mail address book. Automatically manage the target users as members of the group. Specify a group or condition as an email destination.

[0025]

However, in the conventional electronic mail delivery system, since the database storing the user attributes is searched by the logical expression designated by the sender, the designation of the destination is complicated, There was also the problem of lacking flexibility.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the related art, enhances flexibility in selecting an electronic mail delivery destination, and facilitates operation.
The purpose is to facilitate communication by e-mail. Another object is to automate the maintenance of the attribute database, reduce the maintenance cost for maintaining consistency, and simplify the maintenance of the database.

[0027]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, an electronic mail delivery system receives an electronic mail having delivery range designation information in an address part and converts the delivery range designation information into a destination. Searches the personal information database, the mail delivery method for delivering to the address, the personal information database that stores the attribute information of the delivery destination user, the rule base that describes the conversion information for expanding the delivery range specification information into the search expression A database processing system for searching based on a formula, an update processing system for updating a personal information database, and a data management system for managing data of destination addresses based on a hierarchical name space are provided. With this configuration, flexibility in selecting a delivery destination can be increased.

Further, since the database processing system is provided with means for collecting personal information and means for performing addition / deletion and change of attribute information based on the collected information, maintenance of the database is simplified. Therefore, maintenance cost can be reduced.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment) In the embodiment of the present invention, the delivery range designation information in the mail address part is expanded into a search formula based on a rule base, a user database is searched to obtain an address, and an electronic mail is sent. Is an e-mail delivery system that automatically delivers and updates the user database.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an electronic mail delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a mail delivery system 1 is means for delivering a mail to a destination obtained by analyzing an address part of a mail received from a sender. The mail front end 2 is means for pre-processing the address part of a mail. The mailing list processing system 3 uses the delivery range designation information in the mail address section to determine the LDAP
It is a means for obtaining an address via the server 4 and the rule base 5. The LDAP server 4 is a data management system that manages data based on a hierarchical name space. The rule base 5 is an inference rule database that stores rules for calculating a set of email addresses from a relational database in the form of a set of questions to a relational database (abbreviated as relational DB or RDB). This is a means for expanding the range designation information into a search formula based on the inference rule, searching the user database, and obtaining an address.

The database processing system 6 is means for searching and updating the personal information database. The DB front end 7 is a means for performing preprocessing relating to database search and update. The relational DBMS 8 is a means for searching and updating the relational database (Relational Database Ma
nagement System). The personal information DB 9 is a database that stores personal information of a mail destination user.
EMAIL10 is a mail created by the sender. The update processing system 11 is a processing unit that collects data for updating the database.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the address search operation of the electronic mail delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a database update operation of the electronic mail delivery system.

The operation of the electronic mail delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described.
First, an outline of the electronic mail delivery system will be described. This system receives an email created by the sender, analyzes the delivery range specification information attached to the email, and delivers a set of email addresses obtained by referring to the database using a rule base. First.
This system is a composite of a mailing system and a database that efficiently realizes these functions.

The present system is roughly divided into three elements: a mail delivery system, a database management system, and a rule base. That is, it consists of a mail delivery system based on LDAP, a database system that manages personal information, and a rule base that connects these. The mail delivery system manages data based on a hierarchical name space. The database management system holds a set of relational tables in which personal information is normalized. The rule base holds rules for calculating a set of email addresses from the relational database, such as a set of questions to the relational database.

The sender of the electronic mail creates a mail in which the mail range includes the delivery range designation information including the designation information of the database search method and the search reference value. The mail delivery system determines a mail delivery destination based on the designated information and the search reference value. The search method specification information is a name given to information necessary for determining what kind of search is to be performed in which part of the database. It is the name given to the rule base including the database question sentence set having parameters and the inference rule. The search reference value is a constant or a list of constants as a parameter used to specifically define a target set in a specific search method.

Second, the format of the mail address will be described. The set of mail addresses obtained as a result of applying the function to the constant x in the form of (x@f.domain) is the distribution destination. (F) is realized by calculation based on the search of the personal information database. (CS@dept.keio.ac.jp),
Search for an individual who has a value of (CS) in the (dept) attribute to obtain a set of individual email addresses. (40@age.kei
o.ac.jp), search for individuals whose age attribute has a value of 40. Various expressions of "under 40" (under40 @
Age), (40@under.age), and (40 @ age-under) can also be formalized.

There are two types of formats, one type and the other type. In both cases, the mail delivery system searches the personal information database based on the information extracted from the mail address to obtain the delivery address set. Determine the delivery destination. The integrated email address is (dept.eigyo1@abc-denk
i.co.jp) and the separated email address is (gol
f@sports.abc-denki.co.jp). In the integrated type,
The (dept) part is the part that specifies the search method, and (ei
gyo1) is the search reference value. From these pieces of information, the set of individuals who directly or indirectly have the value (eigyo1) is specified for the department to which they belong. Similarly, in the separated type,
Specify the search method in (sports) and specify the set of individuals who have (golf) directly or indirectly as the value.

An example of giving a list of search reference values will be shown. The email address to send email to employees aged 20 to 22 is ("20:22" @ age.abc-denki.co.jp). For more complex requests, include the complex search expression itself in the email address, and enter ("sex = Mand age = 18: 20" @ query.a
bc-denki.co.jp). To deliver e-mail to employees who live in a specific area, use the place name or postal code (Shinjuku@address.abc-denki.co.jp) or (106-00
04@zip.abc-denki.co.jp). (Addres
In the search method specified in s), the search reference value (Shinjuku)
Select a target that includes, as a substring of the address. In the search method specified by (zip), the target is selected by the prefix match search of the postal code.

Furthermore, the search expression can be written using free words. For example, it may be possible to write such as (work = teacher and origin = Tokyo). In this case, the rule base 5 is provided with a natural language understanding function, and a rule for converting a free word into a search term based on knowledge and a function for performing a search at an appropriate level are also provided. By doing so, the destination set can be described by ordinary words without checking the search term in advance, and the operability is improved. Of these delivery specification information, those that use ("20:22") or (Job = teacher, and hometown = Tokyo) do not match the standards of the conventional mail system, so they can be used as they are in the conventional mail system. It cannot be used, but it can be used by operating in a closed area such as a company, or by expanding the address format standard and providing a processing system according to it.

Thirdly, the function of each part of the electronic mail delivery system will be described with reference to FIG. Mail delivery system 1
When the mail 10 having the delivery range designation information that needs to be expanded is received in the address part, the LDAP server 4 is referred to, the time stamp is checked, and if there is the latest information, it is expanded to the address set as it is. LD by time stamp
If it is determined that the contents of AP server 4 are not the latest,
The expansion method is obtained by the rule base 5. LDAP server 4
Now, manage the data based on the hierarchical namespace.

For example, it is possible to use free OpenLDAP and use it as a cache of a mail address set generated from a database. In this case, the data structure is limited to the hierarchical type, but the access can be performed at high speed. A relatively new version of sendmail is LDAP
It is supported. For LDAP, refer to Reference 3 [BruceGre
Enblatt, Translated by Toshihiro Inami, "Introduction to Internet Directory Technology-Building and Managing LDAP, DSN and Directory Applications" (Pearson Education, 20
01)] etc.

The personal information database 9 holds a set of relational tables obtained by normalizing personal information. The DB front end 7 processes addition, deletion, and modification of personal information through the WWW. The update processing system 11 collects data for updating the database. For example, the received mail is analyzed, and if the address is changed, the address in the database is updated. Also, a questionnaire e-mail is sent out periodically to inquire about a change in attribute information, and if there is a change, the database is updated. The agent may automatically collect the user's attribute information from the network.

The database management system includes a related DBMS.
Use 8. For the relational database, refer to Reference 4
[Serge Abiteboul (Editor) et al, "Foundations of D
atabases: The logical level "(Addison-Wesley, 199
4)] and so on. The database search system is based on the theory of functional / logical data model, Skolemization in functional / logical programming, and partial calculation of composite functions. For function / logic programming, refer to Reference 5 [Guy Cousineau, M. Mauny (Contri
butor), "The Functional Approach to Programming"
(Cambridge UP Dec. 1998)], etc.

The rule base 5 stores rules for calculating a set of mail addresses from the relational database in the form of a set of questions to the RDB. When it is necessary to refer to the database when expanding the delivery range designating information into a search formula and performing the search, the personal information database 9 is searched.
The e-mail address set obtained based on this result is
Load on server 4. By providing the rule base 5 itself with a set operation and an inference processing mechanism, a more advanced mail delivery (recursive expansion of organization chart, etc.) function can be realized.
However, a process with a large overhead does not fit well with mail delivery, so a balanced design is necessary. For the inference mechanism and the like, refer to Document 6 [Kuwakazu Ogura, Tomohiro Odaka, "Structure of Artificial Intelligence System-From Basics to Agents" (Kindai Kagakusha, 2001)].

Fourthly, referring to FIG. 2, an operation procedure for address search of the electronic mail delivery system will be described. In step 21, the mail in which the delivery range designation information is described in the mail address part is accepted. In step 22, it is checked whether the address set corresponding to the delivery range designation information exists in the LDAP server. In step 23, if there is the latest expanded address, jump to step 28. If not, step 24
Then, refer to the rule base. In step 25, the delivery range designation information is expanded into a search expression according to the rule. Step
At 26, the database is searched to obtain the address.
Steps 24 to 26 are repeated as needed. In step 27, the address is stored in the LDAP server. In step 28, the address set is passed to the mail delivery system. Step
At 29, deliver mail to each address.

Fifth, the operation procedure for updating the database of the electronic mail delivery system will be described with reference to FIG. In step 31, all users are regularly sent a survey email asking their current address and occupation. In step 32, the corresponding attribute information in the database is updated based on the questionnaire answers. In step 33, the mail received from the user is analyzed by the natural language processing method. In step 34, the address and occupation are extracted from the notification mail of the address change or job change, and the corresponding attribute information in the database is updated. In step 35, if it is the mail system in the company, the personnel file is accessed at the time of personnel change, data of the workplace and position is obtained, and the corresponding attribute information of the database is updated. If you have a mail system within the school, you can access the school register to get information about the department and grade. At step 36, WEB
Search the page to collect information about the user and update the corresponding attribute information in the database. For example, data of academic conference presentations and patent applications are collected and the number of patent applications and the like are recorded as attribute information.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention,
Expand the e-mail delivery system to the search formula based on the rule base of the delivery range specification information of the e-mail address part,
Since the user database is searched, the e-mail is delivered for the address, and the user database is automatically updated, the flexibility of selecting the delivery destination can be enhanced.

[0049]

As is apparent from the above description, in the present invention, the electronic mail delivery system accepts an electronic mail having the delivery range designation information in the address part and delivers it to the destination address converted from the delivery range designation information. A mail delivery method, a personal information database that stores delivery destination user attribute information, a rule base that describes conversion information for expanding delivery range specification information into a search expression, and a personal information database based on the search expression Since the database processing system for searching, the update processing system for updating the personal information database, and the data management system for managing the data of the destination address based on the hierarchical name space are provided, the delivery destination selection The effect that the flexibility of can be improved can be obtained.

Since the database processing system is provided with means for collecting personal information and means for adding / deleting / changing attribute information based on the collected information, the maintenance of the database is simplified. Therefore, the effect that the maintenance cost can be reduced can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an electronic mail delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an address search operation flowchart of the electronic mail delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a database update operation flowchart of the electronic mail delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional electronic mail delivery system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 mail delivery system 2 Mail front end 3 Mailing list processing system 4 LDAP server 5 Rule base 6 Database processing system 7 DB front end 8 relation DBMS 9 Personal information DB 10 EMAIL 11 Update processing system 41 mail server 42 Search sentence generation means 43 Database

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mail delivery means for accepting an electronic mail having delivery range designation information in an address part and delivering it to a destination address converted from the delivery range designation information, and a personal information database storing attribute information of delivery destination users. A rule base describing conversion information for expanding the delivery range designation information into a search expression, a database processing system for searching the personal information database based on the search expression, and updating the personal information database The update processing system and the data management system that manages the data of the destination address based on the hierarchical name space. 2. The database processing system comprises means for collecting personal information and means for adding, deleting and changing attribute information based on the collected information. E-mail delivery system described. 3. The e-mail delivery according to claim 1, wherein the rule base includes an inference processing mechanism for expanding the delivery range designation information into a search expression corresponding to the personal information database. system. 4. A search formula for the delivery range designation information based on a rule base describing conversion information for accepting an e-mail including the delivery range designation information in the address part and expanding the delivery range designation information into a search formula. The personal information database that stores the attribute information of the delivery destination user is searched for by the search expression obtained by the expansion, the destination address is obtained, and the e-mail is delivered to the destination address. E-mail delivery method to do.