JP2009086936A - Electronic mail distribution system and electronic mail distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve convenience of a user transmitting an electronic mail to a participant of a document. <P>SOLUTION: A processing history by a user to the history tracing target document and a mail address corresponding to the user performing processing thereof are acquired in a document operation history management server 1c, and the document operation history management server 1c returns a set of the mail addresses corresponding to the history tracing target document to a cellphone 3 according to an instruction from the cellphone 3. Thereby, because the user can transmit the mail by use of the mail address set, the user can transmit the mail without performing specification work of the participant of the history tracing target document, or acquisition or hand input of the mail address of the specified user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an e-mail distribution system and an e-mail distribution method, and more particularly to an e-mail distribution system and an e-mail distribution method for sending an e-mail to at least a part of users who have executed processing on a target document.

  In an office or the like, in order to share a created document among a plurality of people, it is frequently performed to distribute an electronic document through an e-mail or the like or upload an electronic document on the Internet. In such a case, the person who viewed the electronic document, etc. to the creator of the document, the person who was involved in the creation of the document from the past to the present, the person who currently holds the document, etc. You may want to send a message. Specifically, for example, when a person reading an electronic document or paper document finds an error or correction in the document and wants to notify the creator of the document about this, or for an unknown part in the document, This is the case when you want to ask the author of the document.

  Conventionally, in the case of an electronic document sent by e-mail, an e-mail is returned to the sender, and the document creator's contact information (e-mail address, telephone number, fax number, etc.) is included in the document. In the case of being described, the message was communicated by contacting the contact information. In the case of a paper document (printed matter), a technique has also been proposed in which code information corresponding to an e-mail address is printed in advance on a printed matter, the code information is read by a portable terminal, and mail is transmitted (for example, a patent). Reference 1).

JP-A-2005-250922

  With the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to send an e-mail to a specific partner (for example, a document creator) included in the code information. However, if a document has been distributed to many users one after another through electronic copying, etc., to send a message to each user, the user must be identified and an email address must be specified. It needs to be collected, and it takes time and effort to work.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic mail distribution system and an electronic mail distribution method capable of improving user convenience.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electronic mail distribution system according to the present invention acquires a processing history by a user for a target document, and acquires a mail address of the user who performed the processing based on the processing history. E-mail to at least a part of the e-mail address acquired by the address acquiring means in response to an instruction based on the identifier by the address acquiring means to perform and an information terminal that has read the identifier assigned to the target document And a sending means for sending.

  Here, examples of the processing history for the target document include a printing history of the target document, a browsing history of the target document, a replication history of the target document, and an editing history of the target document.

  According to this, the processing history by the user for the target document and the mail address of the user who performed the processing are acquired by the history acquisition unit and the address acquisition unit, and the sending unit is an information terminal based on the identifier assigned to the target document In response to an instruction from the user, an e-mail is sent to at least a part of the acquired e-mail address. Therefore, the user can identify the user who performed the processing on the target document, An e-mail can be easily transmitted to a user who has processed the target document without performing input or the like. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve a user's convenience.

  In this case, it is possible to further include target document setting means for setting the target document from a plurality of documents. In such a case, the amount of information to be acquired by the history acquisition unit and the address acquisition unit can be reduced as much as possible by selectively setting the target document.

  In the electronic mail delivery system of the present invention, when the target document is printed on a paper medium, the identifier code that can be recognized by the information terminal can be printed together. In such a case, since the identifier can be easily recognized by the information terminal, it is possible to save time and effort such as manual input of an identification number.

  In this case, the sending means selects a mail address to which the e-mail is sent from the mail addresses obtained by the address obtaining means in response to an instruction based on the identifier recognized by the information terminal. It can be. Further, the address transmission means divides the mail addresses into groups according to the contents of the processing of the user and transmits the group to the information terminal, and the information terminal transmits the electronic mail from the plurality of groups. At least one set can be displayed in a selectable state. In such a case, the user can send an e-mail to each user who has the same processing performed on the document.

  In this case, the address transmission means can send the e-mail address to the information terminal in a concealed state. In such a case, it becomes possible to protect the personal information of the email transmission partner.

  Further, in the present invention, when the sending unit sorts out the mail address, the sending unit sorts out the transmission content of the e-mail transmitted from the information terminal together with the instruction from the information terminal. You can send it to an e-mail address. In such a case, since the information terminal can transmit the transmission content of the e-mail together with the instruction to the sending means, the exchange of information between the information terminal and the sending means becomes one-way (information terminal → sending means). Thus, transmission / reception can be simplified.

  In this case, the information terminal creates a plurality of temporary email addresses including filter information indicating the contents of the processing and document information of the target document, and among the plurality of temporary email addresses, Transmitting at least one provisional mail address selected by the user according to the content of the process to the sending means, wherein the sending means at least selected by the user from the mail address obtained by the address obtaining means; A mail address corresponding to one temporary mail address can be selected, and the electronic mail can be sent to the selected mail address.

  In the present invention, when an identifier code is printed on a paper medium, the information terminal is a mobile phone, and the identifier code can be taken by a camera of the mobile phone. . The information terminal may be a device having a scanner function, and the electronic mail can be attached with a document read by the scanner function. In this case, the attached document may be a target document written (addition / correction) by handwriting by the user, or may be another document.

  In the present invention, the information terminal may be a personal computer.

  In the present invention, information on the target document may be appended to the electronic mail. In such a case, the user who receives the e-mail can access the document based on the appended information.

  In the present invention, the electronic mail transmitted by the sending means may be further provided with a saving means for saving the electronic mail in a state that can be browsed by a user who has newly performed processing on the target document. In such a case, a user who has newly performed a process on the target document can also browse past interactions between users.

  The electronic mail transmission method of the present invention is provided to the target document, the step of acquiring a processing history by the user for the target document, the step of acquiring the mail address of the user who performed the processing based on the processing history, Sending an e-mail to at least a part of the acquired e-mail address in response to an instruction based on the identifier from the information terminal that has read the identifier.

  According to this, the processing history by the user for the target document and the mail address of the user who performed the processing are acquired, and according to the instruction from the information terminal based on the identifier assigned to the target document, the acquired mail address Since the e-mail is sent to at least a part, the user can easily send the e-mail without specifying the user who has processed the target document or manually entering the e-mail address of the specified user. can do. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve a user's convenience.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic mail delivery system and the electronic mail delivery method which can improve a user's convenience can be provided.

<< First Embodiment >>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an information processing system 100 suitable for implementing an e-mail delivery system and an e-mail delivery method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment includes a mobile phone web mail server 1a, a mail server 1b, a document operation history management server 1c, a document server 1d, and a composite server. The apparatus 2 and personal computer (PC) 4A, 4B used by the user at his / her seat are provided, and these devices are connected to the intranet 6. The intranet 6 is connected to the Internet via an SSL-VPN (Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Network) device 5.

  The mobile phone webmail server 1a receives mail sent from the mobile phone 3 used by the user via the mobile phone network, the Internet, and the SSL-VPN device 5, and the destination of the sent mail is an email ( If it is a user of PC), it is transferred to the mail server 1b. The mobile phone web mail server 1a receives an email sent from the PC user or the like to the mobile phone 3 from the mail server 1b, and carries it via the SSL-VPN device 5, the Internet, and the mobile phone network. A mail is transmitted to the telephone 3.

  The mail server 1b converts the mail transferred from the mobile phone web mail server 1a into the Internet mail format, and sends it as an electronic mail (Internet mail format) to the own PCs 4A and 4B and another PC existing on the Internet. Send. In addition, the mail server 1b converts an e-mail (Internet mail format) sent from a PC user or the like to the mobile phone 3 to a mobile phone mail format and transfers it to the mobile phone web mail server 1a. .

  In the block diagram of FIG. 2, the functions of the mobile phone web mail server 1 a and the mail server 1 b are collectively shown as a “message transmission function”.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the document operation history management server 1c registers the document selected as the history tracking target document by the user (registers the ID (document ID) of the document in the history tracking target document ID set), and When a predetermined operation (registration, file open, download, deletion, editing, etc.) is performed on the history tracking target document on the personal computer 4A, 4B or the like, the operation history is registered. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the document operation history management server 1c receives an operation history storage function (a function for registering operation contents) and an inquiry based on the document ID performed by the mobile phone 3, and the operation history A function for extracting an operation history corresponding to the document ID from the storage function (related user search request receiving function).

  Returning to FIG. 1, the document server 1 d is a server for storing documents in order to share the documents created in the personal computers 4 </ b> A, 4 </ b> B, for example, in each PC. The own PCs 4A and 4B can browse and download documents by accessing the documents stored in the document server 1d.

  The multifunction device 2 has a function of scanning a paper document, a copy function, a print function, a fax function, and the like. In the multifunction device 2, when printing a document registered as a history tracking target document in the document operation history management server 1c, as shown in FIG. 3, an identifier (document ID) assigned to the document is used. An identifier code 11 consisting of a QR code is printed on a part of the paper medium. In FIG. 2, this printing function is shown as “ID-added document printing function”. The identifier code 11 may be another code such as a barcode.

  The own PCs 4A and 4B are for performing predetermined operations (registration, file open, download, delete, edit, etc.) on the document. As shown in FIG. 2, these self-seat PCs 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B have a function of detecting a user operation on a document (document operation detection function). When an operation by a user is detected, document operation history management is performed. The detection result is transmitted to the operation history storage function of the server 1c. Therefore, according to the document operation detection function, it is possible to detect not only an operation on a document stored in the document server 1d but also an operation on a document delivered to the user's own PCs 4A and 4B by e-mail or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 3 has a camera 13 that can photograph the identifier code 11. In addition, the mobile phone 3 performs a function for detecting a document ID (document ID detection function) based on a photographed image of the identifier code 11 photographed by the camera 13 and an operation for a document corresponding to the detected document ID. A function for transmitting a user search request to the document operation history management server 1c and receiving a search result returned from the document operation history management server 1c (related user search request transmission function), and a user-created request A function for transmitting a message based on a search result returned from the document operation history management server 1c (message editing and transmission function).

  The SSL-VPN device 5 uses SSL for encryption, constructs an encrypted virtual line on a public line network such as the Internet, and is a device for securely connecting between business sites.

  Next, the structure of data processed by the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile phone 3 holds the acquired document ID. Further, the document operation history management server 1c holds a server address and document operation history data. The document operation history data includes a document ID, an operation name, an operator, and a derivation source document ID. The document operation history management server 1c also holds a database relating to the mail address of the operator. Therefore, the document operation history management server 1c can acquire the mail address of the user who performed the operation on the document from the document operation history data and the database. The document server 1d holds the server address and the document data. The document data includes a document ID and content.

  Next, processing in the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the following description, “history tracking target document registration processing” → “document operation history storage processing” → “mail transmission processing from a mobile phone to a document participant” will be described in the order of processing. Shall.

<Registration process of history tracking target document>
In this process, first, when the user of his / her own PC 4A (or 4B) places the mouse cursor on a document file (for example, icon) set as a history tracking target and clicks the right button of the mouse, the user's own PC 4A ( Alternatively, a right button menu as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the screen 4B).

  Next, when the user moves the mouse cursor to the item “Register as history tracking document” in the right button menu of FIG. 5 and clicks the left button of the mouse, the user's own PC 4A (or 4B) The user's operation (instruction) is transmitted to the document operation history management server 1c. As a result, the designated document is registered as a history tracking target document in the document operation history management server 1c. Note that this registration is actually a tracking document registration message from the personal computer 4A or 4B to the document operation history management server 1c (the message includes the document ID and message ID of the history tracking target document). The document operation history management server 1c registers the document ID included in the tracking document registration message in the tracking target document ID set. The document ID is calculated as a hash value using the content of the document as a key in the personal computer 4A (or 4B).

<Document operation history storage process>
In this process, the user performs operations (registration, open, download, delete) on the document on the personal computer 4A (or 4B) by the document operation detection function (see FIG. 2) that operates on the personal computer 4A (or 4B). , Editing, etc.) is detected, each personal computer generates a document operation history registration request message (including message ID, operator, document ID, operation content, and date / time), and is shown in the flow of FIG. The message is transmitted to the document operation history management server 1c as needed.

  On the other hand, the document operation history management server 1c that has received the document operation history registration request message, based on the document ID included in the received message, stores the operation history (operation name, operator) included in the message as a document. Register in the operation history set (see FIG. 3). When the contents are changed by editing the document or the like, the fact and the derivation relationship with the document before editing are added to the message and transmitted to the document operation history management server 1c. Therefore, the document operation history management server 1c also registers this content in the document operation history set.

<Mail transmission process from a mobile phone to a document participant>
As a premise of this processing, it is assumed that the history tracking target document has already been printed on a paper medium by the multifunction device 2. This printing is performed by the user of the user's own PC 4A (or 4B) and the right button menu displayed when the mouse cursor is set to the file of the history tracking target document and the right button is clicked in that state (see FIG. 5). This is done by selecting the item “Print”. Here, an identifier code 11 composed of an image (QR code) obtained by encoding the history tracking target document ID as shown in FIG. 3 is printed on the paper medium together with the history tracking target document (content).

  In this mail transmission process, a user who has read a history tracking target document printed on a paper medium finds an error in a part of the document, for example, and browses the document for its contents (message). It is assumed that the user wants to communicate with other users from the mobile phone.

  First, an e-mail function menu (see FIG. 8A) is called on the screen of the mobile phone 3 by a user who wants to transmit a message, and an item “paper document ID mail” is selected from the menu. Then, the mobile phone 3 activates the camera function of the mobile phone 3 as shown in FIG. 8B (in FIG. 8B, the shooting area of the camera is shown as a rectangular area near the center of the screen. Have been).

  Next, when photographing of the identifier code 11 using the camera 13 of the mobile phone 3 is performed by the user as shown in FIG. 8C (see reference numeral (1) in FIG. 7), the document ID of the mobile phone 3 is detected. The function (see FIG. 2) detects the document ID based on the identifier code 11.

  Next, the mobile phone 3 transmits a “related user search request (message)” (including the message ID and the document ID) regarding the detected document ID to the document operation history management server 1c (reference numeral (2) in FIG. 7). reference).

  On the other hand, the document operation history management server 1c that has received the “related user search request (message)” acquires a document operation history set corresponding to the document ID of the message, and performs a document operation from the operation set. The user who participated is extracted, and a user set (a set of mail addresses) is calculated. Further, based on the database relating to the mail address of the operator held in the document operation history management server 1c, the user set (mail address set) is calculated, and the “related user search response (message)” (related user search response ( Message) includes the response target message ID and the search result) and transmits it to the mobile phone 3 (see reference numeral (3) in FIG. 7).

  In this case, the document operation history management server 1c has groups of e-mail addresses such as “all persons involved in the document”, “document creator”, “document viewer”, “document owner”, and the like. In the divided state, the data is transmitted to the mobile phone 3.

  Next, the mail is created by the user and the destination is determined (see reference numeral (4) in FIG. 7). Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 8D, an entry field for the text of the mail is displayed on the screen of the mobile phone 3, so that the user can enter a message (for example, The mobile phone 3 displays a sender selection screen as shown in FIG. 8 (e) when the “Next” button is pressed after the correction part is pointed out and the question to the creator is entered. indicate. Next, on the sender selection screen of FIG. 8 (e), when the user designates a group to which mail is to be sent and the “send confirmation” button is pressed, the mobile phone 3 is shown in FIG. 8 (f). A transmission confirmation screen is displayed.

  Then, on the screen of FIG. 8 (f), when the user confirms the transmission destination and message content on the screen and presses the “OK” button, the mobile phone 3 transmits mail to the mail server 1b (actual Is transmitted to the mail server 1b via the cellular phone web mail server 1a in FIG. In addition, the mail server 1b transmits a mail to a mail address belonging to a group designated by the user.

  Through this process, the user can easily send an email to a group that wants to send an email without performing complicated procedures such as identifying the members involved in the document and obtaining the email address of the member. (Message transmission) can be performed.

  Note that the browsing tracking target document ID is automatically appended to the mail transmitted here. As a result, the user who has received the mail can access the document in the document server 1d based on the browsing tracking target document ID, so that the document corresponding to the mail (message) can be easily browsed. it can. Instead of the browsing tracking target document ID, a reference URL (link) of the browsing tracking target document may be added. As a result, the user who has received the mail can access the browsing tracking target document only by selecting the reference URL (link) appended to the mail without searching the browsing tracking target document. Can do.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows the contents of the above processing. In FIG. 9, reference numerals (2) to (6) attached to the dotted arrows correspond to the reference numerals attached in FIG.

  As described above in detail, according to the first embodiment, in the document operation history management server 1c, the processing history by the user for the history tracking target document and the mail address corresponding to the user who performed the processing are acquired. In response to an instruction from the mobile phone 3 (“related user search request (message) including document ID)”, the document operation history management server 1c sets a set of email addresses (related user search response corresponding to the history tracking target document). (Message)) is returned to the mobile phone 3, and the user transmits an email using the set of email addresses. Therefore, the user performs processing on the history tracking target document (the user involved in the history tracking target document). ) Sending emails without performing specific tasks or obtaining and manually entering email addresses of the identified users Door can be. Thereby, the convenience of the user in mail transmission can be improved.

  In the first embodiment, since the history tracking target document is set and registered from a plurality of documents by an operation from the own PC 4A (or 4B), the history tracking target document is selectively set. As a result, the amount of information acquired by the document operation history management server 1c can be reduced as much as possible.

  In the first embodiment, when the history tracking target document is printed on a paper medium by the multifunction device 2, the identifier code 11 including an image obtained by encoding the history tracking target document ID is printed. By simply reading the identifier code 11 with the mobile phone 3 (photographing with a camera), the document ID can be easily recognized.

  In the first embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 8E and the like, the user's mail address is not displayed on the screen of the mobile phone 3 (the mail address is kept secret). It is possible to protect user personal information and the like.

  In the first embodiment, the document operation history management server 1c transmits to the mobile phone 3 with the mail addresses grouped according to the type of processing for the history tracking target document. The user can select an appropriate mail transmission destination (transmission destination group) on the screen of the mobile phone 3 and transmit the mail.

  In the first embodiment, the mail transmitted from the mobile phone 3 may be stored (accumulated) in the document operation history management server 1c or the document server 1d for each document. By doing in this way, it becomes possible for the user who newly participated in the browsing tracking object document to browse the exchange of mail performed between users in the past.

  In the first embodiment, the destination of the mail can be selected by all persons involved in the operation of the document, the creator of the document, the viewer, the owner, etc. (FIG. 8 (e)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other groups such as a document deleter may be selected. Also, depending on the operation content, operation date / time, operation content of the device used, etc., and context at the time of operation (date and time (specifically, send email only to users who operated after a certain date and time), location, device used, etc.) , It may be possible to select.

  In the first embodiment, the case where mail is transmitted from the mobile phone 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, mail can be transmitted from the own PC 4A (or 4B). is there.

  More specifically, when the user selects the document by the user of the self-sitting PC 4A and selects the item “Send Mail to Participant” (see FIG. 5) from the right button menu, a dotted arrow ( As shown in 1), the seated PC 4A transmits a related user search request (message) (including the message ID and the document ID) based on the document ID of the document to the document operation history server.

  On the other hand, the document operation history management server 1c that has received the related user search request (message) takes out a document operation history set related to the document ID included in the message, and performs the document operation from the operation set. The user who participated is extracted, and a user set (a set of mail addresses) is calculated. Then, the user set responds with an e-mail transmission sheet as a destination (see the dotted arrow (2) in FIG. 10).

  The own seat PC 4A displays the e-mail transmission sheet on the screen. Then, when the mail text (message) is input to the e-mail transmission sheet by the user of the self-seat PC 4A and the “send” button is pressed, the self-seat PC 4A transmits the e-mail of the e-mail transmission sheet to the mail server 1b. (See the dotted arrow (3) in FIG. 10). Thereafter, the mail server 1b performs mail transmission to the destination (mail address) described in the e-mail transmission sheet.

  As described above, even when the user transmits an email from the personal computer 4A, the email is sent to the specific user without specifying the user involved in the document or acquiring / manually inputting the email address, as in the above embodiment. Can be sent to.

  In the case of FIG. 10, an e-mail transmission sheet with the e-mail address written in the address is displayed on the screen of the own PC 4A, so that the user can actually send e-mail from the e-mail address written in the address. The transmission partner can be selected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the document operation history management server 1c may display an address concealing each user's mail address such as a mailing list in the address field of the e-mail transmission sheet.

<< Second Embodiment >>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 11 (a) to 12 (b).

  The second embodiment is characterized in the <e-mail transmission process from a mobile phone to a document participant> described in the first embodiment described above, and the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. It is the same as the embodiment. Therefore, the following description will focus on <mail transmission processing from a mobile phone to a document participant>.

  As a premise of the processing of the information processing system according to the second embodiment, it is assumed that the history tracking target document has already been registered in the document operation history management server 1c. Further, it is assumed that the history tracking target document is printed on a paper medium through the multifunction device 2 together with the ID (identifier code) of the document.

  In the second embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 11A, in the state where the menu screen is displayed on the screen of the mobile phone 3, the item “create new mail” is selected by the user. Then, the mobile phone 3 displays a “create new mail” screen as shown in FIG.

  In this state, after the mail body (message) is created by the user, the user moves the cursor to the “destination” field and presses the “menu” button as shown in FIG. Then, the mobile phone 3 displays a “destination menu” on the screen as shown in FIG.

  In this state, when the user selects “e-mail transmission to the user related to the document” from the destination menu of FIG. 11D, the mobile phone 3 waits for recognition of the document ID (identifier code 11). Standby mode).

  In the document ID recognition waiting mode, the mobile phone 3 displays a message as shown in FIG. 11E on the screen and requests the user to take a picture of the identifier code 11.

  Thereafter, when the identifier code 11 is photographed by the user as shown in FIG. 11F, the mobile phone 3 detects the document ID from the identifier code 11 and newly creates a plurality of address candidates. Then, this list of address candidates is displayed on the screen as shown in FIG.

As address candidates displayed here, for example,
(A) all.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(B) originator.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(C) edited.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(D) viewed.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(E) deleted.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(F) copied.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
(G) downloaded.3bc29a5b19c0521c9c319b010ab@XXX.co.jp
Etc.

  The account names of the above address candidates include filter information ((a) all = all, (b) originator = creator, (c) edited = user who edited, (d) viewed = user who viewed, (e) deleted = user deleted, (f) copied = user who copied, (g) downloaded = means downloaded user), and document ID.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 12A, at least one group (address candidates can be selected here) from the list of address candidates is selected by the user. (In FIG. 12A, the user group that has been viewed is selected), and when the “Next” button is pressed, the mobile phone 3 displays the group (address) selected by the user in the destination column. A “new mail creation” screen in which (candidate) is entered is displayed (see FIG. 12B).

  Thereafter, when the user confirms the mail content and presses the “Send” button, the mobile phone 3 sends the mail to the mail server 1b (actually, the mobile phone web mail server 1a). To send mail to the mail server 1b).

  Then, the mail server 1b analyzes address candidates described in the received mail destination. More specifically, this analysis extracts filter information and document ID from address candidates, extracts a document operation history set related to the document ID from the document operation history management server 1c, and also extracts the document operation history. This is done by extracting a user who has performed processing (document operation) corresponding to the filter information (here, a user who has browsed) from the set, and calculating a user set (set of mail addresses).

  Thereafter, the mail server 1b replaces the user set (mail address set) calculated by the above analysis with the mail address described in the mail address transmitted from the mobile phone 3, and the user set (mail address). E-mail transmission for a set of addresses).

  Although the description will be omitted, in the second embodiment, a functional configuration as shown in FIG. 13 is adopted as each component in order to realize the above processing. That is, as can be seen from comparison with FIG. 2, in the second embodiment (FIG. 13), the related user search request transmission function of the mobile phone 3 is omitted, and the document operation history management server 1c performs the related user search. It has a transmission function (a function for specifying a transmission destination from filter information), and this related user search transmission function is connected to the message transmission function of the mail server (1a, 1b). Yes.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the user can specify the work of specifying the user who performed the processing on the document (the user involved in the document) It is possible to send an e-mail without obtaining the user's e-mail address and manually inputting it.

  In addition, according to the second embodiment, the information exchange between the mobile phone 3 and the document operation history management server 1c is desired only in one direction (the mobile phone 3 → the document operation history management server 1c). Since mail can be transmitted to this group, transmission / reception can be simplified, and packet communication charges and the like can be reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the case where the mail server 1b has the functions of both the transmission mail server and the reception mail server has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the transmission mail server and the reception mail server are separated from each other. It is good also as comprising by. In this case, the processing as shown in FIG. 14 can be performed. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, (1) when a user edits (creates) an email on the mobile phone 3, and (2) when the identifier code 11 printed on a paper medium is photographed by the camera, (3 The mobile phone 3 creates an address set, and sends a mail to the received mail server when the transmission filter is designated by the user. (4) When the document operation history management server 1c confirms that the received mail server has received this mail, (5) the document operation history management server 1c performs the above-described address analysis, user search, and transmission destination identification. (6) Send mail to the sending mail server. Then, (7) the transmission mail server performs mail transmission to the specified transmission destination. By performing the processing as described above, it is possible to obtain the same effect as in the above embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, the case where the mobile phone 3 is used to send an e-mail has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same process as described above is performed using the own PC 4A (or 4B). Also good. However, in the case of the self-seat PC 4A (or 4B), it is not necessary to photograph the identifier code 11, so that, for example, the user creates an item “Create new mail for participants” from the right button menu (see FIG. 5). In this stage, a new address candidate may be created in the own PC 4A (or 4B). In addition, a mail transmission sheet in which a list of address candidates is displayed as a destination is displayed on the screen of the personal computer 4A (or 4B), and the user selects an address candidate to be transmitted from the list of address candidates. It is sufficient to make a selection.

<< Third Embodiment >>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The third embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the MFP 2 is used to send mail to a user (participant) who has processed a document. Therefore, in the following, this point will be mainly described, and description of the same or equivalent parts as those in the above embodiments will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the information processing system 100 ′ according to the third embodiment includes a mail server 1b, a document operation history management server 1c, multifunction peripherals 2 and 2 ′, and own PCs 4A and 4B. These components are connected to the intranet 6. Here, the multifunction peripherals 2 and 2 'have a function of transmitting an electronic mail to a PC or the like.

  Hereinafter, a mail transmission process performed by the information processing system 100 ′ configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 16A to 16E show display examples of screens (touch panels) provided in the multifunction machine 2, and FIG. 17 shows a flow of mail transmission processing. As a premise of this processing, the history tracking target document is already registered in the document operation history management server 1c, and the history tracking target document is identified by the ID (( It is assumed that it is printed on a paper medium together with the identifier code 11).

  First, in the information processing system 100 ′, a “scan & mail” menu screen as shown in FIG. 16A is displayed on the screen (touch panel) of the multifunction device 2. In this menu screen, an item of “destination designation email” in which a user designates a destination and sends an email, an item of “document ID email” in which an email is sent to a user involved in a document, and “ “Mail to user related to document” (this will be described later) is included.

  Next, when the item “document ID mail” is selected by the user on the screen of FIG. 16A, the MFP 2 displays the document ID on the screen as shown in FIG. A message prompting scanning of (identifier code 11) is displayed.

  Next, when the user presses a “start” button after the paper medium on which the document ID (identifier code 11) has been printed is set in the multi-function machine 2, the multi-function machine 2 displays the identifier code printed on the paper medium. 11 is scanned to read the document ID (see reference numeral (1) in the flow of FIG. 17).

  Next, the multifunction device 2 transmits a “related user search request (message)” to the document operation history management server 1c based on the document ID (see reference numeral (2) in FIG. 17), and receives this document operation history. The management server 1c extracts a document operation history set related to the document ID included in the message, extracts a user involved in the document operation from the document operation history set, and collects a user set (e-mail address set). ) Is calculated. Then, the user set (mail address set) is returned as a “related user search response (message)” to the MFP 2 (see reference numeral (3) in FIG. 17).

  In this case, the MFP 2 is grouped into, for example, “all persons involved in the document”, “document creator”, “document viewer”, “document owner”, and the like. Will be replied to.

  Next, in the MFP 2, based on the group of user sets (mail address set) returned from the document operation history management server 1c, as shown in FIG. The items “all viewers”, “creator”, and “all owners” are displayed. In this state, when the user selects at least one group and presses the “OK” button, the multifunction device 2 displays “transmission document” as shown in FIG. Display a message prompting you to scan.

  Here, the transmission document may be, for example, a paper medium in which the history tracking target document is subjected to addition and correction by handwriting or the like, or simply a message (for example, a message as described in FIG. 8D). The paper medium described may be used.

  Thereafter, when the user sets a transmission document (paper medium) in the multifunction device 2 and presses the “start” button, the multifunction device 2 scans the transmission document (see reference numeral (4) in FIG. 17). ), A mail (mail having a scanned transmission document as an attached file) is transmitted to the mail server 1b (see reference numeral (5) in FIG. 17). On the other hand, the mail server 1b transmits the mail (mail attached with the transmission document) sent from the MFP 2 to the transmission destination selected in FIG. 16C (reference numeral in FIG. 17). (See (6)).

  In this way, when the mail transmission by the mail server 1b is completed, the MFP 2 displays a transmission completion message on the screen as shown in FIG. Form processing ends.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the user can specify the work of specifying the user who performed the processing on the document (the user who has been involved in the document) or has been specified. It is possible to send an e-mail without obtaining the user's e-mail address and manually inputting it.

  In the third embodiment as well, the browsing tracking target document ID can be appended to the transmitted mail. Alternatively, the document reference URL may be appended to the mail.

  In the third embodiment, the case where mail transmission is performed using a multifunction device having a mail transmission function has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a mail having a mail communication function can be used to send mail. Transmission may also be performed.

  In the third embodiment as well, similar to the second embodiment, the exchange between the multifunction device 2 and the document operation history management server 1c is performed only once from the multifunction device 2 to the document operation history management server 1c. It is also possible to adopt a process that takes only the direction.

  Hereinafter, this processing will be specifically described based on FIGS. 18 (a) to 18 (e).

  First, a menu as shown in FIG. 18A is called on the screen of the multifunction device 2 by the user, and the user selects “Mail to user related to document” from the screen of the multifunction device 2. Then, the multi-function device 2 displays a message prompting the scanning of the identifier code 11 as shown in FIG. 18B on the screen.

  When the user sets a paper document in the multifunction device 2 according to this instruction and presses the “Start” button, the multifunction device 2 scans the paper document and reads the identifier code 11. The multifunction device 2 detects the document ID, creates address candidates including the filter information and the document ID as described above, and displays the list on the screen (see FIG. 18C).

  Thereafter, the user selects at least one address candidate from the list of address candidates in FIG. 18C (in FIG. 18C, the “viewed user” group is selected), and “determine” When the button is pressed, the multifunction device 2 displays a message prompting to scan the transmitted document together with the destination group (address candidate) on the screen (see FIG. 18D).

  After this display on the screen, when the user sets a transmission document (paper medium) in the multi-function device 2 and presses the “start” button, the multi-function device 2 scans the transmission document and then sends the mail server 1b. Send an email (email with the sent document as an attached file). In addition, the mail server 1b that has received this analyzes the address candidates described in the mail destination, identifies the user set (mail address set), and sends mail to the user set (mail address set). Send.

  In the present modification as well, as in the second embodiment, the outgoing mail server and the incoming mail server may be configured by separate devices. In this case, a process similar to the process shown in FIG. 14 (a process in which the process in the mobile phone 3 is replaced with the process in the multifunction machine 2) may be performed.

  The embodiment described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the information processing system of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the identifier code printed on the paper medium. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data handled with the information processing system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the right button menu displayed when a mouse | mouth right-clicks in own PC. It is a flow which shows the accumulation | storage process of document operation history. It is a flow which shows the mail transmission process from the mobile telephone to a document participant. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display of a mobile telephone in the process of FIG. It is a figure which shows the process of FIG. 7 typically. It is a figure which shows typically the mail transmission process based on the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is FIG. (1) which shows the example of a screen display of a mobile telephone in the mail transmission process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is FIG. (2) which shows the example of a screen display of a mobile telephone in the mail transmission process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the information processing system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flow which shows the mail transmission process in the modification of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the information processing system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a screen (touch panel) included in the multifunction peripheral of FIG. 15. It is a flow which shows the mail transmission process from the multifunction device to the document participant. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen (touch panel) which the multifunctional device concerning the modification of 3rd Embodiment has.

Explanation of symbols

1a Well mail server for mobile phones (part of transmission means)
1b Mail server (part of transmission means)
1c Document operation history management server (history acquisition means, address acquisition means, part of transmission means (address transmission means), target document setting means)
2 MFP (information terminal, part of transmission means (email transmission means))
3 Mobile phone (information terminal, part of transmission means (email transmission means))
4A Self-seat PC (information terminal, part of transmission means (email transmission means))
4B Self-seat PC (information terminal, part of transmission means (email transmission means))
11 Identifier code (code)
13 Camera

Claims (15)

A history acquisition means for acquiring a processing history by the user for the target document;
Address acquisition means for acquiring the mail address of the user who performed the processing based on the processing history;
Sending means for sending an e-mail to at least a part of the e-mail address obtained by the address obtaining means in response to an instruction based on the identifier by the information terminal that has read the identifier assigned to the target document; An e-mail delivery system comprising: The electronic mail delivery system according to claim 1, further comprising target document setting means for setting the target document from a plurality of documents. 3. The electronic mail distribution system according to claim 1, wherein when the target document is printed on a paper medium, the identifier code that can be recognized by the information terminal is also printed. The sending means selects a mail address to which the electronic mail is sent from the mail addresses acquired by the address acquisition means in response to an instruction based on the identifier recognized by the information terminal. The e-mail delivery system according to claim 3. The sending means is
Address transmitting means for transmitting the e-mail address acquired by the address acquiring means to the information terminal;
Mail transmitting means included in the information terminal, for selecting a mail address for transmitting the electronic mail from the mail addresses, and transmitting an electronic mail to the selected mail address. The e-mail delivery system according to claim 4. The address transmitting means divides the mail address into groups according to the contents of the user processing, and transmits the group to the information terminal.
6. The electronic mail distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the information terminal displays at least one set for transmitting the electronic mail from the plurality of groups in a selectable state. The e-mail delivery system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the address sending means sends the e-mail address to the information terminal in a concealed state. The sending means is
The e-mail distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the e-mail transmission contents transmitted from the information terminal are sent to the selected e-mail address together with an instruction from the information terminal. . The information terminal creates a plurality of temporary email addresses including filter information indicating the content of the process and document information of the target document, and includes the content of the processing among the plurality of temporary email addresses. In response, at least one temporary email address selected by the user is sent to the sending means,
The sending means sorts out an email address corresponding to at least one temporary email address selected by the user from the email address obtained by the address obtaining means, and for the selected email address, 9. The e-mail delivery system according to claim 8, wherein e-mail is sent. The information terminal is a mobile phone;
The e-mail delivery system according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the identifier code is taken by a camera of the mobile phone. The information terminal is a device having a scanner function,
The electronic mail distribution system according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein a document read by the scanner function can be attached to the electronic mail. The electronic mail distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information terminal is a personal computer. The electronic mail delivery system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein information on the target document is appended to the electronic mail. The e-mail according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a saving unit that saves the e-mail transmitted by the sending unit in a state that can be browsed by a user who newly performed processing on the target document. Distribution system. Obtaining a processing history by the user for the target document;
Obtaining the email address of the user who performed the processing based on the processing history;
Sending an e-mail to at least a part of the obtained e-mail address based on an identifier assigned to the target document.

Images