JP2008158886A - Information processor, mail transmitting method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simultaneously transmit a plurality of mails without overlap by easily associating the mails as one thread. <P>SOLUTION: A transmitting mail acquisition part 7 selects a plurality of mails from a mail storage part 4, a new ID formation part 8 changes, based on mail information contained in the selected mails, the mail information of the plurality of mails so that the plurality of mails are linked by a relation between message ID and tracking information, and a simultaneous transmitting part 10 transmits the plurality of linked mails to an inputted destination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a mail transmission method, a program, and a recording medium that can collectively transmit related mails among transmitted or received mails.

  The conventional e-mail system can easily grasp the progress of discussions by displaying discussions on a single topic, which are conducted by e-mail among multiple users, as a threaded email. There is a mailer.

  Note that “thread” refers to a collection of topics shared by mail. A thread is a collection of emails that are not related to the same conditions but also related to the content of a certain email. Note that “relevant” is associated with a message ID depending on whether a “reply” is made to the mail. For example, it can be added to the thread by repeating the reply of the reply mail.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for easily searching and browsing thread mails required by an operator in a short time by collectively displaying the contents of such thread mails.

  In addition, when the broadcast transmission function and the transfer function are frequently used, an electronic mail having the same content may be transmitted from a plurality of transmission sources, whereby a plurality of electronic mails having the same content may be received on the receiving side.

Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for preventing duplicate reception of e-mails and improving line efficiency and work efficiency.
JP 2001-222477 A JP 2000-92112 A

  However, the above conventional technique has the following problems.

  In Patent Document 1, it is difficult to grasp the flow of the discussion because a thread cannot be displayed even if a third party receives mail of thread mail batch display. Further, in order to display a thread on the receiver side, all the exchanged mails must be sent one by one, which takes time for the sender.

  In Patent Document 2, when thread mail is transmitted, the thread may be cut if it is a process that does not simply send duplicate mail.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that allows a plurality of mails to be associated as one thread without trouble and to be transmitted collectively without duplication. It is.

  The present invention acquires at least one of ID information, tracking information, and destination information included in mail information included in a plurality of mails selected from a storage unit that stores a plurality of sent or received mails. An acquisition means, a chain processing means for changing the mail information of the plurality of mails so as to be chained according to the relationship between the ID information and the tracking information, and the plurality of mails subjected to the chain processing by the chain processing means, It has a transmission means which transmits to the transmission destination inputted.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to associate a plurality of mails as one thread without trouble, and to perform batch transmission without duplication.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, an e-mail system will be described in which e-mails that are retrieved by a mail terminal using a search keyword are associated as one thread and can be sent in a batch without overlapping.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a general electronic mail system to which the information processing apparatus showing an example of the first embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

  In this e-mail system, at least one mail terminal 200 and the mail server 100 are connected via a LAN / WAN 300, so that e-mail can be transmitted and received.

  Although FIG. 1 shows a case where three mail terminals 200a to 200c are provided as an example, any number of mail terminals 200a to 200c may be provided.

  When an e-mail sender transmits an e-mail from one of the mail terminals (here, the mail terminal 200a), the e-mail is first received by the mail server 100 via the LAN / WAN 300.

  In the mail server 100, the mail server 100 is classified by destination information attached to the header of the received electronic mail, and is stored in the mailbox for each destination.

  The recipient of the e-mail instructs to receive an e-mail addressed to himself / herself at any of the mail terminals (here, the mail terminal 200c). Then, in the mail server 100, an e-mail addressed to this recipient is read from one of the mailboxes in the mail server 100 and transmitted to the mail terminal 200c. Thereby, the recipient of the e-mail can check the e-mail addressed to him / her at the mail terminal 200c.

  Such an e-mail system is generally provided with various functions such as a broadcast transmission function for transmitting data having the same contents to a plurality of destinations and a transfer function for reusing and transferring received data. . With these various functions, efforts for using e-mail are reduced.

  The mail terminal 200 and the mail server 100 can be configured by a general personal computer, and FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the mail terminal 200 and the mail server 100 illustrated in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a control device serving as the center of the device, which performs various controls. Specifically, a CPU or the like of a personal computer corresponds to this (hereinafter referred to as CPU 201).

  Reference numeral 202 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is used as a program work area or a buffer for temporarily holding data. Reference numeral 203 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory) which stores each program.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes an external memory that holds each data, and specifically, a hard disk drive, a DVD drive, or the like.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes an input device through which data and the like are input to the CPU 201. Specifically, the input device 205 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like. Reference numeral 206 denotes a display device, specifically a display or the like. A communication interface 207 controls connection with a transmission path such as the LAN / WAN 300.

  Note that the mail server 100 also has the same hardware configuration.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an e-mail form.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the e-mail is composed of a header 301 and a body text 302 as transmission data. Further, the header 301 includes mail type information (new / forwarding / reply / broadcast), subject, date information (DATE), message ID (Message-ID), destination information, sender information, tracking information (In-Reply- To, References) etc. are included.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of tracking information in the email header 301 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 4, (a) shows an example of thread mail. Further, (b) shows the relationship between Message-ID, In-Reply-To, References in the thread mail shown in (a).

  In the case of threaded mail, only the Message-ID is set for the first mail (Message-ID: <1>), the In-Reply-To of each mail is the Message-ID of the previous mail, and the References is 2. The previous Message-ID is set.

  The message ID (Message-ID) is unique for each mail to be transmitted. In the tracking information, In-Reply-To includes the Message-ID of the original mail when replying to the mail. References indicates information of the referred mail, and includes the Message-ID of the original mail when replying to the mail, the Message-ID of the original mail, and the like.

  That is, in the case of threaded mail, the first mail can be reached by following the Message-ID described in In-Reply-To of the mail with the latest date.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, a thread in which a message is chained with Message-ID: <1>, Message-ID: <2>, Message-ID: <3>, Message-ID: <4> Indicates mail.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the electronic mail system in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment includes a transmission unit 1, a reception unit 2, a mail management unit 3, a mail storage unit 4, an operation / display unit 5, a transmission list storage unit 6, a batch transmission BOX, and the like. It has.

  And the transmission part 1 transmits the email produced by the user via a network.

  The receiving unit 2 receives an e-mail transmitted via the network and passes the e-mail to the mail management unit 3. The mail management unit 3 performs e-mail management for storing the e-mail passed from the receiving unit 2 in the mail storage unit 4 or searching for e-mails stored in the mail storage unit 4. is there.

  The mail storage unit 4 includes a part of the external memory 204, and stores various types of e-mails such as received e-mails, e-mails being created, and e-mails that have been sent (sent). It is something to keep.

  The operation / display unit 5 includes an input processing unit 11 and a display processing unit 12. The input processing unit 11 receives a user instruction from a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse (that is, the input device 205), and requests the mail management unit 3 for information necessary for display. The display processing unit 12 receives information related to the electronic mail from the mail management unit 3, performs various display processes based on the information, and displays the processed display information on a display device 206 such as a display.

  The mail management unit 3 includes a transmission mail acquisition unit 7, a new ID creation unit 8, and a duplicate search unit 9 which are the central components of the present invention. The transmission mail acquisition unit 7 acquires a mail to be transmitted by keyword search (keyword search for the mail storage unit 4), for each thread including the keyword or for each mail, and adds the acquired transmission mail to the batch transmission BOX 13.

  Further, the new ID creation unit 8 associates the mails in the batch transmission BOX 13 as a group of mails. The duplicate search unit 9 acquires the header information of the electronic mail in the mail storage unit 4 and performs an operation for omitting duplicate emails from the destination information in the acquired header information from the batch transmission BOX.

  In addition, the transmission list storage unit 6 stores information for avoiding duplicate mails of each destination, that is, ID and destination information of each e-mail, and information on whether to omit without sending when performing batch transmission. It is something to remember. Details of the transmission list storage unit 6 are shown in FIG.

The transmission unit 1 includes a basic process and a collective transmission unit 10 that is a central configuration of the present invention. As a basic process, the transmission unit 1 can perform electronic processing according to one of three modes: new, transfer, and reply. Includes the process of creating and sending an email. Note that the e-mail created by the transmission unit 1 is composed of a header 301 and a body 302 as transmission data. (Figure 3)
The batch transmission unit 10 of the transmission unit 1 compares the input destination information with the destination in the transmission list storage unit 6 against the batch transmission BOX, and performs batch transmission using the destination transmission list.

  The transmission unit 1, the reception unit 2, the mail management unit 3, and the operation / display unit 5 described above are executed when the CPU 201 illustrated in FIG. 2 loads the program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executes the program. Realized.

  The mail storage unit 4 is realized in the external memory 204 shown in FIG. Further, the transmission list storage unit 6 and the batch transmission BOX are realized in the RAM 202 shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the thread mail transmission process in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a first control processing procedure in the present invention, which corresponds to the thread mail transmission processing. Note that the processing of this flowchart is executed by each unit shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S501 to S503 indicate each step.

  When the input processing unit 11 shown in FIG. 5 instructs the thread mail transmission process to start, the mail management unit 3 starts the process of this flowchart.

  First, in step S501, the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7 performs outgoing mail acquisition processing (details are shown in FIG. 7 described later).

  Next, in step S502, the new ID creation unit 8 performs a new ID creation process (details are shown in FIG. 14 described later).

  Finally, in step S503, the collective transmission unit 10 performs a collective transmission process (details are shown in FIG. 22 described later). And the process of this flowchart is complete | finished.

  Hereinafter, the transmission mail acquisition process shown in step S501 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the second control processing procedure in the present invention, and corresponds to the outgoing mail acquisition processing shown in step S501 of FIG. Note that the processing of this flowchart is executed by the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7 shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S601 to S606 indicate each step.

  First, in step S601, the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7 displays the keyword search screen 1201 shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 using the operation / display unit 5 and accepts input of a search keyword.

  Here, the keyword search screen 1201 will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a keyword search screen according to the present invention, which is displayed on the display device 206.

  In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1201 denotes a keyword search screen. The keyword search screen 1201 is roughly divided into three frames. The upper frame shows an input frame 1202 for inputting a search keyword for selecting an email from a list of emails, and how to use the keyword. It consists of a selection frame 1203 for selection.

  The middle frame includes a selection frame 1204 for designating a search target and a selection frame 1205 for selecting a search mode. Furthermore, the lower frame includes a display frame 1208 indicating a search result, an all mail selection check box 1206, and an add button 1209 to the batch transmission BOX. A check box 1208a is provided in the display frame 1208, and mail to be added to the transmission batch BOX can be arbitrarily selected by the check box 1208a. In the lower frame, an all mail selection check box 1206 can be used to select a mail for adding all mails in the display frame 1208 to the transmission batch BOX.

  The upper right frame 1207 includes a search start button, a narrow-down button, and a close button.

  This figure corresponds to the case where the thread mail is selected in the selection frame 1205 for selecting the middle search mode. In this case, as a search result, a thread mail including the keyword in the subject or text and another mail including the keyword in the subject or text are searched and displayed in the display frame 1208.

  FIG. 10 shows a case where no thread mail is selected in the thread mail check box 1205a of the selection frame 1205. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a keyword search screen according to the present invention (when thread email is not selected as a search target). In FIG. 10, an email including a keyword in the subject or text is included as a search result. It is searched and displayed in the display frame 1208.

  The add to batch transmission BOX button 1209 is used to add a mail whose check box 1208a is checked in the display frame 1208 to the batch transmission BOX 13.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S601, when a search keyword is input by the user and the search start button is instructed to be pressed as in 1202 of FIGS. 8 and 10, the transmitted mail acquisition unit 7 advances the process to step S602.

  In step S602, the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7 determines whether the thread mail check box 1205a is checked.

  If it is determined that the thread mail check box 1205a is checked as shown in FIG. 8, the transmitted mail acquisition unit 7 proceeds to step S603 to include all the search keywords in the subject and text. The mail storage unit 4 is searched for mails and thread mails including those mails, and the search results are displayed on the display frame 1208 using the operation / display unit 5 (FIG. 8). Then, when the add button 1209 is instructed to be pressed in the batch transmission BOX, the transmission mail acquisition unit 7 advances the process to step S604.

  In step S604, the transmission mail acquisition unit 7 stores the mail and thread mail in which the check box 1208a is checked in the batch transmission BOX 13, and the message ID of these mails is stored in the transmission list storage unit 6 (FIG. 12). The contents of the batch transmission BOX 13 are displayed on the batch transmission BOX screen as shown in FIG. 9 using the operation / display unit 5, the transmission mail acquisition process is terminated, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  In step S602, the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7 determines whether the thread mail check box 1205a is checked.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, when it is determined that the thread mail check box 1205a is not checked, the transmitted mail acquisition unit 7 proceeds to step S605, and all the search keywords including the search keyword in the subject and text are displayed. A mail search process is performed on the mail storage unit 4, and the search result is displayed on the display frame 1208 using the operation / display unit 5 (FIG. 10). Then, when the addition button 1209 is instructed to be pressed in the batch transmission BOX, the transmission mail acquisition unit 7 advances the process to step S606.

  In step S606, the transmission mail acquisition unit 7 stores the mails whose check boxes 1208a are checked in the batch transmission BOX 13, and stores the message IDs of these mails in the transmission list storage unit 6 (FIG. 12). Then, the contents of the collective transmission BOX 13 are displayed on the collective transmission BOX screen as shown in FIG. 11 using the operation / display unit 5, the transmitted mail acquisition process is terminated, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  9 and 11 are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a batch transmission BOX screen in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, the batch transmission BOX display screen 1301 is roughly divided into two frames, the upper frame is a display frame 1302 for displaying mails to be sent in a batch, and the lower part is a destination address for sending mails. Input frame 1303 and a start button 1304 for starting batch transmission.

  In FIG. 9, the mail checked in the check 1208a shown in FIG. 8 is added to the batch transmission BOX, and two addresses (C <c@cxnon-soft.co.jp>, D <d @ cxnon) are sent as destinations. -soft.co.jp>) shows the state of being input in the address input frame 1303.

  In FIG. 11, a mail whose check 1208a shown in FIG. 10 is checked is added to the batch transmission BOX, and two addresses (C <c@cxnon-soft.co.jp>, D <d @ cxnon) are transmitted as transmission destinations. -soft.co.jp>) shows the state of being input in the address input frame 1303.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of transmission list data stored in the transmission list storage unit 6.

  As shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the transmission list includes a message ID 1101 and a mail 1102 that is omitted.

  Specifically, the message ID 1101 stores message IDs of a plurality of outgoing mails acquired by the outgoing mail acquisition unit 7.

  Then, in the omitted mail 1102, “1” is stored in the flag of the address determined to be the omitted mail, and “0” is stored in the flag of the address not determined to be the omitted mail.

  The setting of the flag to the omitted mail 1102 is performed in the duplication processing of the duplication search unit 9 shown in S703 (FIG. 21 described later) in FIG. Specifically, the duplication search unit 9 acquires the message ID of the outgoing mail stored in the transmission list storage unit 6, and uses the message ID to determine the destination information included in the header information of the email in the mail storage unit 4. Use it to check if it overlaps with the destination you want to send. At this time, the duplication search unit 9 sets the duplicated destination flag to “1”, leaves the non-duplicated destination flag “0”, and saves it in the transmission list storage unit 6.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the header information of the mail displayed on the batch transmission BOX screen shown in FIG. 9 and its relationship.

  Hereinafter, the new ID creation process shown in step S502 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the third control processing procedure in the present invention, and corresponds to the new ID creation processing shown in step S502 of FIG. Note that the processing of this flowchart is executed by the new ID creation unit 8 shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S701 to S711 indicate each step.

  First, in step S <b> 701, the new ID creation unit 8 acquires a mail with the latest Date date in the mail header part from the transmission list storage unit 6.

  Next, in step S702, the new ID creation unit 8 checks whether or not there is In-Reply-To information in the header part of the acquired mail (hereinafter, the corresponding mail).

  If it is determined in step S702 that In-Reply-To information is present in the header portion of the acquired mail, the new ID creation unit 8 determines that it is the head of the new mail or threaded mail, and directly performs step S707. Proceed with the process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S702 that there is In-Reply-To information in the header part of the acquired mail, the new ID creation unit 8 determines that the thread is continuing, and the process proceeds to step S703. Proceed.

  In step S703, the new ID creation unit 8 executes a duplication process (details will be described with reference to FIG. 21), and the process proceeds to step S704.

  In step S704, the new ID creation unit 8 acquires In-Reply-To information from the header part of the corresponding mail.

  Next, in step S <b> 705, the new ID creation unit 8 performs processing for acquiring mail having a value of Massage-ID corresponding to the value of In-Reply-To acquired in step S <b> 704 from the transmission list storage unit 6.

  Next, in step S706, the new ID creation unit 8 determines whether or not the mail having the value of Massage-ID corresponding to the In-Reply-To value acquired in S704 has been acquired from the transmission list storage unit 6. If it is determined that the thread has been acquired, it is determined that there is a thread on the acquired mail (hereinafter, the corresponding mail) in the transmission list storage unit 6, and the process returns to step S702 again. Process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S706 that a mail having a value of Massage-ID corresponding to the value of In-Reply-To acquired in S704 could not be acquired from the transmission list storage unit 6, the acquired mail ( Hereinafter, it is determined that there is a thread on the corresponding mail) but not in the transmission list storage unit 6 (that is, the thread is interrupted), and the process proceeds to step S707.

  In step S707, the new ID creation unit 8 determines whether there is a mail in the transmission list storage unit 6 other than the mail acquired so far. If it is determined that there is no mail, the thread is completed. The new ID creation process is terminated, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S707 that there is a mail in the transmission list storage unit 6 other than the mail acquired so far, the new ID creation unit 8 advances the process to step S708.

  In step S708, the new ID creation unit 8 checks whether there is In-Reply-To information in the header portion of the corresponding mail.

  If it is determined in step S708 that there is no In-Reply-To information in the header part of the acquired mail, the new ID creation part 8 determines that it is the head of the new mail or thread mail, and proceeds to step S710. Proceeding the process, retrieves the Message-ID information in the header part of the mail with the latest Date other than the mail acquired so far from the transmission list storage unit 6, and sets the In-Reply-To of the corresponding mail to the value of the Massage-ID Replace the value of. A specific example in this case (when there is no In-Reply-To of the corresponding mail) is shown in FIGS. Then, the process proceeds to step S712.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S708 that there is In-Reply-To information in the header portion of the acquired mail, the new ID creation unit 8 advances the process to step S709.

  In step S709, the new ID creation unit 8 determines whether or not the corresponding mail is omitted from the batch transmission process (whether at least one check “1” is included in the omitted mail shown in FIG. 12). If it is determined that it has not been omitted, the process proceeds to step S710, and the new ID creation unit 8 receives the message “Massage--” in the header part of the mail with the latest Date other than the mail acquired from the transmission list storage unit 6 so far. Take out the ID information and replace the In-Reply-To value of the corresponding email with the value of the Message-ID. A specific example in this case (when there is In-Reply-To of the corresponding mail and the corresponding mail is not omitted) is shown in FIGS. Then, the process proceeds to step S712.

  On the other hand, in step S709, the new ID creation unit 8 determines whether or not the corresponding mail is omitted from the batch transmission process. If it is determined that the mail is omitted, the process proceeds to step S711.

  Next, in step S711, the new ID creation unit 8 sets the value of the Message-ID in the header part of the mail with the latest Date other than the mail acquired from the transmission list storage unit 6 so far, and the In-Reply of the corresponding mail. Replace with -To value. Specific examples in this case are shown in FIGS. Then, the process proceeds to step S712.

  Next, in step S712, the new ID creation unit 8 acquires the latest mail other than the mail acquired so far from the transmission list storage unit 6, and returns to step S702 to perform the process again.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18, the process of step S <b> 710 in FIG. 14 will be specifically described.

  15 to 18 are schematic diagrams specifically showing the process of step S710 of FIG.

  First, the case where there is no In-Reply-To of the corresponding mail will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 15, as indicated by 2001, a mail with Message-ID: <1> does not have In-Reply-To information (considered as a new mail or the first mail of a thread). It is assumed that the mail with Message-ID: <1> is not omitted from the batch transmission.

  In this embodiment, a new thread is created by connecting a mail with Message-ID: <d> on such a mail with Message-ID: <1>. In order to do this, the new ID creating unit 8 sets the value of In-Reply-To of the message-ID: <1> mail and the message-ID: <d> mail, as indicated by 2002 in FIG. Replace with the value of Massage-ID. By this processing, as shown by 2003 in FIG. 16, the mail with Message-ID: <1> and the mail with Message-ID: <d> are connected, and a new thread is created.

  Next, the case where there is In-Reply-To of the corresponding mail will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 17, as indicated by 2101, the mail with Message-ID: <3> has In-Reply-To information (it is considered that the thread is interrupted). It is assumed that the mail with Message-ID: <1> is not omitted from the batch transmission.

  In this embodiment, a new thread is created by connecting a mail with Message-ID: <d> on such a mail with Message-ID: <3>. In order to do this, the new ID creating unit 8 sets the value of In-Reply-To of the message-ID: <3> mail and the message-ID: <d> mail as shown by 2102 in FIG. Replace with the value of Massage-ID. By this processing, as indicated by 2103 in FIG. 18, the mail with Message-ID: <3> and the mail with Message-ID: <d> are connected, and a new thread is created.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20, the processing in step S711 in FIG. 14 will be described in detail.

  19 and 20 are schematic diagrams specifically showing the process of step S711 of FIG.

  In FIG. 19, as indicated by 2201, a message with Message-ID: <3> has In-Reply-To information. It is assumed that the mail with Message-ID: <3> is omitted from batch transmission. That is, the mail with Message-ID: <3> is the mail on the receiving side.

  In this embodiment, a new thread is created by connecting a mail with Message-ID: <d> on such a mail with Message-ID: <3>.

  However, here, since the mail with Message-ID: <3> is the mail on the receiving side, as indicated by 2102 in FIG. 18, the In-Reply-To of the mail with Message-ID: <3> The value cannot be replaced with the value of Message-ID: <d> Mail's Massage-ID.

  Therefore, here, as shown by 2202 in FIG. 20, the new ID creation unit 8 sets the value of the Message-ID: <d> for the Mail-ID and the Message-ID: <3> for the Mail In- In place of the Reply-To value, as shown by 2203 in FIG. 20, a new thread is created by connecting mail on Message-ID: <3>.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 21, the duplication processing shown in step S703 of FIG. 14 will be described.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the fourth control processing procedure in the present invention, and corresponds to the duplication processing shown in step S703 of FIG. Note that the processing of this flowchart is executed by the duplicate search unit 9 shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S801 to S804 indicate steps.

  First, in step S801, the duplication search unit 9 uses the operation / display unit 5 to display the destination address input in the input frame 1303 of the batch transmission BOX display screen 1301 shown in FIGS. Get one.

  Next, in step S802, the duplicate search unit 9 determines that the address that matches the address acquired in S801 (hereinafter, the transmission address to be processed) is the header of the mail (corresponding mail) that is currently acquired by creating a new ID. It is determined whether it is in the destination information of the copy.

  If it is determined in step S802 that the address that matches the transmission address to be processed exists in the destination information of the header part of the corresponding mail, the duplication search unit 9 advances the process to step S803.

  In step S803, the duplication search unit 9 sets a destination flag corresponding to the processing target transmission address of the corresponding mail in the transmission list storage unit 6 to “1” (the mail is omitted). Then, the process proceeds to step S804.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S803 that there is no address that matches the processing target address in the destination information of the header portion of the corresponding mail, the duplication search unit 9 proceeds to step S804 as it is.

  In step S804, the duplication search unit 9 checks whether there is still another transmission destination address. If it is determined that there is still another transmission destination address, the duplicate search unit 9 returns to step S801 again to acquire the next transmission address. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S804 that no other destination address remains, the duplication process is terminated as it is, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  It is assumed that the flag corresponding to each destination of the mail 1102 to be omitted in the transmission list is set to “0” by default.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 22, the batch transmission process shown in step S503 of FIG. 6 will be described.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the fifth control processing procedure in the present invention, and corresponds to the batch transmission processing shown in step S503 of FIG. The process of this flowchart is executed by the collective transmission unit 10 shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S901 to S906 indicate each step.

  First, in step S901, the collective transmission unit 10 uses the operation / display unit 5 to display the destination address input in the input frame 1303 of the collective transmission BOX display screen 1301 shown in FIGS. One is acquired (hereinafter referred to as a processing processing transmission address).

  Next, in step S <b> 902, the collective transmission unit 10 acquires a transmission list from the transmission list storage unit 6.

  Next, in step S903, the collective transmission unit 10 selects one transmission mail in the transmission list acquired in S902 (transmission mail to be processed) and corresponds to a transmission address for processing for the transmission mail to be processed. It is determined whether or not the destination to be sent is a destination from which mail is omitted (flag is “1”).

  If it is determined in step S903 that the destination corresponding to the processing-addressed transmission address for the processing target outgoing mail is not the destination from which the mail is omitted (flag is “1”), the process proceeds to step S904. .

  In step S904, the collective transmission unit 10 transmits the transmission mail to be processed to the transmission address for processing, and advances the process to step S905.

  If it is determined in step S903 that the destination corresponding to the processing-addressed transmission address for the processing target outgoing mail is the destination from which the mail is omitted (flag is “1”), the collective transmission unit 10 Then, the process proceeds to step S905 as it is.

  In step S905, the collective transmission unit 10 determines whether there is a transmission mail that has not yet been processed in the transmission list acquired in step S902. If it is determined that there is a transmission mail that has not yet been processed, step S903 is performed again. Return to, and process the next outgoing mail.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S905 that there is no outgoing mail that has not been processed in the transmission list acquired in step S902, the process proceeds to step S906.

  Next, in step S906, the collective transmission unit 10 checks whether there is still another transmission destination address. If it is determined that there is still another transmission address, the batch transmission unit 10 returns to step S901 again to return to the next transmission address. To get.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S906 that no other transmission destination addresses remain, the batch transmission process is terminated as it is.

  As described above, since mails to be transmitted as thread mail can be collectively transmitted without trouble, the work efficiency of the sender can be improved.

  In addition, the recipient side can prevent duplicate reception of the same contents of e-mails and can display the sent mails in a thread, so that the flow of the discussions can be grasped in more detail.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, in the duplication processing, when there is a match with the transmission address in the destination information of the header portion of the corresponding mail, the transmission of the corresponding mail is omitted from the transmission address.

  On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the exchange of electronic mail performed between the mail terminals 200 is acquired, and the message ID, the mail type information, and the destination information included in the header information of all the acquired electronic mails are obtained. It was set as the structure which provided the mail transmission / reception information storage part to memorize | store. Further, in the duplication processing, when there is a match with the transmission address in the destination information in the mail transmission / reception information storage unit corresponding to the corresponding mail, the transmission of the corresponding mail to the transmission address is omitted. Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 23 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a general electronic mail system to which the information processing apparatus showing an example of the second embodiment of the present invention can be applied. The code | symbol is attached | subjected.

  In the present embodiment, a mail storage server 400 is added to the configuration of the above-described one embodiment (FIG. 1).

  The mail storage server 400 acquires the exchange of electronic mail performed between the mail terminals 200, and stores the message ID, mail type information, and destination information included in the header information of all the acquired electronic mails in the mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14. (FIG. 24).

  FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the electronic mail system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the present embodiment, a mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14 is added to the configuration of the above-described first embodiment (FIG. 5).

  The mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14 is implemented in the mail storage server 400 shown in FIG. 23, and exchanges the message ID in the header information included in the email acquired by the mail storage server 400. Information (From, To, Cc, Bcc, Fwd, etc.) is stored (FIG. 25). In addition, 9 'is the duplication search part in this embodiment.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the data configuration of the mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14 shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 26, the duplication processing (step S703 in FIG. 14) in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of a sixth control processing procedure in the present invention, and corresponds to the duplication processing in the present embodiment. Note that the processing of this flowchart is executed by the duplication search unit 9 'shown in FIG. That is, the processing of this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in the external memory 204 onto the RAM 202 and executing it. In the figure, S801, 1902, S803, and S804 indicate steps, and the same steps as those in FIG.

  In step S1902, the duplication search unit 9 ′ determines whether the address that matches the address (processing target transmission address) acquired in S801 is in the destination information in the mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14 corresponding to the corresponding mail. judge.

  If it is determined in step S1902 that the address that matches the processing target transmission address is in the destination information in the mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14, the duplication search unit 9 'advances the process to step S803.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1902 that the address that matches the processing target transmission address is not in the destination information in the mail transmission / reception information storage unit 14, the duplication search unit 9 'advances the process to step S804.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, since only the destination information transmitted and received by the sender is referred to, only duplicate information between the sender and the receiver is omitted. In this case, since it refers to the record of not only the sender but also the third party and the recipient, duplicate mail sent by the third party to the recipient even if the sender and the recipient are not communicating. Can be prevented.

  It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the various data and configurations are configured according to the application and purpose.

  Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium, and specifically includes a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system including a single device.

  As described above, even if there is an email that does not have a message ID associated with the email that has been sent, it can be automatically added to the thread and sent without being manually added to the thread. .

  In addition, the sender can send all exchanged emails to a third party without any hassle, and the third party can easily grasp the flow of discussion.

  In addition, it is possible to avoid sending duplicate emails without interrupting the thread.

  Therefore, it is possible to collectively transmit mails to be transmitted as thread mails, and to prevent duplicate reception of e-mails having the same content by the recipients.

  The configuration of a data processing program that can be read by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a memory map of a recording medium (storage medium) that stores various data processing programs readable by the information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  Although not specifically shown, information for managing a program group stored in the recording medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, when a program or data to be installed is compressed, a program to be decompressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 14, 21, 22, and 26 in this embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external recording medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a recording medium in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, A silicon disk or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted in the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  Furthermore, by downloading and reading out a program represented by software for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. It becomes.

  In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a mail exchanged by two or more people is transmitted to a third party for one theme, mails other than those received by the third party can be easily collected at once. Allows to send.

  Therefore, it is possible to associate a plurality of mails as one thread without trouble and to transmit them in a lump without overlapping.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a configuration of a general electronic mail system to which an information processing apparatus showing an example of a first embodiment of the present invention can be applied. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the mail terminal 200 and the mail server 100 which were shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the form of an email. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the tracking information in the email header 301 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the software structure of the electronic mail system in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 1st control processing procedure in this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 2nd control processing procedure in this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the keyword search screen in this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the batch transmission BOX screen in this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example (When thread mail is not selected as a search object) in the keyword search screen in the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the batch transmission BOX screen in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the data of the transmission list stored in the transmission list memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the header information of the mail displayed on the collective transmission BOX screen shown in FIG. 9, and its relationship. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 3rd control processing procedure in this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of step S710 of FIG. 14 concretely. It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of step S710 of FIG. 14 concretely. It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of step S710 of FIG. 14 concretely. It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of step S710 of FIG. 14 concretely. It is a schematic diagram which shows specifically the process of step S711 of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows specifically the process of step S711 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 4th control processing procedure in this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 5th control processing procedure in this invention. It is a system configuration | structure figure which shows an example of a structure of the general electronic mail system which can apply the information processing apparatus which shows an example of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the software structure of the electronic mail system in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the data structure of the mail transmission / reception information storage part 14 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 6th control processing procedure in this invention. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the recording medium (storage medium) which stores the various data processing program which can be read by the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

300 LAN / WAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Mail server 200 Mail terminal 1 Transmission part 2 Reception part 3 Mail management part 4 Mail storage part 5 Operation / display part 6 Transmission list storage part 7 Outgoing mail acquisition part 8 New ID creation part 9 Duplicate search part 10 Batch transmission part 11 Input Processing unit 12 Display processing unit 14 Mail transmission / reception information storage unit 13 Batch transmission BOX

Claims (8)

An acquisition means for acquiring at least one of ID information, tracking information, and destination information included in mail information included in a plurality of mails selected from storage means for storing a plurality of sent or received mails;
Chain processing means for changing mail information of the plurality of mails so as to be chained according to the relationship between the ID information and the tracking information;
Transmitting means for transmitting the plurality of mails subjected to chain processing by the chain processing means to an input destination;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The chain processing means, when there is mail in the plurality of mails that is not included in the mail group that is chained from the mail with the latest transmission date and time in the plurality of mails, tracking information of the first mail of the chain The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is changed to ID information of a mail with the latest transmission date and time among the mails that are not chained.   The transmission means does not perform transmission to the transmission destination by the transmission means for the mail whose address information of the input transmission destination is included in the mail information as the destination information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.   The chain processing unit is a mail in which there is a mail that is not included in a mail group that is chained from a mail with the latest transmission date in the plurality of mails, and the first mail in the chain is not transmitted by the transmission unit. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ID information of the mail with the latest transmission date is changed to the tracking information of the first mail in the chain. 5.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit selects the plurality of mails from the storage unit based on an input keyword. In a mail transmission method in an information processing apparatus having a storage unit for storing a plurality of transmitted or received mails,
Based on the mail information included in the plurality of mails selected from the storage means, the plurality of mails are chained according to the relationship between the ID information included in the mail information and the tracking information. A chain processing step to change email information for
A transmission step of transmitting the plurality of mails subjected to the chain processing in the chain processing step to an input destination;
A mail transmission method characterized by comprising:   A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or causing a computer to execute the mail transmission method according to claim 6.   A computer readable program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or a program for causing a computer to execute the mail transmission method according to claim 6 Recorded recording medium.

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