JP2007249915A - E-mail reply time limit notification system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an e-mail reply time limit notification system for notifying a recipient that the reply time limit of e-mail approaches, as regards the e-mail with the reply time limit transmitted from a sender. <P>SOLUTION: The e-mail reply time limit notification system comprises: e-mail with a reply time limit receiving part; e-mail with a reply time limit transmitting part; a reply time limit extracting part for extracting reply time limit information; a schedule referring part for acquiring the schedule of the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit from a schedule management server; a confirmation notification setting part for setting the date and time for transmitting confirmation notification of the e-mail with a reply time limit by determining the latest date and time in a reply possible schedule in the acquired schedule and storing the set date and time and information of the recipient of the confirmation notification in a confirmation notification storage part; and a confirmation notification transmitting part for transmitting a confirmation notification to the recipient when the date and time stored in the confirmation notification storage part comes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an e-mail reply deadline notification system for notifying the recipient of an e-mail with a reply deadline transmitted from a sender that the reply deadline for the e-mail is approaching.

  In business operations of enterprises, notification of document submission requests and questionnaire requests to recipients is made by e-mail with a reply deadline. However, when such an e-mail with a reply deadline is received, if the recipient does not reply immediately but leaves it later, the reply deadline may be forgotten and the reply may be forgotten.

  In order to avoid this, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 listed below disclose a system for setting a reply time limit when sending an e-mail and notifying the recipient when the time limit is approaching. ing.

JP 2005-275758 A JP-A-10-117209

  However, in each of the above-described inventions, the sender sets the reply deadline unilaterally and notifies the recipient when the reply deadline approaches. Therefore, at the timing of actual notification, it is not known whether the receiver can see the notification, and after the notification is made, the notification cannot be seen due to a business trip or going out until the reply deadline arrives. There may be cases. Then, the recipient sees the notification after the reply deadline has passed, and the reply deadline notice that has been made becomes meaningless. In other words, the notification that informs the reply deadline is useful because the recipient can see the notice, but conventionally only the reply deadline that is set unilaterally by the sender, which is simply described in the email with the reply deadline. Since the notification is made in the process, the recipient's schedule is not taken into consideration at all.

  Therefore, the present inventor refers to the reply deadline described in the e-mail with the reply deadline and the recipient's schedule, and sends an e-mail reply that notifies the reply deadline at the timing when the recipient can actually see the notice. Invented a deadline notification system.

  The invention of claim 1 is an e-mail reply deadline notification system for sending a confirmation notice that the reply deadline is approaching to the recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline, wherein the e-mail reply deadline notice system is An e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit that receives the e-mail with a time limit for reply sent by a sender, an e-mail sending unit with a time limit for reply that sends the received e-mail with a time limit for reply to the recipient, and the reception A reply deadline extracting unit that extracts reply deadline information from the email with the reply deadline, and a schedule for a predetermined number of days before the extracted reply deadline from the schedule management server of the recipient of the email with the reply deadline In the schedule reference unit and the acquired schedule, a predetermined reference date and time is determined among schedules that are not replyable. A confirmation notification setting unit for setting a date and time for transmitting the confirmation notification of the e-mail with a reply time limit, and storing the set date and information and recipient information of the confirmation notification in a confirmation notification storage unit, and the confirmation An e-mail reply deadline notification system comprising: a confirmation notification transmission unit that transmits the confirmation notification to the recipient when the date and time stored in the notification storage unit arrives.

  According to the present invention, notification is not performed based only on the reply deadline set unilaterally by the sender of the e-mail with a reply deadline as in the prior art, but further, the notification taking into account the recipient's schedule Will be performed. Therefore, the possibility that the recipient sees the notification is higher than before, and the system becomes effective.

  In the invention of claim 2, the confirmation notification setting unit determines the latest date and time among the schedules that are predetermined working hours and are not replyable in the acquired schedule, thereby providing an electronic device with a reply due date. An e-mail reply deadline notification system that sets a date and time for sending an e-mail confirmation notification and stores the set date and information of the recipient of the confirmation notification in the confirmation notification storage unit.

  In the above-mentioned invention, it is possible to further consider the working hours of the receiver.

  The invention of claim 3 is an e-mail reply deadline notification system for sending a confirmation notice that the reply deadline is approaching to the recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline, An e-mail management storage unit that stores information on the date and time of receiving the e-mail with a reply time limit, sender and recipient, and information on the date and time of reply mail to the e-mail with a time limit for reply, sender and recipient An e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit that receives the e-mail with a time limit for reply sent by a sender, an e-mail sending unit with a time limit for reply that sends the received e-mail with a time limit for reply to the recipient, and the reception A reply deadline extracting unit for extracting information on a deadline for reply from an email with a reply deadline, and the extraction of a recipient of the email with a reply deadline A schedule reference unit for acquiring a schedule for a predetermined number of days before the reply deadline from the schedule management server, and a time zone during which many replies have been made in the past by the recipient of the reply deadline email. The reply is determined based on information stored in the part and is not scheduled to be returned in the schedule acquired by the schedule reference part, and the reply is determined by determining a predetermined reference date and time in the determined time zone. A date and time for sending a confirmation notification of a time-limited e-mail is set, a confirmation notification setting unit for storing the set date and time and information of a recipient of the confirmation notification in a confirmation notification storage unit, and a storage in the confirmation notification storage unit When the date and time arrives, a confirmation notification transmission unit that transmits the confirmation notification to the recipient, and a reply sent by the sender of the reply mail A reply mail receiving unit that receives a mail, a reply mail transmitting unit that transmits the reply mail to the received to the recipient, an electronic mail reply deadline notification system with.

  By storing information such as when a reply email was sent to an email with a reply due date, when the email with a reply due date is sent to the recipient, the recipient can send a reply email when It is possible to determine whether the property is high. Considering the time zone in which the possibility is high, sending a confirmation notice of an e-mail with a reply time limit to the recipient increases the possibility of a reply.

  In the invention of claim 4, the confirmation notification setting unit is based on information stored in the e-mail management storage unit for a time period in which the reply has been most frequently made in the past by a recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit. In the schedule acquired by the schedule reference unit, the time limit for reply is determined by determining the latest date and time in the determined time zone among the schedules that are predetermined working hours and that are not replyable. It is an e-mail reply deadline notification system that sets a date and time for sending an e-mail confirmation notification and stores the set date and time and information on the recipient of the confirmation notification in a confirmation notification storage unit.

  In the above-mentioned invention, it is possible to further consider the working hours of the receiver.

  In the invention of claim 5, the confirmation notification setting unit stores the reply mail having the same email address as the email address of the recipient of the email with the reply due date in the email management storage unit. Search from the e-mail address of the sender of the mail, extract the reception date and time of the searched reply mail, and count the time in which the reply mail was replied for each predetermined time slot. This is an e-mail reply deadline notification system that determines a time zone in which most replies are made.

  In the above-mentioned invention, it can be determined by processing as in the present invention in which time zone most reply mails are performed.

  6. The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 6, wherein the confirmation notification setting unit sets a date and time that is a predetermined time before the determined latest date and time as a date and time for transmitting the confirmation notification.

  The date and time for transmitting the confirmation notification may be set based on the latest date and time determined by the confirmation notification setting unit, but it is preferable to set the date and time a predetermined time before the latest date and time itself. This is because there is a margin of time for the receiver.

  In the invention of claim 7, the e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit stores information on the reception date and time, sender, and recipient of the received e-mail with a reply time limit in the e-mail management storage unit, and the reply mail The receiving unit is an e-mail reply deadline notification system that stores information on the date and time of reception of the received reply mail, the sender, and the recipient in the e-mail management storage unit.

  By configuring as in the present invention, it is possible to sequentially store information regarding reply mail. As a result, it is possible to use as a statistic which time zone the recipient of an e-mail with a reply time limit frequently sends a reply mail.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the e-mail reply deadline notification system further includes a reply mail for storing a reply rate for the reply deadline e-mail of a recipient of the reply deadline e-mail in the e-mail management storage unit. An e-mail reply having a section for notifying the sender of the e-mail with a reply time limit of the possibility of a reply to the e-mail with a reply time limit or the possibility of not being replied to It is a deadline notification system.

  Since it is stored whether or not the recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline has sent a reply e-mail to the e-mail with a reply deadline, the possibility of replying (not replying) by calculating the reply rate of the recipient Can be calculated. By notifying this to the sender of the e-mail with a reply time limit, it is possible to predict whether or not a reply will be made.

According to the present invention, the notification of the reply deadline is made at the date and time when the recipient will see the notice. Therefore, the notice cannot be seen due to a business trip or going out as in the past, and the reply deadline has passed. It is possible to prevent a situation such as seeing the notification later.

  The e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 of the present invention is preferably realized on an e-mail server that receives an e-mail from a sender, but may be realized on other servers and computer terminals.

  A server that realizes the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 includes an arithmetic device such as a CPU that executes arithmetic processing of a program, a storage device such as a RAM or a hard disk that stores information, and processing results of the arithmetic device and the storage device. And at least a communication device that transmits and receives information to be transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a LAN. Each function (each unit) realized on the server is executed when a unit (program, module, etc.) for executing the process is read into the arithmetic unit. When each means uses the information stored in the storage device in the processing, each means reads out the corresponding information from the storage device, and uses the read information for processing in the arithmetic device as appropriate. The server may include an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse and a display device such as a display.

  Each means in the present invention is only logically distinguished in function, and may be physically or practically the same area. Various storage formats can be used in the storage unit, and arbitrary formats such as a database and a data file can be used.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall conceptual diagram of the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram showing an example of the system configuration.

  An e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 includes an e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply deadline, an e-mail sending unit 3 with a reply deadline, a reply deadline extracting unit 4, a schedule reference unit 5, a confirmation notification setting unit 6, and a confirmation notification storage unit 7. A confirmation notification transmission unit 8. A server (preferably an e-mail server) that implements the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 can send and receive information to and from the schedule management server 20.

  The schedule management server 20 is a server that stores a schedule of a recipient of an e-mail with a reply time limit transmitted by a sender, and returns the schedule of the recipient in response to an inquiry from the e-mail reply time limit notification system 1. This schedule is stored for each date and time. For example, “conference”, “going out”, “business trip”, “vacation”, and the like are stored as schedules.

  The e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit is means for receiving an e-mail with a reply time limit sent from the sender to the recipient from a computer terminal (sender terminal) used by the sender or an e-mail server used by the sender. It is.

  The e-mail sending unit 3 with a reply time limit is means for sending an e-mail with a reply time limit sent by the sender to a computer terminal (recipient terminal) used by the recipient.

  The reply time limit extraction unit 4 is a means for extracting information related to the reply time limit in an e-mail with a reply time limit transmitted by the sender. What is necessary is just to extract this from predetermined places, such as the text of an e-mail with a reply time limit, and a subject. For example, if the e-mail with a reply time limit sent by the sender is shown in FIG. "Tue)" is extracted as a reply deadline.

  The schedule reference unit 5 refers to the schedule management server 20 to acquire the schedule of the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit transmitted by the sender. At this time, the e-mail address of the recipient may be acquired from the e-mail with a reply time limit received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit, and the schedule management server 20 may be referred to based on the e-mail address. After acquiring the personal identification information with a table indicating the correspondence between the e-mail address and information for identifying an individual in the schedule management server 20 (for example, identification information such as name and employee number), the schedule management server is based on the personal identification information. 20 may be referred to.

  The confirmation notification setting unit 6 determines the date and time when the confirmation notification for the reply with the reply due date received by the email with the reply due date 2 is performed based on the recipient's schedule referred to by the schedule reference unit 5. It is a means for setting.

  The confirmation notification storage unit 7 is means for storing the date and time set by the confirmation notification setting unit 6 and the notification destination (the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit).

  When the date and time set by the confirmation notification setting unit 6 arrives, the confirmation notification transmission unit 8 approaches the notification destination stored in the confirmation notification storage unit 7 and the reply deadline of the received e-mail with a reply time limit is approaching. Is a means for transmitting a notification of this.

  Next, an example of the processing process of the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the conceptual diagrams of FIGS. Note that the e-mail with a reply time limit sent by the sender is shown in FIG. 4, and the e-mail address of the recipient is described in the “To:” column of the e-mail, and the e-mail address of the sender is described in the “From:” column. In this example, “reply deadline and date (or date and time)” are described in the body of the e-mail. Further, it is assumed that the working time (regular time) of the receiver is set in advance from 9:00 to 17:30. The fixed setting can be changed sequentially.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the sender sends an e-mail with a reply deadline describing the reply deadline from the sender terminal to the recipient. This is received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit of the e-mail server used by the recipient via the e-mail server used by the sender (S100).

  When an e-mail with a reply time limit sent by the sender is received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit, the reply time limit extraction unit 4 obtains information on the date and time corresponding to the “reply time limit” included in the e-mail with the reply time limit. Extract (S110). In the case of the e-mail with a reply deadline shown in FIG. 4, the part of the body that is described as “reply deadline” is searched, and the date and time “Tuesday, January 31” associated therewith is used as the reply deadline. Extract. The reply deadline may be set up to the time as well as the date.

  In this way, it is possible to acquire information on the recipient's reply deadline for an e-mail with a reply deadline extracted by the sender.

  And the schedule reference part 5 acquires the schedule of the recipient of the said email by referring to the schedule management server 20 based on the information which specifies the recipient in the email with a reply time limit. Specifically, a schedule for several days (which can be set to a predetermined number of days) before the reply deadline extracted by the reply deadline extraction unit 4 is acquired. The recipient who acquires the schedule can be identified from information (for example, an email address in the “To:” column) indicating the recipient of the email received by the email receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit. The schedule may be acquired by referring to the schedule management server 20 based on the specified email address, or a table showing the correspondence between the email address and the personal identification information in the schedule management server 20 is stored in the email. It may be provided in the reply deadline notification system 1 to acquire personal identification information corresponding to the e-mail by referring to it, and the schedule may be acquired by referring to the schedule management server 20 with the acquired personal identification information. .

  For example, the recipient schedule acquired from the schedule management server 20 is schematically shown in FIG.

  Based on the recipient's schedule acquired in this way, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 notifies the recipient of the confirmation by determining the latest date and time among the schedules in which the recipient is not able to reply at a fixed time. Date and time are set (S130). First, the reply deadline date and time written in the e-mail is compared with the scheduled schedule in the acquired schedule. That is, “January 31”, which is the reply deadline, is compared with the scheduled schedule of “January 31” in the schedule, and it is determined whether the reply is not possible. In addition, there are “business trip”, “going out”, “meeting”, “vacation”, and the like as states in which it can be determined that the receiver cannot reply. At the scheduled time of “January 31” (from 9 o'clock to 17:30), it is determined whether or not there is a time zone in which a reply is not possible. If it does so, since the schedule in the time zone of January 31 is registered as "business trip from 9:00 to 19:30", it determines with a reply impossible.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a state in which a reply is not possible due to the scheduled time period of January 30 which is the previous business day of January 31. Then, since January 30 is registered as “business trip from 9:00 to 20:00”, it is determined that a reply is impossible.

  Furthermore, it is determined whether or not there is a state in which a reply is not possible due to the scheduled time zone on January 27, which is the previous business day of January 30. Then, “Meeting from 10:00 to 12:00” on January 27 and “Going out from 15:00 to 18:00” are registered, so “9 to 10:00” and “12:00 to 15:00” are replied. It is not impossible. Therefore, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 determines “January 27, 15:00” as the latest date and time when reply is possible.

  A date and time earlier than that date, for example, “January 27, 14:00” one hour before is set as the date for sending the confirmation notification, and this date “January 27, 14:00” is sent. Information on the receiver (for example, the e-mail address of the receiver) is stored in the confirmation notification storage unit 7.

  When the date and time (January 27, 14:00) stored in the confirmation notification storage unit 7 arrives (S140), the confirmation notification transmission unit 8 has a reply deadline for an e-mail with a reply deadline for the recipient. (S150). At this time, notification may be made by e-mail, or may be made by displaying a pop-up message or the like on other means, for example, a computer terminal where the recipient is logged in. In addition, the e-mail with the reply time limit may be displayed in this notification.

  The other embodiment of the email reply deadline notification system 1 of this invention is shown. In the present embodiment, in addition to the embodiment of the first embodiment, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 stores the date and time of reply to an e-mail with a reply time limit received from the sender. This is a case where a confirmation notification is sent during a time when the receiver often replies.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 of the present embodiment.

  An e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 includes an e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply deadline, an e-mail sending unit 3 with a reply deadline, a reply deadline extracting unit 4, a schedule reference unit 5, a confirmation notification setting unit 6, and a confirmation notification storage unit 7. It has a confirmation notification transmission unit 8, a reply mail reception unit 9, an email management storage unit 10, and a reply mail transmission unit 11. A server (preferably an e-mail server) that implements the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 can send and receive information to and from the schedule management server 20.

  The e-mail transmission unit 3 with a reply time limit, the reply time limit extraction unit 4, the schedule reference unit 5, the confirmation notification storage unit 7, the confirmation notification transmission unit 8, and the schedule management server 20 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  The e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit is means for receiving an e-mail with a reply time limit sent from the sender to the recipient from a computer terminal (sender terminal) used by the sender or an e-mail server used by the sender. It is. Further, the information about the received e-mail with a reply time limit, the reception date and time, the e-mail address of the sender, the e-mail address of the recipient, the subject, etc. are stored in the e-mail management storage unit 10 described later.

  The confirmation notification setting unit 6 stores information on the recipient's schedule referred to by the schedule reference unit 5 and the time zone in which the recipient replies to the e-mail with a reply time limit stored in the e-mail management storage unit 10 described later. Based on the above, it is a means for setting the date and time when the confirmation notification for the reply of the reply timed e-mail received by the reply timed e-mail receiving unit 2 is performed.

  The reply mail receiving unit 9 receives the reply mail from the computer terminal used by the receiver when the receiver sends a reply mail (reply mail) to the reply time-limited electronic mail, and returns the reply mail. E-mail management of e-mail address, e-mail address of sender of reply mail (recipient of e-mail with reply deadline), e-mail address of recipient of reply mail (sender of e-mail with reply deadline), subject, etc. It is means for storing in the storage unit 10.

  The e-mail management storage unit 10 receives an e-mail with a reply deadline, an e-mail address of a sender of the e-mail with a reply deadline, an e-mail address of a recipient of an e-mail with a reply deadline, a received date and time of a reply mail, and a reply It is a means for storing the e-mail address of the sender of the mail (recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline), the e-mail address of the recipient of the reply mail (the sender of the e-mail with a reply deadline), and the like.

  The reply mail sending unit 11 uses the reply mail transmitted by the reply mail sender (recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline) by the recipient of the reply mail (sender of the e-mail with a reply deadline). Or means for transmitting to an e-mail server.

  Next, an example of the processing process of the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the conceptual diagram of FIG. As in the first embodiment, the e-mail sent by the sender of the e-mail with a reply time limit is shown in FIG. 4, and the e-mail address of the recipient is shown in the “To:” column of the e-mail, and the “From:” column. In this example, the sender's e-mail address is described, and the “reply deadline” is described in the body of the e-mail. Further, it is assumed that the working time (regular time) of the receiver is set in advance from 9:00 to 17:30. FIG. 8 shows a reply mail that the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit returns to the sender. In the reply mail of FIG. 8, the sender of the reply mail (recipient of the e-mail with a reply deadline) is described in the “To:” field, and the recipient of the reply mail (electronic mail with a reply deadline) is placed in the “From:” field. The sender of the email) is listed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the sender sends an e-mail with a reply deadline describing the reply deadline from the sender terminal to the recipient. This is received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit of the e-mail server used by the recipient via the e-mail server used by the sender terminal (S100).

  When an e-mail with a reply time limit transmitted by the sender is received by the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit, the e-mail receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit is sent to the e-mail management storage unit 10 by an e-mail server. The date and time of reception, the e-mail address of the sender, the e-mail address of the recipient, etc. are stored. Such information can be extracted from a mail header in an e-mail with a reply time limit. For example, “January 23, 10:31:14” as the date and time of reception, “abcd@xxx.jp” as the sender, “xyz@xxx.jp” as the recipient, and “xxx case” as the subject Extract it from the header and store it.

  When the e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit is received by the e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit, the reply time limit extracting unit 4 extracts information on the date and time corresponding to the “reply time limit” included in the e-mail with the reply time limit (S110). . In the case of the e-mail shown in FIG. 4, the part of the e-mail body described as “reply deadline” is searched, and the date and time “Tuesday, January 31” associated therewith is extracted as the reply deadline. . Note that the reply deadline may be set up to the time as well as the date.

  By doing in this way, it is possible to acquire information on the recipient's reply deadline for the e-mail extracted by the sender.

  And the schedule reference part 5 acquires the schedule of the recipient of the said email by referring to the schedule management server 20 based on the information which specifies the recipient in the email with a reply time limit. Specifically, a schedule for several days (which can be a predetermined number of days) before the reply deadline extracted by the reply deadline extraction unit 4 is acquired. The recipient who acquires the schedule can be identified from information (for example, an email address in the “To:” column) indicating the recipient of the email received by the email receiving unit 2 with a reply time limit. The schedule may be acquired by referring to the schedule management server 20 based on the specified email address, or a table showing the correspondence between the email address and the personal identification information in the schedule management server 20 is stored in the email. It may be provided in the reply deadline notification system 1 to acquire personal identification information corresponding to the e-mail by referring to it, and the schedule may be acquired by referring to the schedule management server 20 with the acquired personal identification information. .

  For example, the recipient schedule acquired from the schedule management server 20 is schematically shown in FIG.

  Based on the recipient's schedule acquired in this way, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 is the date and time when the recipient is not allowed to reply, and in the time zone in which the most replies have been made in the past, The date and time closest to the actual time limit is set as the date and time when confirmation notification is given to the recipient (S130). First, the date and time of the reply deadline described in the e-mail with a reply deadline is compared with the scheduled schedule in the acquired schedule. That is, “January 31”, which is the reply deadline, is compared with the scheduled schedule of “January 31” in the schedule, and it is determined whether the reply is not possible. In addition, there are “business trip”, “going out”, “meeting”, “vacation”, and the like as states in which it can be determined that the receiver cannot reply. Then, at the scheduled time of “January 31” (from 9 o'clock to 17:30), it is determined whether or not there is a time zone in which a reply is not possible. If it does so, since the schedule in the time zone of January 31 is registered as "business trip from 9:00 to 19:30", it determines with a reply impossible.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a state in which a reply is not possible due to the scheduled time period of January 30 which is the previous business day of January 31. Then, since January 30 is registered as “business trip from 9:00 to 20:00”, it is determined that a reply is impossible.

  Furthermore, it is determined whether or not there is a state in which a reply is not possible due to the scheduled time zone on January 27, which is the previous business day of January 30. Then, “conference from 10:00 to 12:00” and “going out from 15:00 to 18:00” on January 27 are registered. Then, it is determined that these dates and times are in a state where reply is impossible.

  Further, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 searches the reception date and time of the reply mail for the e-mail with the reply time limit stored in the e-mail management storage unit 10, so that the reply is made most frequently at any time zone. It is determined whether or not. As an example of this time zone, the regular time from 9 o'clock to 17 o'clock is every 2 hours, that is, “9 o'clock to 11 o'clock”, “11 o'clock to 13 o'clock”, “13 o'clock to 15 o'clock”, “15 This can be done by dividing the time into “17:30 from the time” and determining in which time zone the date and time of receiving the reply mail are many. This time zone may be divided in any way.

  In this search, a reply mail having the same email address as the email address of the recipient of the reply deadline email is searched from the reply mail sender column of the email management storage unit 10, and the email Extract the reception date and time. In the case of FIG. 4, a reply mail whose source is “abcd@xxx.jp” that is the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit is extracted from the reply mail column of the e-mail management storage unit 10, and the reply mail is extracted. The date and time of receiving is extracted. Then, the time and date of reception of each reply email is sorted and counted for each time zone, so that the recipient “abcd@xxx.jp” of the e-mail with a reply due date is the most replied in which time zone Determine if the number is large. Here, it is assumed that the time zone is “11:00 to 13:00”.

  Then, in the above description, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 performs the following operations: “9:30 on January 31 19:30”, “9 to 20 on January 30”, “10 on January 27 12:00 ”,“ January 27 from 15:00 to 18:00 ”is a state in which a reply is not possible, and the time zone with the most reply mails is“ 11:00 to 13:00 ”, so“ January 27, 13:00 ” Can be determined to be the latest date and time among the date and time when replying is most easy. In other words, the confirmation notification setting unit 6 is not in a state in which the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit is incapable of replying, but in the time zone in which the reply is most frequent and closest to the actual reply time limit (or from the date and time) (Date and time earlier by a predetermined time) is set as the date and time when the confirmation notification is transmitted. Then, “January 27, 13:00” (or a time earlier than that by a predetermined time) is set as the date and time for transmitting the confirmation notification, and this date and time “January 27, 13:00” and the information of the receiver who transmits the confirmation notification. (For example, the e-mail address of the recipient) is stored in the confirmation notification storage unit 7.

  When the date and time (January 27, 13:00) stored in the confirmation notification storage unit 7 arrives (S140), the confirmation notification transmission unit 8 notifies the recipient that there is an e-mail reply deadline. (S150). At this time, notification may be made by e-mail, or may be made by displaying a pop-up message or the like on other means, for example, a computer terminal where the recipient is logged in. Further, the e-mail may be displayed in this notification.

  When a recipient who has received an e-mail with a reply deadline sends a reply e-mail (reply mail) to the e-mail with a reply deadline, the recipient of the reply e-mail (an e-mail with a reply deadline) The reply mail receiving unit 9 receives from the computer terminal used by the mail recipient). Based on the mail header of the reply mail, the reply mail receiver 9 receives the reply mail reception date and time, the email address of the reply mail sender (the recipient of the email with the reply due date), and the reply mail recipient (reply The e-mail address of the e-mail with a time limit) and the subject are stored in the e-mail management storage unit 10. Note that an e-mail with a reply time limit and a reply mail for the e-mail may be stored in association with each other.

  When the reply mail receiving unit 9 receives the reply mail, the reply mail sending unit 11 receives the reply mail (FIG. 8) sent from the reply mail source (the recipient of the email with the reply due date). To a computer terminal or e-mail server used by a person (sender of e-mail with a reply time limit).

  By repeating such a series of processes, information on when the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit has replied is accumulated, and the tendency of the time zone for the best reply can be reflected. It is also possible to manage the reply rate of e-mails with reply deadlines sent to a plurality of recipients, the unreplyed person, and the like.

  Also, by searching the e-mail management storage unit 10 for the reply rate of the e-mail with a reply deadline, the e-mail management storage unit 10 calculates the reply rate and notifies the sender of the possibility that the recipient will reply or not reply It can also be configured to.

  In the second embodiment, an administrator (preferably an administrator of an e-mail server) of the e-mail reply deadline notification system 1 transmits a predetermined command mail to the server and stores it in the e-mail management storage unit 10. It is also possible to extract a list of specific non-responders in the e-mail with a reply time limit and a reply rate and notify the administrator or the sender of the e-mail with the reply time limit.

In addition, when a specific business operator sends an e-mail with a reply deadline without permission, the reply deadline sent from a specific e-mail address set in advance to prevent the recipient from receiving an unnecessary e-mail with a reply deadline With respect to the attached e-mail, the e-mail transmission unit with a reply time limit may not be configured to transmit the e-mail with the reply time limit to the recipient. On the contrary, the e-mail sending unit with a reply time limit sends only the e-mail with a reply time limit sent from a preset specific e-mail address to the receiver, and the processing such as confirmation notification can be executed. It can also be configured.

According to these inventions, since the notification of the reply deadline is made at the date and time when the recipient will see the notice, the notice cannot be seen due to a business trip or going out, and the reply deadline has passed. It is possible to prevent such a situation that the user sees the notification after a while.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the whole concept of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the processing process of this invention. It is an example of an e-mail with a reply time limit. It is an example of the schedule of the recipient of the e-mail with a reply time limit. It is a conceptual diagram which shows another example of the system configuration | structure of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of an email management memory | storage part. It is an example of a reply mail.

Explanation of symbols

1: Email reply deadline notification system 2: Email receiver with reply deadline 3: Email sender with reply deadline 4: Reply deadline extractor 5: Schedule reference part 6: Confirmation notification setting part 7: Confirmation notice storage part 8 : Confirmation notification transmission unit 9: Reply mail reception unit 10: Email management storage unit 11: Reply mail transmission unit 20: Schedule management server

Claims (8)

An e-mail reply deadline notification system for sending a confirmation notice that a reply deadline is approaching to a recipient of an e-mail with a reply deadline,
The e-mail reply deadline notification system includes:
An e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit for receiving the e-mail with the reply time limit sent by the sender;
An e-mail sending unit with a reply time limit for sending the received e-mail with a reply time limit to the recipient;
A reply deadline extracting unit that extracts information on a reply deadline from the received e-mail with a reply deadline;
A schedule reference unit for acquiring a schedule for a predetermined number of days before the extracted reply deadline of the recipient of the email with the reply deadline from a schedule management server;
In the acquired schedule, a date and time for transmitting a confirmation notice of the e-mail with a reply time limit is set by determining a predetermined reference date and time among schedules that cannot be replied, and the set date and time and reception of the confirmation notification are set. A confirmation notification setting unit for storing the information of the person in the confirmation notification storage unit,
A confirmation notification transmission unit that transmits the confirmation notification to the recipient when the date and time stored in the confirmation notification storage unit arrives;
An e-mail reply deadline notification system characterized by comprising: The confirmation notification setting unit
In the acquired schedule, the date and time for sending the confirmation notice of the e-mail with the reply due date is set and set by determining the latest date and time among the schedules that are predetermined working hours and are not replyable. Storing the date and time and information of the recipient of the confirmation notification in the confirmation notification storage unit;
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 1. An e-mail reply deadline notification system for sending a confirmation notice that a reply deadline is approaching to a recipient of an e-mail with a reply deadline,
The e-mail reply deadline notification system includes:
An e-mail management storage unit for storing information on the date and time of receiving the e-mail with the reply time limit, the sender and the recipient, and the date and time of receiving the reply mail for the e-mail with the time limit for reply, the sender and the information on the recipient;
An e-mail receiving unit with a reply time limit for receiving the e-mail with the reply time limit sent by the sender;
An e-mail sending unit with a reply time limit for sending the received e-mail with a reply time limit to the recipient;
A reply deadline extracting unit that extracts information on a reply deadline from the received e-mail with a reply deadline;
A schedule reference unit for acquiring a schedule for a predetermined number of days before the extracted reply deadline of the recipient of the email with the reply deadline from a schedule management server;
Based on the information stored in the e-mail management storage unit, a time zone in which a large number of replies have been made in the past by the recipient of the e-mail with the reply time limit is determined, and the reply is received in the schedule acquired by the schedule reference unit. It is a schedule that is not impossible, and by determining a predetermined reference date and time in the determined time zone, a date and time for transmitting a confirmation notification of the e-mail with a reply time limit is set, and the set date and time and the confirmation notification A confirmation notification setting unit that stores information on the recipients in the confirmation notification storage unit,
A confirmation notification transmission unit that transmits the confirmation notification to the recipient when the date and time stored in the confirmation notification storage unit arrives;
A reply mail receiving unit for receiving a reply mail sent by the sender of the reply mail;
A reply mail sending unit for sending the received reply mail to the recipient;
An e-mail reply deadline notification system characterized by comprising: The confirmation notification setting unit
Based on the information stored in the e-mail management storage unit, the time zone in which the reply is most frequently made in the past by the recipient of the e-mail with the reply time limit, in the schedule acquired by the schedule reference unit, Set the date and time to send the confirmation notice of the e-mail with the reply due date by determining the latest date and time in the determined time zone among the schedules that are predetermined working hours and not replyable Storing the confirmation date and time and the information of the recipient of the confirmation notification in the confirmation notification storage unit,
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 3. The confirmation notification setting unit
A search for a reply mail having the same email address as the email address of the recipient of the reply-dated email from the email address of the sender of the reply mail stored in the email management storage unit, and the search The received date and time of reply emails are extracted, and the time zone in which the reply has been sent in the past is determined by counting in which time zone the reply email was replied for each predetermined time zone ,
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The confirmation notification setting unit
A date and time that is a predetermined time before the determined latest date and time is set as a date and time for transmitting the confirmation notification;
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The e-mail receiving unit with a reply deadline is
The reception date and time of the received e-mail with a reply deadline, the sender, and information on the recipient are stored in the e-mail management storage unit,
The reply mail receiving unit
Storing the received date and time of the received reply mail, sender, and information on the recipient in the e-mail management storage unit;
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 3. The e-mail reply deadline notification system further includes:
Sending the e-mail with the reply time limit by calculating a reply rate for the e-mail with the reply time limit based on information about the reply mail stored in the e-mail management storage unit. A part for notifying the original of the possibility of replying to the e-mail with the reply deadline or the possibility of not replying,
The e-mail reply deadline notification system according to claim 3, wherein:

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