JP2005339124A - Electronic mail communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cancel any inconvenience due to the constraint of the use location of information terminal equipment by using a plurality of different communication environments, and to shorten the standby time of a user required for communication by shortening a communication processing time. <P>SOLUTION: Electronic mail data are divided into first electronic data and second electronic data, and a the first electronic mail of the divided electronic data is transmitted and received through a first radio communication network 31, and the second electronic data are transmitted/received through a second radio communication network 32 different from the first radio communication network 31. Thus, it is possible to transmit those two respective electronic data through the optimal radio communication network based on the data size or data format or the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic mail communication system that transmits electronic mail data including a plurality of electronic data, and more particularly to an electronic mail communication system that individually transmits and receives electronic data included in the electronic mail data via a wireless communication network. It is.

Today, information terminal devices (information processing devices) are becoming more compact, and information terminals (portable information terminal devices) such as portable personal computers (personal computers) and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are widely used in the market. . As an example of using such an information terminal, an access point provided by a provider or the like by wireless communication by connecting a communication device such as a mobile phone or a PHS that can communicate in a wide area to the information terminal (of a base station device) By connecting to a network such as the Internet via an example), it is possible to send and receive e-mail (e-mail data) outdoors and browse homepages outdoors. However, in the current communication via a mobile phone or PHS, the communication speed is still slow, so it is not appropriate for transmitting images and music contents.
In recent years, a public wireless LAN service that provides an area (called a “hot spot”) that enables connection to a network such as the Internet via an access point by wireless LAN communication at a station or a coffee shop. Is being developed rapidly. In this hot spot, it is possible to use a wireless LAN communication environment that has a higher communication speed than communication using the mobile phone or the like. Therefore, an electronic mail attached with electronic data having a large data size such as moving image data or music data. Even so, e-mail can be transmitted and received in a short time, and e-mail communication without stress can be performed.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic mail transmission system including a transmission device and a reception device. In such a system, in the transmitting device, e-mail data having a plurality of electronic data is separated into text data and non-text data at the time of transmission, and the text data is transmitted to the receiving device by e-mail communication. Data is configured to be stored in a WWW server or FTP server. In the receiving device, an access request notification for the non-text data is output and displayed on a display screen of a personal computer or the like based on the access information included in the received text data. As a result, the user can check the contents of the mail by receiving text data having a small data size without waiting for completion of reception of the non-text data. In this case, non-text data having a large data size can be separately downloaded by accessing the WWW server or the like.
JP 2000-270008 A

However, although the mobile phone, PHS, and the like can perform wireless communication in a wide area, the communication speed is relatively slow, and the maximum speed is only about 128 kbps. Therefore, an e-mail with only text data can be sent and received in a short time. However, when sending / receiving an e-mail with a large data size attached, it takes a long time to complete the sending / receiving process. , Very inconvenient. In recent years, mobile phones and mobile communication terminals capable of communicating at a speed of several Mbps have been developed, but have not yet been put into practical use.
On the other hand, in the hot spot provided by the public wireless LAN service, an extremely high-speed wireless LAN communication environment can be used as compared with the wireless communication using the mobile phone or the like. Although it can be transmitted and received in time, there is a regional restriction that it can only be used within the provided narrow area, so the user can use the wireless LAN communication environment unless moving to the hot spot. There was a problem that I could not.
The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 communicates (transmits / receives) text data and non-text data individually via a plurality of networks having different network protocols (SMTP / POP3, HTTP / FTP, etc.). Since there is only one communication network to connect to multiple networks, after all, the time spent for receiving both text data and non-text data is the communication speed of the communication network between the terminal and the network. And communication range. Therefore, although the system described in Patent Document 1 has an advantage that only the content of text data can be confirmed at an early stage, the reception time of all electronic mail data (text data, non-text data) cannot be shortened.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to use a plurality of communication environments having different communication speeds and communicable ranges, etc. Eliminates the inconvenience due to restrictions, and shortens the communication processing time and the waiting time of users required for communication by performing e-mail communication via the communication network according to the type of electronic data in the e-mail data An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mail communication system.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information terminal device capable of transmitting and receiving electronic mail data including a plurality of electronic data, and the electronic mail data transmitted from an appropriate external terminal device as first electronic data. And a data relay device having relay-side data separation means for separating and storing the second electronic data and storing the electronic mail between the information terminal device and the data relay device via a predetermined wireless communication network In an electronic mail communication system for data communication,
The wireless communication network includes a first wireless communication network and a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network,
The information terminal device determines whether or not communication by the first wireless communication network is possible and, when communication is possible, the information terminal device and the data relay device through the first wireless communication network Processing for transmitting the first electronic data to and from the network, and determining whether or not communication by the second wireless communication network is possible. When communication is possible, the second wireless communication network is And a first data transmission control means for performing a process of transmitting the second electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device. ing.
Since it is configured as described above, each of the two electronic data separated on the data relay device side can be transmitted via the most suitable wireless communication network based on the data size, data format, and the like. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time required for communication processing, and it is possible to reduce the waiting time of the user that has conventionally occurred.

  Here, the relay side data separating means separates the first electronic data when separating the electronic mail data transmitted from the external terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data. It is desirable that related information for associating the second electronic data with the second electronic data is added to the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data. Thereby, even if it is a case where the electronic data isolate | separated by the information terminal device side are received with a time difference separately, the relevance of each electronic data can be recognized easily.

  Further, the information terminal device receives the first electronic data and the second electronic data transmitted from the data relay device via the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, respectively. It is conceivable to further comprise terminal-side data restoration means for automatically making a combined state based on the related information. That is, even if the electronic data separated on the information terminal device side is received individually with a time difference, the first electronic data and the second electronic data are automatically generated based on the related information. As a single e-mail data using a general-purpose e-mail application (e-mail browser) that is standard on information terminals such as personal computers and PDAs by being restored to the original e-mail. Storage, management, and browsing can be performed.

  Further, the relay side data separating means separates the electronic mail data into the first electronic data and the second electronic data according to the data size of the electronic mail data transmitted from the external terminal device. You may do. In this case, it is preferable that the information terminal device further includes a relay side threshold value changing unit that changes a threshold value related to a data size for separating the e-mail data by the relay side data separating unit. Since the communication time increases and decreases in proportion to the data size, it is possible to freely change the communication time by configuring the email data to be separated based on an arbitrarily set threshold value. Convenience can be improved.

  The present invention also provides an information terminal device capable of transmitting / receiving e-mail data including a plurality of electronic data, and storing the e-mail data transmitted from the information terminal device for transmission to a predetermined external terminal device. An electronic mail communication system for communicating electronic mail data via an appropriate wireless communication network between the information terminal device and the data relay device, wherein the wireless communication network includes a communication method A first wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network and a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network, wherein the information terminal device stores the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device in a first A terminal-side data separation unit that separates and stores the first electronic data and the second electronic data, and determines whether communication by the first wireless communication network is possible. When possible, a process of transmitting the first electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the first wireless communication network is performed, and communication by the second wireless communication network is performed. In addition to determining whether or not communication is possible, a process of transmitting the second electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the second wireless communication network when communication is possible is performed. And an e-mail communication system characterized by comprising second data transmission control means. Because of this configuration, even when an e-mail is transmitted from the information terminal device to the external terminal device of the transmission address via the data relay device, the data size and data separated on the information terminal device side E-mail can be transmitted through a wireless communication network according to the format. As a result, useless waiting time that has conventionally occurred can be reduced.

The electronic data separated by the terminal-side data separation means is finally transmitted to an appropriate external terminal device based on the destination address information stored in the header information part of the email. The receiving external terminal cannot recognize whether these electronic data are originally one electronic data. Therefore, when the terminal-side data separation means separates the e-mail data generated in the information terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data, the first electronic data and the If the related information for associating with the second electronic data is added to the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data, the separated electronic data in the external terminal device is individually time-differenced. Even if it is received in a case, it is possible to recognize the relevance of each electronic data.
In this case, the data relay device includes the first electronic data and the second electronic data transmitted from the information terminal device via the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, respectively. It is desirable to automatically make a state of being combined based on the related information.

  The terminal-side data separation means separates the electronic mail data into the first electronic data and the second electronic data according to the data size of the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device. It may be a thing. In this case, it is desirable to further include terminal side threshold value changing means for changing a threshold value related to the data size for separating the e-mail data by the terminal side data separating means.

  Further, if the communication speed in the first wireless communication network and the communication speed in the second wireless communication network are different, for example, electronic data with a small data size is transmitted over a wireless communication network with a low communication speed. Because transmission of electronic data with a large data size over a wireless communication network with a high communication speed shortens the communication time compared with the case where all electronic data is transmitted and received over a communication network with a low communication speed. Time can be shortened.

  Since the text data is much smaller in data size than the electronic data attached to the e-mail (non-text data such as image data and music data), one of the first electronic data and the second electronic data. It is desirable that one is text data and the other is non-text data.

  The first and second data transmission control means monitor the received electric field strength in each of the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network every predetermined period, and on the basis of this, the respective data transmission control means It is determined whether or not the communication network is communicable, and the first electronic data is transmitted through the first wireless communication network when it is determined that communication by the first wireless communication network is possible. The second electronic data is considered to be transmitted via the second wireless communication network when it is determined that communication by the second wireless communication network is possible. As a result, when the user carries the information terminal device and moves within at least one communication area of the two systems of wireless communication networks, transmission / reception of electronic mail is automatically executed.

  In addition, the first and second data transmission control means are determined to be able to communicate via a communication network capable of high-speed communication, either the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network. In this case, the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data or the electronic mail data may be transmitted via the communication network capable of high-speed communication. As a result, in a situation where both the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network can communicate, or in a situation where only the communication network capable of high-speed communication can communicate, the type of electronic data and electronic mail data Regardless of whether or not is separated, e-mail data can be transmitted and received via a communication network capable of high-speed communication. As a result, it is possible to send and receive electronic mail according to the communication status.

The relay-side data separation means, when separating the electronic mail data transmitted from the external terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data, It is added to each of the first electronic data and the second electronic data, and the first data transmission control means is transmitted via the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network. , Either the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network based on the separation information added to the first electronic data or the second electronic data first received by the information terminal device It is also conceivable to shorten the period for monitoring the received electric field strength in one wireless communication network.
As a result, when the presence of data to be received is confirmed based on the separation information, it is quickly determined whether the wireless communication network can be used. As a result, an available state is established at an early stage and electronic data is transmitted and received, so that the user can quickly confirm (view) the contents of the electronic mail.
In this case, if the separation information is included in the related information, it is not necessary to individually process the two types of information, the amount of information added to the electronic data is reduced, and the data size of the email is reduced. Therefore, the processing load related to transmission and reception is reduced, and the processing time is shortened.

In addition, the first and second data transmission control means may transmit e-mail data via the first wireless communication network by the first wireless communication means wirelessly or wiredly connected to the information terminal device. It is considered that the communication is performed. In this case, the first wireless communication unit is preferably a wireless communication unit using cellular phone communication.
Further, the first and second data transmission control means are configured to transmit e-mail data via the second wireless communication network by the second wireless communication means wirelessly or wiredly connected to the information terminal device. It is considered that the communication is performed. In this case, the second wireless communication means is preferably a wireless communication means using wireless LAN communication.

According to the present invention, an information terminal device and a data relay device having data separation means are connected to each other using a first wireless communication network of two systems and a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network. In an electronic mail communication system that performs communication of electronic mail data between the information terminal devices, the information terminal device determines whether communication by the first wireless communication network is possible. A process of transmitting the first electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device via a wireless communication network, and determining whether communication by the second wireless communication network is possible. First data transmission control means for performing a process of transmitting the second electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the second wireless communication network when communication is possible Because it is provided When the information terminal device receives e-mail data from the data relay device, each of the two electronic data separated on the data relay device side has the most suitable wireless communication network according to the data size, data format, etc. Will be transmitted. As a result, the time required for the communication process is shortened, and the user's useless waiting time that has conventionally occurred can be eliminated.
The present invention also provides a terminal-side data separation means for separating and storing the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device into first electronic data and second electronic data in the information terminal device, It is determined whether communication by the first wireless communication network is possible, and when communication is possible, the first terminal is connected between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the first wireless communication network. 1 is performed to determine whether or not communication by the second wireless communication network is possible, and when the communication is possible, the information terminal device is connected via the second wireless communication network. And second data transmission control means for performing processing for transmitting the second electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device, so that e-mail data is sent from the information terminal device to the data relay device. Send Even at this time, it is possible to send an e-mail by an optimal wireless communication network according to the data size and data format separated on the information terminal device side, thereby reducing the user's unnecessary waiting time. Is possible.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. It should be noted that the following embodiments and examples are examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electronic mail communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a reception flow of electronic data when the information terminal device X receives an electronic mail. 3 is a block diagram showing a transmission flow of electronic data when an electronic mail is transmitted in the information terminal device X, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an area where mobile phone communication and public wireless LAN communication are possible, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of communication availability determination processing performed by the communication control unit 10 of the information terminal device X in the electronic mail communication system according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the data separation process, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the e-mail transmission process performed by the communication control unit 10 of the information terminal apparatus X, and FIG. 9 is the data relay when the e-mail is transmitted in the information terminal apparatus X 10 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of data restoration processing performed by the relay control unit 20 of the device Y.

First, a schematic configuration of an electronic mail communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This electronic mail communication system includes an information terminal device X for transmitting / receiving electronic mail data (electronic mail data attached with image data, music data, etc.) including a plurality of electronic data, the information terminal device X, and the external terminal device. Wireless or wired connection between the data terminal device X and the information terminal device X that relays the transmission / reception of the email data performed between the data terminal 30 by temporarily storing (storing) the email data Base station wirelessly or wiredly connected between the wireless communication device 33 (an example of the first wireless communication unit) and the wireless communication device 34 (an example of the second wireless communication unit) and the data relay device Y And devices 35 and 36. In the electronic mail communication system configured as described above, electronic mail data is communicated between the information terminal device X and the data relay device Y via a predetermined wireless communication network. The wireless communication network includes a wireless communication network 31 formed between the wireless communication device 33 and the base station device 35, and a connection formed between the wireless communication device 34 and the base station device 26. A wireless communication network 32 is included.

  Here, a schematic configuration of the information terminal device X constituting the electronic mail communication system will be described. The information terminal device X stores a transmission BOX 11 (transmission memory) and a reception BOX 12 (reception memory) for transmitting / receiving or storing transmitted / received e-mail data, and a communication program (e-mail software etc.) enabling e-mail communication. A PDA or personal computer comprising a program memory 13 (stored), a communication control unit 10 comprising a CPU, a RAM, etc. for performing various controls of the information terminal device X as a whole and for controlling electronic mail communication in the electronic mail communication system. And the like. The communication program causes the information terminal device X to function as first and second data transmission control means, terminal side data restoration means, terminal side data separation means, terminal side threshold value changing means, and relay side threshold value changing means. The communication program is read and executed by the CPU, and transmission / reception of electronic mail data is realized.

The outline of the first and second data transmission control means will be briefly described below.
The first and second data transmission control means automatically determine (determine) whether communication by the wireless communication network 31 is possible, and when possible, the information terminal device via the wireless communication network 31 A process for transmitting first electronic data (for example, text data) between X and the data relay device Y is performed, and it is automatically determined (determined) whether communication by the wireless communication network 32 is possible. In some cases, second electronic data (for example, non-text data such as image data or music data, or non-text data is included between the information terminal device X and the data relay device Y via the wireless communication network 32. Electronic data). In the first and second data transmission control means, the communication control unit 10 gives a communication command based on a predetermined communication protocol to the wireless communication device 33, whereby the first electronic device is transmitted via the wireless communication network 31. Data transmission / reception (communication) is performed. Similarly, transmission / reception (communication) of the second electronic data is also performed via the wireless communication network 32 by giving a communication command based on a predetermined communication protocol to the wireless communication device 34.
Here, the wireless communication device 33 is a portable wireless device such as a so-called mobile phone, and is a device that performs TDMA or CDMA wireless communication (mobile phone communication). In this mobile phone communication system, in addition to the TDMA system and the CDMA system, mobile phone communication based on the W-CDMA system, the CDMA2000 system, and various systems standardized or standardized in the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). Can be considered. The communication speed of portable wireless communication (an example of the first wireless communication network) using such a cellular phone is much slower than that of the wireless LAN communication described later for those currently in practical use, but in a very wide area. It is possible to communicate.
The wireless communication device 34 is a device for performing DSSS wireless LAN communication conforming to IEEE802.11b by using radio waves in the ISM band (2.4 GHz band: Industry Science Medical band). In addition to the above, this wireless LAN communication method may be OFDM wireless LAN communication based on IEEE802.11a, 11b, FHSS wireless LAN communication based on Bluetooth communication method, or the like. Each of the wireless communication devices 33 and 34 detects the intensity of a radio wave received by an antenna (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as reception field strength) and outputs the detection result to the communication control unit 10. .

  Next, a schematic configuration of the data relay device Y constituting the electronic mail communication system will be described. The data relay device Y is an email server that temporarily stores (stores) email data transmitted from the external terminal device 30 via a network such as the Internet and relays transmission / reception of email data. Data box 21 (data memory) for temporarily storing mail data, relay program memory 22 for storing (storing) a relay program for enabling relay processing of electronic mail data in the data relay device Y, and the data relay device The relay control unit 20 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like that control the entire Y. The relay program is a program for causing the data relay device Y to function as a relay-side data separating unit and a relay-side data restoring unit, and the e-mail data is read and executed by the CPU. The transmission / reception relay processing is realized. The external terminal device 30 is not limited to an information terminal such as a personal computer or a PDA, and may be another electronic mail server that relays electronic mail.

Next, the electronic data communication process when the information terminal device X receives an electronic mail will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2 and the schematic diagram of FIG. 4 using the flowcharts of FIGS. . Here, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a flow of the e-mail until the e-mail transmitted from the external terminal device 30 is relayed by the data relay device Y and transmitted to the information terminal device X. .
First, a case where the user receives an e-mail at a point 51 shown in FIG. 4 (an area where only the mobile phone communication network 31a can communicate) will be described. Hereinafter, S11, S12,... Represent processing procedure (step) numbers.
In the following description, the first electronic data is text data, the second electronic data is non-text data, the wireless communication network 31 is a mobile phone communication network 31a, and the wireless communication network 32 is a public wireless LAM communication network 32a. The case where the communication device 33 is a mobile phone 33a and the communication device 34 is a LAN adapter 34a capable of communicating with a base station device 36 (access point (AP)) for wireless LAN communication will be described.
An electronic mail having text data and non-text data is transmitted from the external terminal device 30 to the data relay device Y via the Internet or the like, and the electronic mail is received by the relay control unit 20 of the data relay device Y. When the determination is made (FIG. 7: S31), in the data relay device Y, the relay control unit 20 (FIG. 1) separates the received e-mail data into text data and non-text data, and the data box 21 (FIG. 7). 1) is accumulated (stored) (FIG. 7: S32). Such data separation processing is performed according to the data size of the e-mail data transmitted from the external terminal device 30. Specifically, if the data size of the electronic data included in the e-mail data is smaller than a predetermined threshold relating to the data size for separating the e-mail data, the data is text data, and vice versa. The e-mail data is separated. The method for separating (dividing) the e-mail data is also defined in the technical specification RFC established in IFTF (Internet Engineering Task Force), and the data separation processing according to this embodiment is defined in the RFC 2046. The e-mail data may be separated by a method based on the separation method based on the above (refer to the above-mentioned RFC2046 rule for a specific separation method).
When the e-mail data is separated by the data separation process, the header information areas (transmission destination address, transmission source address, mail data size, data type, etc.) of the text data and the non-text data are related. The related information for associating the text data with the non-text data is added to the area in which the information is stored (FIG. 7: S33), and the header information area is separated into the text data and the non-text data. Separation information indicating this has been added (FIG. 7: S34). Note that the processing in steps S32 to S34 is achieved by the relay side data separation means.

On the other hand, in the information terminal device X, when the main power supply is turned on, the communication control unit 10 (FIG. 1) receives the received electric field at predetermined intervals in the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a. The strength is monitored (detected) (FIG. 5: S11, S13), and based on the monitoring result, it is determined whether or not the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a can communicate. Specifically, the received electric field strength detected for each of the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a is set to a preset strength (preset value for each of the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a ( It is determined whether or not each of the communication networks can communicate by determining whether or not (threshold value) or more (threshold value determination) (FIG. 5: S12, S14).
Here, when the received electric field strength is less than the set strength, it is assumed that communication with the base station devices 35 and 36 is impossible, that is, communication with each wireless communication network is impossible. , The process returns to steps S11 and S13.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than the set strength (FIG. 5: Yes side of S12, Yes side of S14), the communication control unit 10 establishes communication with each wireless communication network. Thus, communication with the base station devices 35 and 36 becomes possible. At the present time, since the user is performing an e-mail receiving operation in an area (point 51 in FIG. 4) where only the mobile phone communication network 31a can communicate, the information terminal device X can only receive the mobile phone communication network 31a. Communication with is established.
If it is determined that communication with the mobile phone communication network 31a has been established, then the communication control unit 10 transmits the data box 21 (FIG. 1) of the data relay device Y via the mobile phone communication network 31a. It is confirmed whether text data is stored in (FIG. 6: S21). When it is confirmed that the text data is stored, the text data is transmitted (received) from the data BOX 21 to the information terminal device X via the cellular phone communication network 31a and is received by the receiving BOX 12 (FIG. 1). Stored (FIG. 6: S22). If no text data is stored in the data box 21 (FIG. 6: No side of S21), the process returns to the above-described process of S11. As described above, since only the mobile phone communication network 31a is currently communicable, non-text data is not received.
When text data is received in S22 of FIG. 6, the communication control unit 10 determines whether or not related information (information for associating text data with non-text data) is added to the received text data (FIG. 6). 6: S25). Here, if it is determined that the related information is not added (FIG. 6: No side of S25), it is determined that non-text data is not attached to the transmitted e-mail, and a data restoration process (described later) The e-mail receiving process is terminated without S26). On the other hand, if it is determined that the related information is added, the data restoration process (S26) described later is performed after receiving the non-text data to which the related information corresponding to the related information is added.
In this way, when the user is in an area where only the mobile phone communication network 31a is available, only the text data portion having a small data size is received via the mobile phone communication network 31a (non-large data size). Since the text data portion is not received via the cellular phone communication network 31a), the reception processing of the text data portion in the electronic mail is completed in a short time. Thereby, the user can confirm the contents of the text data without waiting for the reception of the non-text data.
Next, a case where the user moves from point 51 shown in FIG. 4 to point 52 (area where both the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a can communicate) will be described. When the user carries the information terminal device X and enters the communication area of the wireless LAN communication network 32a, the communication control unit 10 measures the radio wave of the wireless LAN communication network 32a, and the wireless LAN communication network Communication with 32a is established (FIG. 5: S13, S14). As a result, the information terminal device X enters a state in which communication with the wireless LAN communication network 32a has been established. Therefore, the communication control unit 10 transmits the data of the data relay device Y via the wireless LAN communication network 32a. It is checked whether or not non-text data is stored in the BOX 21 (FIG. 6: S23). If non-text data is stored, the non-text data is transferred to the data BOX 21 via the wireless LAN communication network 32a. Is transmitted (received) to the information terminal device X and stored in the reception BOX 12 (FIG. 1) (FIG. 6: S24).
When non-text data is received in S24 of FIG. 6, the communication control unit 10 determines whether or not the related information is added to the received non-text data (FIG. 6: S25). Here, when it is determined that the related information is added to the previously received text data and the related information corresponding to the related information is added to the received non-text data in step S25, The received text data and non-text data are automatically combined based on the added related information, and restored to one original e-mail data (FIG. 6: S26). Note that the processing of steps S11 to S14 and S21 to S25 is achieved by the first data transmission control means, and the processing of step S26 is achieved by the terminal side data restoring means.
In this way, since non-text data having a large data size is received only when communication by the wireless LAN communication network 32a, which has a higher communication speed than the mobile phone communication network 31a, is possible, non-text data is received only by the mobile phone communication network 31a. The reception time is significantly shortened as compared with the case of receiving e-mail data including text data.

In the processing procedure described above, the data relay device Y explained that the e-mail transmitted from the external terminal device 30 is separated into text data and non-text data and transmitted to the information terminal device X. , FIG. 5, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are used to separate the e-mail created in the information terminal device X into text data and non-text data, and the external terminal device via the data relay device Y Communication processing of electronic data when transmitting to 30 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 3 and the schematic diagram of FIG. Here, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a flow of the e-mail until the e-mail transmitted from the information terminal apparatus X is relayed by the data relay apparatus Y and transmitted to the external terminal apparatus 30. .
Here, as the user moves from point 52 to point 53 (area where only the mobile phone communication network 31a can be communicated) shown in FIG. 4, the information terminal device X can communicate only with the mobile phone communication network 31a again. (That is, when the mobile radio wave is measured in S11 of FIG. 5 and it is determined in S12 that the electric field strength of the mobile communication network is equal to or greater than the threshold value), the electronic mail is transmitted in this state. The case where it performs is demonstrated.
In the information terminal device X, when it is determined by the communication control unit 10 that the transmission BOX 11 (FIG. 1) has e-mail data created by the user (FIG. 8: Yes side in S41), It is determined whether non-text data is included in the e-mail data (FIG. 8: Yes side of S42). Here, if it is determined that non-text data is included, the e-mail data is separated into text data and non-text data according to the data size of the e-mail and sent to the transmission BOX 11 (FIG. 1). The storing process is performed (FIG. 8: S43). At that time, the related information and the separation information are added to the header information areas of the text data and the non-text data (FIG. 8: S44, S45). Thereafter, a process of transmitting (sending) the text data to a transmission address destination via the cellular phone communication network 31a is performed (FIG. 8: S46). The transmitted text data is temporarily stored in the data box 21 of the data relay device Y. If it is determined in step S42 that non-text data is not included (FIG. 8: No in S42), the e-mail data is transmitted (transmitted) to the destination address without being subjected to separation processing (FIG. 8: S46). Note that the processing in steps S43 to S45 is achieved by the terminal-side data separation means.
Here, when the user moves from the point 53 shown in FIG. 4 to the point 54 (area where both the mobile phone communication network 31a and the wireless LAN communication network 32a can communicate), the communication control unit 10 causes the wireless LAN communication network to move. Is established (FIG. 5: S13, S14). As a result, the communication control unit 10 executes processing for transmitting non-text data to the data relay device Y via the wireless LAN communication network 32a (FIG. 8: S46). Note that the processing of step S46 is achieved by the second data transmission control means.
As described above, even when an electronic mail is transmitted on the information terminal device X side, text data and non-text data are individually transmitted via a suitable communication network by wireless communication networks having different communication speeds. It is possible to reduce the waiting time until the transmission process is completed.
Note that the text data and non-text data transmitted from the information terminal device X to the data relay device Y are individually transmitted to the terminal of the transmission address destination. When both text data are stored in the data box 21, the text data and the non-text data are automatically combined based on the related information, and restored to one original e-mail data. (Data restoration process, FIG. 9: S51, S52). This makes it possible to perform mail management with one piece of electronic mail data. Such data restoration processing is achieved by the relay side data restoration means.

In the description of the flowchart in the above-described embodiment, the data separation process (in which the electronic mail data is separated into the text data and the non-text data according to the data size of the electronic mail data on the information terminal device X side or the data relay device Y side) Although S32 in FIG. 7 and S43 in FIG. 8 have been described, such data separation processing is not only separated according to the data size of the email data, but also the importance of the electronic data in the email data and the wireless communication network. The e-mail data may be separated into text data (first electronic data) and non-text data (second electronic data) according to the communication quality.
Further, the threshold concerning the data size for separating the e-mail data in this data separation processing is not limited to a fixed one, and may be arbitrarily changed. For this purpose, an embodiment is provided in which the information terminal device X is provided with terminal side threshold value changing means for changing a threshold value related to the data size for separating the e-mail data by the terminal side data separating means or the relay side data separating means. Conceivable. Specifically, the input means provided in the information terminal device X is used to access a predetermined memory in which the threshold information is stored, and data relating to the threshold set in advance in the memory is rewritten. Is done. As described above, the setting of the threshold value can be changed, and the e-mail data can be separated based on an arbitrary data size, thereby improving the convenience for the user.
Further, when the e-mail data is separated by this data separation process, the separation information and the related information are added to the separated electronic data, but the separation information may be included in the related information. By including the separation information in the related information, it is not necessary to process the two types of information separately, and the amount of information added to the electronic data is reduced and the data size of the email is reduced. As a result, the processing load is reduced and the processing time is shortened.

In the description of the above-described embodiment, processing (S13 in FIG. 5) for constantly monitoring (detecting) the received electric field strength (wireless radio wave) of the wireless LAN communication network 32a and communication by the wireless LAN communication network 32a are performed. Although the embodiment in which the determination process (S14 in FIG. 5) is performed has been described, it is desirable to change the monitoring period for monitoring the received electric field strength as necessary. For example, when there is no non-text data transmitted / received by the wireless LAN communication network 32a, the processing load of the communication control unit 10 is reduced by increasing the period. For this purpose, the first data transmission means possessed by the information terminal device X is transmitted via the portable wireless communication network 31a or the wireless LAN communication network 32a, and the text data previously received by the information terminal device X. Alternatively, based on the separation information added to the non-text data (information indicating that the e-mail data is separated into the text data and the non-text data by the data separation processing), the portable wireless communication network 31a or the wireless LAN communication It is also desirable to shorten the period for monitoring the received electric field strength in any one of the wireless communication networks of the network 32a. For example, when text data is transmitted through the portable wireless communication network 31a and non-text data is transmitted through the wireless LAN communication network 32a, the size of text data is usually smaller than that of non-text data. Text data is received prior to the data and stored in the reception BOX 12. If the separation information is added to the text data (header information area) received in this way, it is necessary to receive non-text data accompanying the text data. In such a case, the period for monitoring the received electric field strength is shortened to speed up the process of determining whether or not communication by the wireless communication network 32 transmitting non-text data is possible. Data can be received early.
In addition, the data transmission control means may be used when the non-text data transmitted / received by the information terminal device X does not exist in either the information terminal device X or the data relay device Y, or the information terminal device X. Thus, after the transmission / reception of the non-text data is completed, the monitoring of the received electric field strength in the wireless LAN communication network 32a can be stopped.

  In the description of the flowchart in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that text data is transmitted / received from the mobile phone communication network 31a and non-text data is transmitted / received from the wireless LAN communication network 32a. In the situation where communication by the wireless LAN communication network 32a is possible (for example, the situation where the user is at the points 52 and 54 in FIG. 4), the e-mail data has not been separated yet, When transmission is not started, transmission / reception of the electronic mail data including each electronic data is preferably performed by the wireless LAN communication network 32a capable of high-speed communication. Therefore, the first and second data transmission control means are determined to be able to communicate via a communication network capable of high-speed communication, either the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network. In this case, the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data or the electronic mail data may be transmitted via the communication network capable of high-speed communication.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the reception flow of an electronic data when receiving the electronic mail in the information terminal device X. FIG. The block diagram which shows the transmission flow of electronic data when transmitting an electronic mail in the information terminal device X. FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the area in which a mobile telephone and public wireless LAN communication are possible. The flowchart showing the procedure of the communication permission judgment process which the communication control part 10 of the information terminal device X in the electronic mail communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. The flowchart showing the procedure of the email reception process which the communication control part 10 of the information terminal device X performs. The flowchart showing the procedure of the data separation process which the relay control part 20 of the data relay apparatus Y at the time of receiving an electronic mail in the information terminal device X. The flowchart showing the procedure of the email transmission process which the communication control part 10 of the information terminal device X performs. The flowchart showing the procedure of the data restoration process which the relay control part 20 of the data relay apparatus Y when transmitting an electronic mail in the information terminal device X.

Explanation of symbols

X ... information terminal device Y ... data relay device 10 ... communication control unit 11 ... transmission BOX (transmission memory)
12 ... Reception BOX (Reception memory)
13 ... Program memory 20 ... Relay control unit 21 ... Data BOX (data memory)
22 ... Relay program memory 30 ... External terminal devices 31, 32 ... Wireless communication networks 33, 34 ... Communication devices 35, 36 ... Base station devices

Claims (20)

An information terminal device capable of transmitting / receiving electronic mail data including a plurality of electronic data, and the electronic mail data transmitted from an appropriate external terminal device are separated into first electronic data and second electronic data In an electronic mail communication system comprising a data relay device having a relay side data separating means for storing, and performing communication of electronic mail data via a predetermined wireless communication network between the information terminal device and the data relay device,
The wireless communication network includes a first wireless communication network and a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network,
The information terminal device determines whether or not communication by the first wireless communication network is possible and, when communication is possible, the information terminal device and the data relay device through the first wireless communication network Processing for transmitting the first electronic data to and from the network, and determining whether or not communication by the second wireless communication network is possible. When communication is possible, the second wireless communication network is An electronic mail communication system comprising: first data transmission control means for performing processing for transmitting the second electronic data between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the first data transmission device.   The relay side data separation means separates the first electronic data and the second electronic data when separating the electronic mail data transmitted from the external terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data. 2. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein related information that associates two electronic data is added to the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data.    The information terminal device associates the first electronic data and the second electronic data transmitted from the data relay device through the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, respectively, with the association. 3. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 2, further comprising terminal-side data restoring means for automatically combining the information based on the information.   The relay side data separating means separates the e-mail data into the first electronic data and the second electronic data according to the data size of the e-mail data transmitted from the external terminal device. The electronic mail communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 4, wherein the information terminal device further comprises relay side threshold value changing means for changing a threshold value relating to a data size for separating the electronic mail data by the relay side data separating means. . An information terminal device capable of transmitting / receiving e-mail data including a plurality of electronic data, and a data relay device for storing the e-mail data transmitted from the information terminal device for transmitting to an appropriate external terminal device An electronic mail communication system for communicating electronic mail data via a wireless communication network between the information terminal device and the data relay device;
The wireless communication network includes a first wireless communication network and a second wireless communication network different from the first wireless communication network,
The information terminal device includes terminal-side data separation means for separating and storing the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device into first electronic data and second electronic data;
It is determined whether communication by the first wireless communication network is possible, and when communication is possible, the first terminal is connected between the information terminal device and the data relay device via the first wireless communication network. 1 is performed to determine whether or not communication by the second wireless communication network is possible, and when the communication is possible, the information terminal device is connected via the second wireless communication network. And a second data transmission control means for performing a process of transmitting the second electronic data to and from the data relay device.   The terminal-side data separating means separates the first electronic data and the second electronic data when separating the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data. 7. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 6, wherein related information for associating with the electronic data is added to the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data.   The data relay device associates the first electronic data and the second electronic data transmitted from the information terminal device via the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, respectively, with the association. 8. The e-mail communication system according to claim 7, further comprising relay-side data restoring means for automatically combining the information based on the information.   The terminal-side data separation means separates the electronic mail data into the first electronic data and the second electronic data according to the data size of the electronic mail data generated in the information terminal device. The electronic mail communication system according to any one of claims 6 to 8.   10. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 9, wherein the information terminal device further comprises terminal side threshold value changing means for changing a threshold value relating to a data size for separating the electronic mail data by the terminal side data separating means. .   11. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein a communication speed in the first wireless communication network and a communication speed in the second wireless communication network are different.   12. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein one of the first electronic data and the second electronic data is text data, and the other includes non-text data. .   The first and second data transmission control means monitor the received electric field strength in each of the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network every predetermined period, and based on this, the respective communication networks The first electronic data is transmitted via the first wireless communication network when it is determined that communication by the first wireless communication network is possible. 13. The second electronic data is transmitted via the second wireless communication network when it is determined that communication by the second wireless communication network is possible. E-mail communication system.   The first and second data transmission control means may determine that communication is possible using a communication network capable of high-speed communication out of either the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network. 14. The electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein the first electronic data and / or the second electronic data or the electronic mail data is transmitted through the communication network capable of high-speed communication. Communications system. The relay side data separating means separates the separation information relating to the separation into the first electronic data and the second electronic data when separating the electronic mail data transmitted from the external terminal device into the first electronic data and the second electronic data. To be added to each of the electronic data and the second electronic data,
The first data transmission control means transmits the first electronic data or the second data transmitted through the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network and first received by the information terminal device. Based on the separation information added to the electronic data, the period for monitoring the received electric field strength in either the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network is shortened. The electronic mail communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 14.   The electronic mail communication system according to claim 15, wherein the separation information is included in the related information.   The first and second data transmission control means communicate e-mail data via the first wireless communication network by the first wireless communication means wirelessly or wiredly connected to the information terminal device. The electronic mail communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 16, which is performed.   18. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 17, wherein the first wireless communication unit is a wireless communication unit using cellular phone communication.   The first and second data transmission control means communicate e-mail data via the second wireless communication network by a second wireless communication means wirelessly or wiredly connected to the information terminal device. The electronic mail communication system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail communication system is performed.   The electronic mail communication system according to claim 19, wherein the second wireless communication means is a wireless communication means using wireless LAN communication.

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