JP2004135048A - Mail server device, mail receiving device, mail server program, and mail receiving program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid a waste of a disk capacity by not storing a whole of the mail into a mail box of a mail server device (or a mail receiving device), if only the latest mail is valid, in a delivery system for periodically transmitting mail. <P>SOLUTION: A service data receiving means 100 receives service data to store it into a service data storage part 101. When a mail receiving means 102 receives a newly received mail, a service determining means 103 determines whether or not the newly received mail receives service, a mail comparison means 104 compares the newly received mail with received mail in the mail box, a mail delete/storage means leaves the number of newly received mails, according to a time series by the number of stored mail specified by the service data, and deletes other previously received mail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mail server device, a mail receiving device, a mail server program, and a mail receiving program that constitute an electronic mail system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of storing and deleting mail.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a conventional e-mail system, a newly received e-mail received by a mail server device (hereinafter, an e-mail that has just been received but is not yet stored in a mailbox is referred to as a “new received mail”, and an e-mail stored in a mailbox All the mails are simply stored as "received mails" in the mailbox, and all the mails sent from the mail server device are stored in the mailbox of the mail receiving device. For this reason, in a delivery system that periodically sends from a specific source address, for example, a delivery system that periodically sends an email with the latest information in the attached file, only the latest email is required and earlier emails are required Even if it is not worthwhile, all newly received e-mails have been stored in the mail server device and the mailbox of the e-mail receiving device.
[0003]
In order to eliminate this waste, there is a technique for comparing the source address of a newly received mail with the mail body of the received mail stored in the mail server device, and deleting the received mail without storing it if they are the same. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-112843 A (abstract)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the related art (Patent Document 1), when a mail of the latest information is periodically transmitted from a specific source address, the mail body of the received mail is compared with the mail text of a newly received mail having the latest information, and the mail is different. In this case, new received mails are stored, but if they are the same, new received mails are deleted without being stored, so new received mails with the same sender address and mail text but different attachments may be stored. There was a problem that it was not possible. According to the present invention, a newly received mail having an attached file of the latest information is always stored in a mailbox of a mail server device and a mailbox of a mail receiving device, and the received mail having an attached file of previous information is stored in the mail. It is an object to provide a mail server device and a mail receiving device that can be deleted from a box.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides, in a mail server device, means for setting service data including the number of stored mails, a source mail address, and a destination address in a service data storage unit, according to the set service data. A means for determining whether to receive or not receive a new received mail, and if the result of the determination is to receive a service, the new received mail is stored in a mailbox in time series for the number of service data stored in the received mail. Means for accumulating and deleting other old mails.
[0007]
Also, in the mail receiving device, means for setting service data including the number of stored mails and the source mail address in the service data storage unit, and determining whether a new received mail receives a service according to the set service data. And means for, when receiving a service based on the judgment result, storing new received mails in chronological order by the number of service data mails stored in the received mails stored in the mailbox and deleting other old mails. It is characterized by having.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16.
[0009]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of an e-mail system including a mail server device 1, a plurality of mail transmitting devices 7, and a plurality of mail receiving devices 8.
[0010]
The mail server device 1 includes a mail receiving unit 3 that receives a mail transmitted from the mail transmitting device 7, a service determining unit 4 that determines whether the newly received mail receives a mail deletion service, A mail server control unit 10 that stores received mail in a mailbox 11 according to a service data storage unit 101, a control unit 5 that stores new received mail that does not receive service in a mailbox 11, and transmits a received mail to a mail receiving device 8. And a mail transmission control unit 12.
[0011]
If the mail server control unit 10 has a mail receiving unit and a service judging unit, the mail receiving unit 3 and the service judging unit 4 in the mail server device 1 may be omitted.
[0012]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a mail server unit 2 with a mail deletion function (hereinafter, referred to as a mail server unit 2) according to the present embodiment.
[0013]
The mail server unit 2 includes a mail server control unit 10 that stores and deletes mail, a service data storage unit 101 that sets service data to be subjected to a mail deletion function, and a mailbox 11 that stores newly received mail. .
[0014]
The mail server control unit 10 receives the service data, sets the service data in the service data storage unit 101 when the service data is set to perform the mail deletion function, and sets the service data to not perform the mail deletion function. In the case, the service data receiving unit 100 for deleting the service data having the same destination address 60 and the source address 61 (shown in FIG. 4) from the service data storage unit 101, the mail receiving unit 102 for receiving a newly received mail, The service data storage unit 101 searches the service data storage unit 101 for the same service data as the destination address and source address of the newly received mail, and stores the newly received mail in the mailbox 11 if there is no identical service data. And the judgment of the service judgment means 103 A mail comparing means for searching the mailbox 11 for a received mail having the same destination address and source address of the newly received mail, and comparing the searched received mail with the newly received mail. 104, the new received mail is deleted if the two are the same according to the comparison result of the mail comparing means 104, and if not the same, the oldest received mail among the searched received mails is deleted and the new received mail is deleted. Mail deletion / storage means 105 for keeping the new received mail and deleting the other old received mail in accordance with the time series of the service data mail storage number of 62 minutes, and the mail deletion / storage means 105 When the new received mail is stored in the mailbox 11 by the A mail transmitting unit 106 for transmitting a received mail, a mail inquiry receiving unit 107 for receiving a mail inquiry from a mail receiving device, and when there is a mail inquiry, an unsent mail in the mailbox is searched for and sent to the mail receiving device. It comprises mail sending means 106 for sending.
[0015]
The configuration of the service data storage unit 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the service data is data for registering necessary information in the mail server device 1 when a user who receives an e-mail service using the mail server device 1 uses the mail deletion function. .
[0016]
The service data storage unit 101 includes a destination address 60, a transmission source address 61, and the number of stored mails 62 of service data.
[0017]
In the mail server device 1 in which the number of received mails stored in the mailbox using the mail deletion function is 1 at the maximum, the service data storage unit 101 includes only the destination address 60 and the source address 61.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the mail server unit 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0019]
Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart for deleting / accumulating the newly received mail in the mail server unit 2 will be described below.
[0020]
When the mail server unit 2 receives the newly received mail (step A1), the service data storage unit 101 searches the service data storage unit 101 for the same service data as the destination address and the source address of the newly received mail (step A2). If not (step A3), the newly received mail is stored in the mailbox 11 (step A8). As a result of searching the service data storage unit 101 (step A2), if there is the same service data (step A3), the latest received mail stored in the mailbox 11 is read from the destination address 60 and the source address 61. The search is performed, and the newly received mail is compared with the latest received mail (step A4). When the comparison result (Step A4) is the same (Step A5), the newly received mail is deleted (Step A6). If the comparison result (Step A4) is not the same (Step A5), the oldest received mail is deleted from the received mails having the same address as the source address 61 in the mailbox 11 (Step A7), and the new mail is deleted. The received mails are stored in the mailbox 11, and the new received mails are left in the chronological order by the number of stored mails of 62 minutes, and the other old received mails are deleted (step A 8).
[0021]
Next, a flowchart for receiving the service data of the mail server unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0022]
If the mail server unit 2 receives the service data (step B1) and performs the mail deletion function (step B2), the service data is stored in the service data storage unit 101 (step B4). In the case of setting not to perform the mail deletion function (step B2), the service data storage unit 101 searches for service data having the same destination address 60 and source address 61 and deletes it (step B3).
[0023]
The method of setting whether or not to perform the mail deletion function for each user can be designated by the value of the number of stored mails. That is, if the value is 1 or more, the function is valid, and if the value is 0, the function is not used. However, this relates to the operation of the present apparatus, and it is also possible to adopt a method of directly editing the service data list.
[0024]
In addition, the method of receiving service data by the mail server device assumes that the service data is received from the user's mail receiving device (or mail transmitting device). Similarly, the service data list is directly edited by editing the service data list. Is also good.
[0025]
Next, a flowchart for transmitting the received mail of the mail server unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0026]
If there is a received mail in the mailbox 11 of the mail server unit 2 (step C1), the received mail is transmitted to the mail receiving device (step C2). If the mail receiving device can receive the received mail (step C3), the mail is sent. The received mail transmitted from the box 11 is set as transmitted (step C4). If there is no received mail in the mailbox 11 (step C1), nothing is done. If the mail receiving device cannot receive the received mail (step C3), nothing is done.
[0027]
Next, referring to FIG. 9, a flowchart for transmitting a received mail in response to a mail inquiry from the mail server unit 2 will be described below.
[0028]
When the mail server unit 2 receives a mail inquiry from the mail receiving device (step D1) (step D2), searches for an unsent received mail in the mailbox 11 (step D3) and finds an unsent received mail. (Step D4), the received mail is transmitted to the mail receiving device (Step D5). If there is no e-mail inquiry from the e-mail receiving device (step D3), nothing is done. The unsent received mail in the mailbox 11 is searched (step D3), and if there is no unsent new received mail (step D4), nothing is performed.
[0029]
Next, a flowchart for determining whether to receive the service of the mail server unit 2 will be described below with reference to FIG.
[0030]
In the determination of the service of the mail server unit 2, when the search of all the service data is not completed (step E1), the service data is acquired from the service data storage unit 101 (step E2). If both the obtained service data and the destination address and the source address of the newly received mail are the same (step E3), the process ends with receiving the service. If they are not the same (step E3), it is determined whether all the service data in the service data storage unit 101 has been acquired (step E1), and the process is repeated. When the search of all the service data in the service data storage unit 101 has been completed (step E1), there is no matching service data, so that the processing is terminated without receiving the service.
[0031]
Next, a flowchart for comparing the newly received mail with the received mail in the mail server unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0032]
In the comparison of the mails in the mail server unit 2, if all the received mails have not been acquired (step F1), the received mails are acquired from the mailbox 11 (step F2). It is determined whether the acquired destination address and source address of the received mail are the same as the destination address and source address of the newly received mail (step F3). If they are not the same, it is determined whether all the received mails in the mailbox 11 have been obtained (step F1), and the processing is repeated. If they are the same, the newly received mail is compared with the received mail in the mailbox 11 (step F4). If the comparison results are not the same, the process returns to the determination as to whether all the received mails in the mailbox 11 have been obtained (step F1), and the processing is repeated. If they are the same, the process ends assuming that the same received mail exists in the mailbox 11. When the acquisition of all the received mails in the mailbox 11 is completed (step F1), the process ends assuming that the same mail does not exist.
[0033]
The mail comparison in step F4 compares the mail text, the title, and the attached file. The comparison conditions of these three items may be arbitrary. In other words, the mail text and the title must match, but the attached file may not be noticed, or they may all need to match. Further, the attached file has information on various files such as a file name, a file size, and a file content. For example, only the file name may be compared and the others may be ignored.
[0034]
FIG. 16 shows a specific example of the state of accumulation of received mail in the mailbox 11 of the present embodiment.
[0035]
In this example, a title is added to the service data storage unit 101. The comparison between the newly received mail and the received mail in the mailbox 11 is performed based on the destination address, the source address, and the title. Then, by managing the title and the number of stored mails, the mail is deleted and stored.
[0036]
Specifically, when a new received mail C is received in a mailbox in which received mail A and received mail B are stored as in the storage status 1, when the received mail A having the same destination address, source address, and title is received. The newly received mail C is deleted and stored in the mailbox, and the state becomes the storage state 2. In other words, the receiving user can use the e-mail deletion function for each title if the e-mails from the same destination have different titles.
[0037]
(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the method of realizing the mail deletion function in the mail server device of the electronic mail system has been described. In the present embodiment, a method realized in the mail receiving device will be described.
[0038]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a mail receiving device 8 with a mail deleting function (hereinafter, referred to as a mail receiving device 8) according to the present embodiment.
[0039]
The mail receiving device 8 includes a mail receiving control unit 20 for controlling a received mail, a mail inquiry unit 206 for making a mail inquiry, a service data storage unit 201 for setting service data, and a mailbox 21 for storing mail. You.
[0040]
The mail reception control unit 20 receives service data, sets the service data in the service data storage unit 201 when the service data is set to perform the mail deletion function, and sets the service data to not perform the mail deletion function. In the case, the service data receiving unit 200 for deleting the service data of the same source address 71 (shown in FIG. 5) from the service data storage unit 201, the mail receiving unit 202 for receiving a newly received mail, The service data storage unit 201 searches the service data storage unit 201 for the same service data as the source address. If there is no identical service data, the service determination unit 203 stores the newly received mail in the mailbox 21; If you receive the service based on the judgment result of A mail comparison unit 204 that searches the mailbox 21 for a received mail having the same source address as a newly received mail, and compares the searched received mail with the newly received mail. A comparison result of the mail comparison unit 204 If the same, the new received mail is deleted, and if not the same, the oldest received mail among the searched received mails is deleted, the new received mail is stored, and the number of mails stored in the service data is stored. It comprises a mail deleting / accumulating means 205 for leaving the new received mail and deleting the other old received mails in chronological order for 72 minutes.
[0041]
The configuration of the service data storage unit 201 of the mail receiving device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. The service data storage unit 201 includes a source address 71 of service data and a mail storage number 72.
[0042]
In a mail receiving apparatus in which the number of received mails stored in a mailbox using the mail deletion function is 1, the service data storage unit 201 is composed of only the source address 71.
[0043]
Next, the operation of the mail receiving device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0044]
Referring to FIG. 12, a flowchart for deleting / accumulating a newly received mail in mail receiving apparatus 8 is shown below.
[0045]
When the mail receiving device 8 receives the newly received mail (step G1), the service data storage unit 201 searches the service data storage unit 201 for the same service data as the source address of the newly received mail (step G2). Step G3), storing the newly received mail in the mailbox 21 (step G8). Further, as a result of searching the service data storage unit 201 (step G2), if there is the same service data (step G3), the latest received mail stored in the mailbox 21 is searched from the source address 71 and new The received mail is compared with the latest received mail (step G4). When the comparison result (step G4) is the same (step G5), the newly received mail is deleted (step G6). If the comparison result (step G4) is not the same (step G5), the oldest received mail is deleted from the received mails having the same address as the source address 71 in the mailbox 21 (step G7), and the new mail is deleted. The received mails are stored in the mailbox 21, and the new received mails are left according to the number of stored mails in a time series of 72 minutes, and other old received mails are deleted (step G <b> 8).
[0046]
Next, the process of receiving service data in the mail receiving device is the same as the process of receiving service data of the mail server device 1 of the first embodiment (FIG. 7), and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0047]
Next, a flowchart for making a mail inquiry of the mail receiving device 8 will be described below with reference to FIG.
[0048]
The mail receiving device 8 inquires of the mail server device 1 about a mail (step H1), and when a new received mail is transmitted from the mail server device 1 (step H2), receives the newly received mail (step H3). When the newly received mail is not transmitted from the mail server device 1 (step H2), nothing is performed.
[0049]
Next, a process of determining whether or not to receive the service of the mail receiving device 8 is shown in a flowchart of FIG. 14, and is basically the same as the process of FIG. 10 of the first embodiment. The only difference is that the determination in step I3 (step E3 in FIG. 10) is made only with the source address.
[0050]
Next, a process of comparing the newly received mail with the received mail of the mail receiving device 8 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, and is basically the same as the process of FIG. 11 of the first embodiment. As in the case of FIG. 14, the only difference is that the determination in step J3 (step F3 in FIG. 11) is made only with the source address.
[0051]
The invention according to the present patent application may be implemented by a computer and a program, and the program may be recorded on a recording medium.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a mail from a specific address, new mails are accumulated in the mailboxes of the mail server device and the mail receiving device in time series for the set number of mails, and old mails are deleted. The advantageous effect that the disk can be used effectively can be obtained.
[0053]
Further, in the case of a mail server device, a user who uses the mail server device does not need to receive meaningless old mail, so that the effect of shortening the connection time with the mail server device can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an e-mail system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a mail server unit with a mail deletion function according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a mail receiving device with a mail deletion function according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a service data storage unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a configuration of a service data storage unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for deleting and storing newly received mail according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for receiving service data according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for transmitting a newly received mail according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for transmitting a newly received mail based on a mail inquiry according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for determining whether or not to receive a service according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for comparing newly-received mail and received mail according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Flowchart for deleting / accumulating newly received mail [FIG. 13] Flowchart for inquiring of mail according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention [FIG. 14] Flowchart for determining whether or not to receive service according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention [FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for comparing a newly received mail with a received mail according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the accumulation state of the received mail in the mailbox according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
Reference Signs List 1 mail server device 2 mail server unit with mail deletion function 3 mail reception unit 4 service determination unit 5 control unit 7 mail transmission device 8 mail reception device 10 mail server control unit 11 mailbox 12 mail transmission control unit 20 mail reception control unit 21 Mailbox 60 Destination address 61, 71 Source address 62, 72 Number of stored mails 100, 200 Service data receiving means 101, 201 Service data storage 102, 202 Mail receiving means 103, 203 Service determining means 104, 204 Mail comparing means 105 , 205 E-mail deletion / storage means 106 E-mail transmission means 107 E-mail inquiry reception means 206 E-mail inquiry means

Claims (10)

In a mail server device for temporarily storing a newly received mail received from a mail transmitting device in a mailbox and transmitting mail addressed to the mail receiving device in response to an inquiry from the mail receiving device,
A mail receiving means for receiving a newly received mail,
In the case where received mails having the same source address and destination address of the new received mail are stored in the mailbox, the received mail is deleted from the mailbox to delete the new received mail. -A mail server device comprising storage means. Service data setting means for receiving service data including at least a source address and a destination address as components, and setting the service data in a service data storage unit;
Service determining means for determining whether a source address and a destination address of the newly received mail are set in the service data storage unit when the newly received mail is received,
The mail deleting / accumulating means, when the service judging means judges that the service is to be received, deletes the received mail having the same source address and destination address of the new received mail from the mailbox and deletes the new mail. 2. The mail server device according to claim 1, wherein the received mail is stored, and when it is determined that the service is not received, the newly received mail is stored in a mailbox. The service data setting means also sets the number of stored mails as a component of the service data in the service data storage unit,
The mail deleting / accumulating means, when the service judging means judges that the service is received, when the received mail having the same source address and destination address of the newly received mail is stored in the mailbox, 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the oldest received mail is deleted, the new received mail is stored, and new received mails are left according to the number of stored mails in time series, and other old received mails are deleted. The mail server device as described. The mail deleting / accumulating means, when the service judging means judges that the service is to be received, the received mail in the mailbox having the same source address and destination address of the newly received mail and the new received mail. Any one of the attached file, title, and mail body is compared in any combination. If the comparison result is the same, the newly received mail is deleted. If not, the received mail is deleted. The mail server device according to claim 3, wherein the mail server stores the mail address in the mailbox. In a mail receiving device that stores a newly received mail received from a mail server device by a mail inquiry in a mailbox,
A mail receiving means for receiving a newly received mail,
A mail deleting / accumulating means for deleting the received mail from the mailbox and storing the newly received mail when the received mail having the same source address as the newly received mail is stored in the mailbox; A mail receiving device characterized by the above-mentioned. Service data setting means for receiving service data including at least a source address in a component, and setting the service data in a service data storage unit;
Service determining means for determining whether a source address of the newly received mail is set in the service data storage unit when the newly received mail is received,
The mail deleting / accumulating means, when the service judging means judges that the service is to be received, deletes the received mail having the same source address as the newly received mail from a mailbox and accumulates the newly received mail, 6. The mail receiving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when it is determined that the mail is not received, the newly received mail is stored in a mailbox. The service data setting means also sets the number of stored mails as a component of the service data in the service data storage unit,
The mail deleting / accumulating means deletes the oldest received mail when the service judging means judges that the service is received and the received mail having the same sender address as the newly received mail is stored in the mailbox. 7. The mail receiving apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the new received mail is stored, and the new received mail is left for the number of stored mails in time series, and the other old received mails are deleted. The mail deleting / accumulating means, when the service judging means judges to receive the service, attaches a file, a title, and the like to the newly received mail and the received mail in the mailbox having the same source address of the newly received mail If any of the mail texts are compared in any combination, if the comparison result is the same, the newly received mail is deleted.If not, the received mail is deleted and the new received mail is deleted in the mailbox. The mail receiving apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mail is stored in the mail receiving apparatus. In a mail server program for temporarily storing a newly received mail received from a mail transmitting device in a mailbox and transmitting mail addressed to the mail receiving device in response to an inquiry from the mail receiving device,
An email receiving step of receiving a newly received email,
In the case where received mails having the same source address and destination address of the new received mail are stored in the mailbox, the received mail is deleted from the mailbox to delete the new received mail. A computer-executable mail server program for causing a computer to execute a process including an accumulation step; In a mail receiving program that stores a newly received mail received from a mail server device by a mail inquiry in a mailbox,
An email receiving step of receiving a newly received email,
A process of deleting and storing the received mail from the mailbox when the received mail having the same source address as the newly received mail is stored in the mailbox; A computer-executable mail receiving program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images