JP2004070685A - Electronic device and receiving and reproducing method of e-mail with portrait - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device and receiving and reproducing method of e-mail enabling a receiver to receive and reproduce an image with the expressive facial signs of a sender of e-mail with a further minimized data quantity. <P>SOLUTION: The cellular phone 3 of the receiver of the e-mail receives material data comprising the coordinate data and movement data of a portrait model of data constituting a three-dimensional animation image of the sender's portrait. The material data are attached to the e-mail or received by the transfer of a file preliminarily stored in a server 5 on a network 6. The image arithmetic device of the cellular phone 3 executes geometric operation and drawing operation by use of the material data to reconfigure and draw the portrait image of three-dimensional animation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic device and a method for receiving and playing a portrait-email, and particularly to an application for receiving and playing a portrait-email with a portrait created by a sender of the email to express the intention and emotion of a sentence. The present invention relates to a suitable electronic device and a method for receiving and playing an electronic mail with a portrait.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art The emergence of various electronic devices that make full use of digital technology in recent years has brought about a great change in the way people communicate information. Personal computers connected to communication lines including the Internet have allowed users to use e-mail for various types of information transmission and communication. Email is becoming more widely used by users who do not have it.
[0003]
By the way, when sending an e-mail, the sender mainly expresses the contents that he / she wants to convey to the recipient and sends it to the recipient. Therefore, when the sender wants to express an unintended intention or emotion, it is common to create a so-called emoticon or face mark combining characters and include it in a sentence. However, in the case of emoticons and face marks, the content of expression is limited by the type of characters that can be keyed, so that the expression tends to be poor, and it has been particularly difficult to express the difference in facial expression for each sender.
[0004]
In order to solve the above problems, a face image input unit for inputting a face image, a facial expression determining unit for determining a facial expression, and a facial image input by the facial image input unit are determined by the facial expression determining unit. A face image converting means for converting the facial expression into a facial expression, a text input means for inputting text, and a text layout means for laying out the face image converted by the face image converting means and the text input by the text input means. A mark input device has been proposed (JP-A-10-149433). According to this face mark input device, a human face photographed by a camera or the like is changed into a specified expression such as a smiling face or a crying face using a model-based coding technique, and is changed into a sentence. Face images with different facial expressions are mixed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-149433, an e-mail in which a face image expressing the expression of emotions, emotions, and pleasures of a sender is laid out in a sentence can be transmitted to a receiver.
However, the recipient of the e-mail must receive a large amount of image data constituting the face image in addition to the text data. Therefore, it may take a long time to complete the data reception depending on the communication environment on the receiving side, for example, the data transmission speed of the line, and the operation specifications of the electronic device for transmitting and receiving the e-mail, and the e-mail cannot be used during this time. Sometimes. In addition, a service in which a communication fee is charged in accordance with the amount of transmitted / received data increases the communication cost per e-mail for a user who frequently transmits / receives e-mail using a general mobile phone. Therefore, for a user who does not want to bear a high communication fee, receiving an e-mail with a moving image with a larger data size is extremely annoying.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus and an electronic mail receiving / reproducing method which enable a recipient to receive and reproduce an image richly expressing the expression of an e-mail sender with a smaller data amount. Is to provide.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device according to the present invention comprises a receiving unit for receiving an e-mail and a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait of an e-mail sender, which is generated in advance by a three-dimensional graphic generating unit. Among the data, the coordinate data and the motion data of the portrait model are obtained as material data in association with the electronic mail, and material data obtaining means, and a geometric operation and a drawing operation are performed using the obtained material data; An image calculation device for reconstructing and drawing a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait, and display means for displaying the text of the e-mail and the drawn image are provided.
[0008]
The electronic device according to the present invention acquires, as data, coordinate data and motion data of a portrait model among data constituting a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait of an electronic mail sender in association with the electronic mail. The image calculation device performs a geometric calculation and a drawing calculation using the acquired material data, and reconstructs and draws a portrait image of a three-dimensional animation. Therefore, the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender can be reproduced and displayed by the display means such as the display only by receiving a part of the data constituting the three-dimensional animation image. As a result, the amount of data to be received can be reduced, and a portrait-email with a richer expression of the sender's expression can be received at a low communication cost.
[0009]
In one embodiment, the acquisition unit includes an extraction unit that extracts the material data added to the received e-mail. The extracting unit checks, for example, header information included in the received packet of the e-mail data, and identifies and separates the material data. In another embodiment, the acquisition unit includes a transfer request unit that requests a transfer of the material data stored in advance in a storage unit on a network. The transfer request means is, for example, URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information included in the body of the e-mail. The transfer request means transmits a file transfer request of material data stored in advance in storage means such as a database on a network in response to a key input or other operation of the electronic device, and receives the material data as a response.
[0010]
In the present invention, the material data is preferably difference data between polygon coordinate data of the portrait model and polygon coordinates corresponding to the movement of the portrait model. The material data may include attribute setting data including color and texture and mapping for each polygon in one three-dimensional portrait model specified by a set of polygon coordinate data.
[0011]
A method for receiving and reproducing an e-mail with a caricature in an electronic device according to the present invention includes a caricature model among data constituting a three-dimensional animation image of a caricature of an e-mail sender generated in advance by a three-dimensional graphic generating means. And receiving the coordinate data and the motion data as material data in association with the electronic mail, and reconstructing a three-dimensional animation image using the received material data and displaying the image on a display screen.
[0012]
In one embodiment of the present invention, the material data added to the electronic mail in the receiving step is received.
In another embodiment, the material data is stored in storage means on a network, and the material data is accessed from the storage means by the access means included in the e-mail data so that the material data of the recipient is stored in the storage means. Forwarded to email receiving terminal. In this case, it is preferable that the access unit includes a transfer request unit for the material data stored in the storage unit.
[0013]
In the present invention, a portrait is a computer image created to resemble an individual human face, and does not include an image of a human face captured by a digital camera or other device. In the present invention, the three-dimensional animation image of a portrait is an animation image generated by giving a motion to a three-dimensional portrait model by a predetermined animation technique. In addition, a key frame method, a morphing method, a skeleton method, inverse kinematics, and other animation techniques may be used alone or in combination with each other to give the motion.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of an electronic mail system that implements a method for receiving and reproducing an electronic mail with a portrait according to an embodiment of the present invention. The e-mail system 1 includes a personal computer 2, a mobile phone 3, a mail server 4, a server 5, a network 6, and a wireless base station 7, as shown. The personal computer 2, the mail server 4, and the server 5 are connected to a network 6. Further, the mobile phone 3 is connected to a network 6 via a wireless base station 7, a mobile communication network 8, and a gateway server (not shown).
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the personal computer 2 operated by the sender of the electronic mail with a portrait. The personal computer 2 includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a storage device 23 such as a hard disk, an input device 24 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display 25 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and a 3D graphics board or chip 26. A video memory 27 is provided. The personal computer 2 has a built-in or connected communication control device 28 such as a DSU (Digital Service Unit) and a TA (Terminal Adapter) for transmitting and receiving data through the network 6, a modem, or a splitter.
[0017]
The storage device 23 of the personal computer 2 stores programs and data of an OS (Operating System), e-mail software (mailer), three-dimensional animation creation software (3D animation software), and FTP client software (FTP software). Have been. The personal computer 2 includes an API (Application Program Interface) incorporated in the OS or added as an option for high-speed rendering of three-dimensional graphics. The CPU 21 reads a predetermined program from the storage device 23, expands the read program in a work area of the RAM 22, and executes a predetermined process. For example, when the mailer is started, the CPU 21 reads out the mailer program from the storage device 23, expands the program in the work area of the RAM 22, displays a predetermined screen on the display 25, and stands by. The mailer implements functions such as creation of an e-mail, transmission / reception of an e-mail, attachment of a file to the e-mail, and other functions according to an input from the input device 24 such as a keyboard or a mouse.
[0018]
3D animation software realizes a function of generating and reproducing a three-dimensional animation image. In this embodiment, the 3D animation software preferably provides a user with a support function for generating a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait. For example, a three-dimensional polygon model of a human face is generated on the display 25 by mouse operation or the like, and the polygon coordinates of the generated polygon model are moved and deformed so as to resemble the user's face. Model), an animation function for adding motion to the 3D portrait model, an attribute setting function for setting attributes such as color and texture for each polygon of the 3D portrait model, and rendering to the 3D portrait model. Rendering function and the like. The 3D animation software may be provided in advance with a data library of a three-dimensional polygon model (original model) of a human face as a prototype.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, the 3D animation software has a function of generating a material data file by extracting at least polygon coordinate data and motion data of a three-dimensional portrait model from a completed three-dimensional animation image data file of the portrait. It is optional to include attribute data such as color and texture set for each polygon in the material data file. The storage device of the personal computer 2 has a storage area for storing material data files.
[0020]
The 3D graphics board or chip 26 of the personal computer 2 is used to draw a three-dimensional animation image at high speed. In other words, the 3D graphics board or chip executes geometric operation processing for performing coordinate conversion and the like of polygon coordinates forming the three-dimensional model and drawing operation processing such as raster conversion and shading processing, and performs 2D processing in pixel units. Dimensional display data is generated for each frame. The time-series frame data is temporarily stored in the video memory 27 and then sequentially read out, whereby a three-dimensional animation image is reproduced on the display 25.
[0021]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 3. The mobile phone 3 includes a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a storage device 33, a voice input / output unit 34, a key input device 35, a 3D graphics chip 36, a graphic memory 37, an LCD 38, and a wireless communication control unit 39.
[0022]
The storage device 33 stores programs and data of e-mail software (mailer), Web browser software (browser software), and three-dimensional animation drawing software (3D drawing software), in addition to the OS of the mobile phone. .
[0023]
The 3D graphics chip 36 executes a geometric calculation processing program and a drawing calculation processing program incorporated in the 3D drawing software to generate three-dimensional graphics at high speed, and generates two-dimensional display data. The time-series frame data is temporarily stored in the graphic memory 37 and then sequentially read out, so that a three-dimensional animation image is displayed on the LCD 38.
[0024]
The wireless communication control unit 39 controls various digital signals or data transmission between the mobile phone 3 and the wireless base station 7. That is, it controls transmission of a line connection / disconnection signal of the mobile phone 3, a conversation voice signal, electronic mail data, data of a Web page browsed by a Web browser, and the like.
[0025]
The mailer has a function of creating an e-mail and transmitting / receiving an e-mail in response to an input from the key input device 35, and a function of separating a data file attached to the e-mail and temporarily storing the data file in the RAM 32 or the storage device 33. Is also realized.
[0026]
As browser software installed in the mobile phone 3, there are various markup languages, for example, compact HTML (HyperText Markup Language), HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language), and WML (Wireless Markup using WML (Wireless Markup). There is no particular limitation as long as the server 5 on the network 6 can be accessed via the communication network 8 and a gateway server (not shown).
[0027]
The 3D drawing software operates a 3D graphics chip 36 and other components to generate a polygon model based on polygon coordinate data, an animation function for adding motion to the polygon model based on motion data, and a polygon model. Implement a rendering function that performs rendering. The 3D drawing software has an import function for importing polygon coordinate data and motion data.
[0028]
In the rendering of the polygon model, attribute data such as color and texture set for each polygon of the polygon model may be used to extend the rendering so as to render a more realistic object.
[0029]
The mail server 4 manages transmission and reception of e-mail with the network 6 according to the settings of a mailer mounted on the personal computer 2.
The server 5 is particularly used in an embodiment in which the material data file of the portrait animation image is not attached to the e-mail as described later. That is, the server 5 receives the material data file transferred from the personal computer 2 via the network 6 and stores the transferred material data file in a storage device (not shown) built in the server or connected to the server. When there is an access from the mobile phone 3, the source data file is transferred to the mobile phone 3.
[0030]
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the receiver receives and reproduces an electronic mail with a portrait created by operating the personal computer 2 using the mobile phone 3 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0031]
[First Embodiment]
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing operations of the personal computer 2 and the mobile phone 3 according to the first embodiment.
[0032]
1. Creation of a 3D animation image of a portrait (operation of the personal computer 2) [FIG. 4]
First, the personal computer 2 creates a three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender by operating the sender of the electronic mail with the portrait. When the 3D animation software is started, the CPU 21 reads out the 3D animation software program from the storage device 23, expands the program in the work area of the RAM 22, displays a predetermined screen on the display 25, and stands by (step S11). The CPU 21 generates a three-dimensional polygon model (original polygon model) of a human face on the display 25 in response to an operation input of the input device 24 such as a mouse (step S12). The 3D graphics board or chip 26 executes geometric calculation processing and drawing calculation processing based on the generated polygon coordinate data of the three-dimensional polygon model, and temporarily stores two-dimensional display data in pixel units in the video memory 27. Then, the image of the prototype polygon model is displayed on the display 25 (step S13). At this time, if the 3D animation software has a data library prepared with a plurality of three-dimensional polygon models of a human face as a prototype, the prototype polygon model creation step is omitted, and the arbitrarily selected prototype polygon model is replaced with the original one. The information may be read from the storage device 23 and displayed on the display 25.
[0033]
The CPU 21 calculates the moved polygon coordinates according to a mouse operation (deformation operation) of dragging and moving the polygon coordinates of the prototype polygon model on the display 25 (step S14). The 3D graphics board or chip 26 executes geometric calculation processing and drawing calculation processing based on the moved polygon coordinate data, updates the two-dimensional display data in the video memory 27, and displays the image of the polygon model after deformation. Is displayed on the display 25 (step S15). This deformation operation is performed on the polygon coordinates of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, and other parts of the original model, and a polygon model (three-dimensional portrait model) that resembles the user's face is generated (step S16).
[0034]
The CPU 21 gives a motion to the three-dimensional portrait model completed by the modeling process according to an operation input such as a predetermined mouse operation. The motion may be related to not only a change in the facial expression (emotion, emotion, and so on) but also a part or all of the motion of the face, such as tilting or rotating the head forward, backward, left and right. For imparting motion, a key frame method, a morphing method, a skeleton method, inverse kinematics, and other animation techniques may be used alone or in combination. The CPU 21 calculates the polygon coordinates that move according to the movement (step S17). Then, the CPU 21 causes the 3D graphics board or chip 26 to execute a geometric calculation process and a drawing calculation process based on the polygon coordinate data. The 3D graphics board or chip 26 temporarily stores the two-dimensional display data sequentially generated with the movement in the video memory 27, and displays a moving image on the display 25 (step S18).
Through the above steps, the three-dimensional animation data of the portrait is completed (step S19).
[0035]
When generating a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait, attributes such as color and texture may be additionally set for each polygon of the three-dimensional portrait model. The rendering operation performed by the 3D graphics board or chip 26 performs a finer rendering based on the set or changed attribute data when the deformation operation or the motion imparting includes setting or changing the attribute. I do.
[0036]
The CPU 21 extracts material data, that is, polygon coordinate data and motion data, from the completed three-dimensional animation data of the portrait in response to an input operation of the input device 24 such as a mouse. The motion data is preferably difference data of polygon coordinates corresponding to the motion of the three-dimensional portrait model. The CPU 21 stores the extracted material data file in the material data storage area of the storage device 23 (Step S20).
[0037]
2. Creation and transmission of an e-mail with a portrait (operation of personal computer 2) [FIG. 5]
Next, by the operation of the sender of the electronic mail with a portrait, the personal computer 2 creates a transmission mail with a portrait and transmits it to the recipient.
[0038]
When the mailer is started, the CPU 21 reads out the mailer program from the storage device 23, expands the program in the work area of the RAM 22, displays a predetermined screen on the display 25, and stands by (step S21). On the mail creation screen (not shown), a destination (e-mail address of the recipient), a title, and a mail text are input according to the operation of the input device 24 (step S22). The material data file stored in the storage device 23 is selected as an attachment file and attached to an e-mail (step S23). The e-mail with the portrait prepared in this way is transmitted to the recipient (step S24). Since the operation of the sender here is the same as the operation of creating and transmitting an e-mail with an attached file, the CPU 21 controls each part of the personal computer 2 according to the operation and the specific operation of the personal computer 2. The description of the operation and the operation of the mail server 4 is omitted.
[0039]
3. Receiving and playing email with portrait (Operation of mobile phone 3) [Fig. 6]
The portrait-attached e-mail transmitted from the personal computer 2 is received by the receiver's operation of the mobile phone 3, and a three-dimensional animation image of the sender's portrait is reproduced.
[0040]
First, the mobile phone 3 activates a mailer in response to an operation of the key input device 35, and receives an electronic mail with a portrait from a mail server (not shown) on the mobile communication network 8 (step S31). The CPU 31 processes the received e-mail, and displays the text created by the sender on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 (step S32). On the other hand, the CPU 31 separates the material data file attached to the e-mail data from the text data, and temporarily stores the material data in the RAM 32 (step S33).
[0041]
The CPU 31 activates 3D drawing software automatically or in response to an input operation of the key input device 35, reads out material data from the RAM 32, and transfers the material data to the 3D graphics chip 36. The 3D graphics chip 36 performs a geometric calculation process and a drawing calculation process based on the polygon coordinate data and the motion data included in the material data (step S34). Thereby, two-dimensional display data of the portrait of the sender is generated. The frame data of the time-series portrait animation is temporarily stored in the graphic memory 37 (step S35), and is sequentially read, so that a three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender is displayed on the LCD 38 (step S36). .
[0042]
According to the first embodiment, a recipient receives a material data file constituting a three-dimensional animation of a portrait attached to an e-mail created by a sender as an attached file. Since the mobile phone 3 is provided with the 3D graphics chip 36 that performs geometric operation processing and drawing operation processing based on the received material data, the expression of the sender can be further improved by receiving only a small amount of material data. It is possible to reproduce richly caricatures.
[0043]
[Second embodiment]
FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts showing operations of the personal computer 2 and the mobile phone 3 according to the second embodiment.
[0044]
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the sender downloads the material data file uploaded to the server 5 by the personal computer 2 to the server 5 by the mobile phone 3.
[0045]
The material data file of the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender, which is created in the same manner as in the step of creating the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait in the first embodiment, is transmitted to the FTP client / client by operating the personal computer of the sender. Uploaded to the server by software (steps S71, S72). Now, the URL of the material data file uploaded to the server is http: // nigaoe3D. co. jp / sozai / owabi.
[0046]
Next, in the process of creating an e-mail with a portrait, the e-mail contains the e-mail text and the URL of the material data file (step S73). The electronic mail with the portrait prepared in this way is transmitted from the personal computer 2 to the recipient (step S74).
[0047]
The mobile phone 3 receives an electronic mail with a portrait in response to the operation of the key input device 35 (step S81). The CPU 31 processes the e-mail received by the e-mail software of the mobile phone 3, and displays the text created by the sender on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 together with the URL of the material data file (step S82).
When the receiver operates the mobile phone 3 and selects the URL (http://nigaoe3D.co.jp/sozai/owabi) of the material data file displayed on the LCD 38, the CPU 31 is mounted on the mobile phone 3. The browser software is activated to request the server 5 on the network 6 to transfer the material data file (step S83). The server 5 receives the transfer request and transfers the material data file to the mobile phone 3. The mobile phone 3 receives the material data file from the server 5 (step S84).
[0048]
The CPU 31 of the mobile phone 3 temporarily stores the material data file received from the server 5 in the RAM 32. The CPU 31 reads the material data from the RAM 32 and passes it to the 3D graphics chip 36. The 3D graphics chip 36 performs a geometric calculation process and a drawing calculation process based on the polygon coordinate data and the motion data included in the material data (step S85). Thereby, two-dimensional display data of the portrait of the sender is generated. The frame data of the time-series portrait animation is temporarily stored in the graphic memory 37 (step S86), and is sequentially read, so that a three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender is displayed on the LCD 38 (step S87). .
[0049]
According to the second embodiment, the mobile phone 3 accesses the server 5 via the URL of the material data file included in the body of the electronic mail with the portrait, thereby obtaining the portrait related to the portrait of the sender of the electronic mail. Receive the material data of the two-dimensional animation image. Therefore, the data relating to the portrait to be received in the e-mail receiving operation itself is only the data relating to the URL of the material data file, so that a more rapid e-mail receiving process is realized. Also, the recipient can receive and reproduce the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait at an arbitrary timing after receiving the e-mail and reading the mail text. It can be said to be a method of receiving and reproducing a two-dimensional animation image.
[0050]
FIG. 9 schematically shows an example of an electronic mail text displayed on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 and a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait when an electronic mail with a portrait is received according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 9, the next text created by the sender is displayed in the e-mail text display section 91.
[0051]
"I can't attend Mr. A's welcome party because of an urgent customer response. I'm sorry I couldn't go because I've been looking forward to it."
[0052]
Below the e-mail text display section 91, there is an animation display section 92, in which a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait of the sender is displayed. Here, an example of the three-dimensional animation image is an image in which, in the case of the above-mentioned sender's sentence, the sender's three-dimensional caricature apologizes for being sorry for his low profile.
[0053]
FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of an electronic mail text displayed on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 and a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait when an electronic mail with a portrait is received according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 10A, a sentence similar to that of FIG. 9 and a URL 102 linked to a material data file stored in the server 5 are displayed on the e-mail text display unit 101. In FIG. 10B, a three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the sender, which is generated in response to the selection of the URL by the receiver, is displayed on the animation display unit 103.
[0054]
In the second embodiment, the example in which the sender of the electronic mail with the portrait is to transmit the electronic mail by the personal computer 2 has been described. However, the sender uses the mobile phone to send the mail text and the URL of the material data file. It is, of course, possible to create an e-mail in which is described and send it to the recipient.
[0055]
Further, in the second embodiment, the mobile phone 3 downloads the material data file from the server 5 on the network 6, but the communication between the personal computer 2 and the mobile phone 3 is performed without the server 5. The material data file may be downloaded from the personal computer 2 by peer-to-peer communication.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention enables a receiver to receive and reproduce an image richly expressing the expression of the sender of an e-mail with a smaller data amount. Therefore, the present invention provides a service in which a communication fee is charged in accordance with the amount of data transmitted and received. It can be provided at low cost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration example of an electronic mail system that implements a method for receiving and playing an electronic mail with a portrait according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a personal computer 2 operated by a sender of the electronic mail with a portrait.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 3;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the personal computer 2 for creating a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the personal computer 2 for creating and transmitting a portrait electronic mail according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile phone 3 for receiving and reproducing an electronic mail with a portrait according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the personal computer 2 for creating and transmitting a portrait electronic mail according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the mobile phone 3 for receiving and reproducing an electronic mail with a portrait according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an electronic mail text displayed on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 and a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait when an electronic mail with a portrait is received according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a three-dimensional animation image of an electronic mail text and a portrait displayed on the LCD 38 of the mobile phone 3 when an electronic mail with a portrait is received according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 E-mail system
2 Personal computer
3 mobile phone
4 mail server
5 server
6 Network
7 wireless base stations
8 Mobile communication network
21 CPU
23 Storage
25 Display
26 3D graphics board or chip
27 Video Memory
31 CPU
33 Storage
36 3D Graphics Chip
37 graphic memory
38 LCD

Claims (9)

Receiving means for receiving an email,
Of the data constituting the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the e-mail sender generated in advance by the three-dimensional graphic generation means, the coordinate data and the motion data of the portrait model are acquired as the material data in association with the e-mail. Material data acquisition means to be
An image calculation device that performs a geometric calculation and a drawing calculation using the acquired material data, and reconstructs and draws a three-dimensional animation image of the portrait,
Display means for displaying the body of the e-mail and the drawing image;
Electronic device provided with. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the material data obtaining unit includes an extracting unit configured to extract the material data added to the received e-mail. 2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said material data obtaining means includes a transfer requesting means for requesting a transfer of said material data stored in a storage means on a network in advance. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the material data is difference data between polygon coordinate data of the portrait model and polygon coordinates corresponding to movement of the portrait model. 5. Among the data constituting the three-dimensional animation image of the portrait of the e-mail sender generated in advance by the three-dimensional graphic generation means, the coordinate data and the motion data of the portrait model are received as the material data in association with the e-mail. Steps to
Reconstructing a three-dimensional animation image of a portrait of a sender using the received material data and displaying the reconstructed three-dimensional animation image on a display screen. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein in the receiving step, the material data added to the electronic mail is received. 7. The material data is stored in storage means on a network, and the material data is transferred from the storage means to the electronic device by being accessed through access means included in the e-mail data. Receiving and playing the e-mail with a portrait described in the section. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said access unit includes a request unit for requesting transfer of material data stored in said storage unit. 9. The electronic mail with a portrait according to claim 5, wherein the material data is difference data between polygon coordinate data of the portrait model and polygon coordinates corresponding to a movement of the portrait model. 10. Reception and playback method.

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