JP2009145937A - Email format conversion device, mobile communication terminal with the same, image forming device, email format conversion program and email format conversion method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an email format conversion device for providing an easy-to-understand email of a cellphone. <P>SOLUTION: This email format conversion device has: a mail storage part 4 storing the transmitted/received e-mail; and an image storage part 5 storing a transmitter image associated with a transmitter of the email. Mail texts in a plurality of email and the transmitter images associated with the respective email are combined to form cartoons having a plurality of time-series frames, and electronic data of the cartoons are output from an output part 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an e-mail format conversion apparatus that converts an e-mail format, a mobile communication terminal including the same, an image forming apparatus, an e-mail format conversion program, and an e-mail format conversion method.

  A communication device such as a mobile phone that transmits and receives an e-mail can store electronic data of the e-mail and output it when necessary. Thereby, the electronic data can be printed and the record of the email transmitted / received in the past can be left. E-mails are composed of text sentences, and are generally short sentences, so it is difficult to read them by printing them one by one on the paper in order.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that forms a single-frame comic by combining a mail text and an attached character image from an electronic mail. The formed cartoon electronic data is attached to an e-mail as an attached file so that past exchanges can be easily understood.

JP 2002-215533 A JP 2003-85572 A JP 2005-117527 A JP 2005-227810 A "A Study on Automatic Cartoon Generation from TVML Script" Proc. Of Information Processing Society of Japan (published in March 2001)

  However, according to the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a single-frame comic file attachment is created corresponding to each e-mail. For this reason, when recording a plurality of e-mails, since one frame is printed on one page, there is a problem that it is difficult to eliminate the difficulty of reading. In addition, there is a problem that paper is required for each e-mail, which is uneconomical.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail format conversion apparatus capable of collecting a plurality of e-mails economically and easily.

  In order to achieve the above object, an e-mail format conversion apparatus of the present invention includes a mail storage unit that stores transmitted and received e-mails, an image storage unit that stores a sender image associated with the sender of the e-mail, Is formed by composing a mail text in a plurality of e-mails and the sender image associated with each e-mail to form a comic in which a plurality of frames arranged in time series are arranged in one page It is characterized by outputting electronic data of manga.

  According to this configuration, sent and received e-mails are stored in the mail storage unit. The image storage unit stores in advance a sender image related to a member registered in an address book or the like, and a sender image related to the user himself / herself. A sentence included in the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage unit is combined with a sender image associated with the sender of the e-mail to form a single comic. Then, a plurality of comic strips are formed from the plurality of e-mails, and the electronic data of the comics composed of the plurality of frames are output. Based on the output electronic data, manga printing, screen display, and the like are performed.

  The present invention is also characterized in that, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, a comic frame is formed from two or more consecutive electronic mails transmitted and received. According to this configuration, one frame of a comic is formed by using two or more consecutive e-mails transmitted and received.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, electronic mail forming one comic frame is selected. According to this configuration, unnecessary e-mails are eliminated, and e-mails necessary for forming one frame of a comic are selected.

  According to the present invention, in the e-mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, the sender image is formed based on sender information when the sender image is not included in the image storage unit. According to this configuration, when the sender image associated with the sender image registered in advance in the address book or the like is not stored in the image storage unit, the sender is notified based on the sender information such as gender and age. An associated sender image is formed.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, the sender image is formed by an image acquired via a communication network based on sender information. According to this configuration, based on the sender information, a sender image related to the sender is formed by an image acquired via a communication network such as the Internet.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, the attached image attached to the electronic mail is further combined with a comic frame. According to this configuration, the attached image attached to the e-mail is further combined with a comic frame having a sender image.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device configured as described above, when the attached image is a moving image, a still image converted from the moving image is combined with a cartoon. According to this configuration, an attached image made up of a moving image is converted into a still image and synthesized into a comic frame.

  In the electronic mail format conversion device configured as described above, the present invention stores a phrase-related image associated with a specific phrase in advance in the image storage unit, and includes the phrase-related phrase when the phrase is included in a mail sentence in the email. The feature is that the image is a comic background. According to this configuration, an image associated with a specific word or phrase such as “Tokyo” is stored in the image storage unit in advance, and if a specific word or phrase is included in an e-mail message, the word or phrase related image related to this word or phrase is synthesized. Is done.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, a user can arbitrarily correct a comic image. According to this configuration, the user arbitrarily corrects the comic image.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, a longitude and latitude related image related to the longitude and latitude information in the electronic mail is further synthesized into a comic frame. According to this configuration, longitude and latitude images such as local images and facility images obtained from longitude and latitude information included in the e-mail are further combined into a comic frame. The longitude-latitude related image may be stored in the image storage unit in advance, or may be acquired from the outside via a communication network.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, the longitude-and-latitude related image is acquired by a communication network.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion apparatus configured as described above, the format of the electronic data is a file format that can be read by software on a personal computer, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or a copying apparatus.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, charging or user authentication is required at the time of use. According to this configuration, input of a user ID registered in advance, for example, is required when the e-mail format conversion device is activated. User authentication is performed via a telephone line or an Internet line by inputting the user ID.

  Further, when the electronic mail format conversion device is activated, for example, input of a personal identification number of the mobile terminal device is required. The entered password is communicated through a telephone line, etc., charged and settled together with the telephone fee. You may charge by entering a credit card number.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, charging is reduced or exempted by inserting an advertisement into the electronic data. According to this configuration, for example, the presence or absence of an advertisement is detected when electronic data formed by an e-mail format conversion device is output. If the predetermined advertisement is inserted into the comic, the provider of the e-mail format conversion device is contacted via the communication network, and charging is reduced or exempted.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device configured as described above, the insertion of the advertisement into the electronic data is essential when used. According to this configuration, for example, the presence or absence of an advertisement is checked when a comic formed by an e-mail format conversion device is output. When a predetermined advertisement is not inserted in the comic, the output of electronic data is restricted.

  According to the present invention, in the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration, the content of the advertisement is associated with at least one of a mail text in the electronic mail, an attached file of the electronic mail, or header information of the electronic mail. It is characterized by that.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that a current position is acquired by receiving a signal from a GPS satellite, and the longitude-latitude related image is related to longitude and latitude information in an e-mail and a current position of an e-mail recipient. To do. According to this configuration, the current position of the user obtained by a GPS receiving unit that receives a signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, and a latitude and longitude related information such as a map related to the transmission position of the sender by the longitude and latitude information Synthesized into a comic frame.

  A mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes the electronic mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention also includes a data input unit that receives the e-mail data stored in advance by the e-mail format conversion device having the above-described configuration and stores the data in the mail storage unit, and outputs and prints the electronic data. And a printing unit for printing on paper. According to this configuration, electronic data such as an electronic mail is received by the data input unit, and the electronic data is formed into comic electronic data by the electronic mail format conversion device. The comic electronic data is printed on the printing paper from the printing unit.

  Also, the e-mail format conversion program of the present invention combines a mail text in a plurality of sent and received e-mails and a sender image associated with the sender of each e-mail to form a plurality of frames arranged in time series. A comic placed on a page is formed, and electronic data of the formed comic is output.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an e-mail format conversion method comprising: a mail storage unit that stores transmitted and received e-mails; and an image storage unit that stores a sender image associated with a sender of the e-mail, and a plurality of e-mails The e-mail text and the sender image associated with each e-mail are combined to form a comic in which a plurality of frames arranged in time series are arranged in one page, and the electronic data of the formed comic is output It is characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, a sentence composed of a plurality of frames arranged in time series is formed by combining a sentence in a plurality of e-mails and a sender image associated with each e-mail, and electronic data of the formed comics is output. As a result, the record when the electronic mail is exchanged can be grasped in a form that is easy to understand visually and intuitively by printing the electronic data and displaying the screen. Accordingly, a plurality of electronic mails can be collected economically and easily read.

  Further, according to the present invention, a comic frame is formed from two or more consecutive e-mails transmitted and received, so that a comic frame can be formed in an interactive manner. Therefore, it is possible to collect e-mails more easily. Furthermore, the number of comic frames can be reduced. Thereby, the capacity of the storage file can be reduced, and the collected electronic mail can be easily read in a short time.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the e-mail forming one frame of the comic can be selected, the contents of the e-mail can be made easier to understand by eliminating the e-mail that is not intended by the user, In addition, the capacity of the saved file can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the sender image is not included in the image storage unit, the sender image can be formed based on the sender information, so that the sender image need not be stored in the e-mail format conversion device. The convenience of the e-mail format conversion device can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the sender image can be formed by the image acquired through the communication network based on the sender information, the sender image need not be stored in the email format conversion device, and the email format conversion can be performed. The convenience of the apparatus can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the attached image attached to the e-mail is further combined with the comic frame, the contents of the e-mail can be made easier to understand.

  According to the present invention, since the moving image attached to the e-mail is converted into a still image, even if the attached image is a moving image, it can be easily combined with a cartoon.

  Further, according to the present invention, the phrase-related image is synthesized with the comic background, so that the contents of the e-mail can be made easier to understand.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the user can arbitrarily modify the comic image, the user can change the image to a desired comic image and make the contents of the e-mail easier to understand.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the image related to the longitude and latitude information included in the e-mail is combined into a comic frame, the contents of the e-mail can be more easily understood.

  Further, according to the present invention, since information related to longitude and latitude information can be acquired from the communication network, it is not necessary to store the longitude and latitude information related image in the email format conversion device, and the convenience of the email format conversion device is improved. it can.

  Further, according to the present invention, the format of the electronic data can be read out by software on a personal computer, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or a copy apparatus, and can be easily browsed and printed on the apparatus.

  In addition, according to the present invention, at the time of use, charging revenue can be obtained or users can be selected by authenticating the user or authenticating the user.

  Further, according to the present invention, when an advertisement is inserted into the electronic data of comics, billing is reduced or exempted, so that the burden on the user can be reduced and used easily.

  Further, according to the present invention, since it is necessary to insert an advertisement into electronic data at the time of use, an advertising effect can be obtained.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the content of the advertisement is associated with at least one of the mail text in the email, the attached file of the email, or the header information of the email, the advertisement using the related information An effect can be obtained.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the longitude and latitude related image is related to the current position of the user acquired by the GPS receiver and the transmission position of the sender of the e-mail based on the longitude and latitude information, the route on the map connecting the two points Etc. can be added to the comics to make the contents of the e-mail easier to understand.

  According to the present invention, since the e-mail format conversion device is included in the mobile communication terminal, the e-mail format conversion device can be easily realized using the mail function of the mobile communication terminal.

  Further, according to the present invention, the electronic mail format conversion device is included in the image forming apparatus and prints the electronic data of comics output from the electronic mail format conversion device, so that the electronic data of comics can be printed and browsed easily. be able to.

  Further, according to the present invention, e-mail format conversion can be realized by a program. Since the program has circulation as an intangible object, the program can be easily operated on other devices. Then, the record when the electronic mail is exchanged can be grasped in a form that is easy to understand visually and intuitively by printing the electronic data and displaying the screen. Accordingly, a plurality of electronic mails can be collected economically and easily read.

  Further, by using the e-mail format conversion method of the present invention, a record when an e-mail is exchanged can be grasped in a form that is easily understandable visually and intuitively by printing electronic data and displaying the screen. Accordingly, a plurality of electronic mails can be collected economically and easily read.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal structure of a mobile phone 1 which is a mobile communication terminal provided with the electronic mail format conversion device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 1 collects a plurality of mails to form comic electronic data.

  The cellular phone 1 has a control unit 2 that controls the whole. Connected to the control unit 2 are a mail transmission / reception unit 3, a mail storage unit 4, an image storage unit 5, a data communication unit 6, a GPS reception unit 7, an electronic compass unit 8, a display unit 9, an operation unit 10, and an output unit 15. ing.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 3 transmits an e-mail created by the mobile phone 1 to the other party or receives an e-mail from the other party.

  The mail storage unit 4 stores the electronic mail transmitted / received by the mail transmission / reception unit 3. Examples of the mail text in the stored electronic mail include FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f) and FIG. The storage method of the mail storage unit 4 may be a memory or a hard disk built in the mobile phone 1. Further, it may be an external memory connected to the mobile phone device 1 from the outside. For the stored data, a storage method that is convenient for the user to use frequently may be adopted. For example, a cache function may be used.

  The image storage unit 5 stores a sender image as electronic data associated with an email sender. As the sender image, for example, a sender image as an email sender is stored as shown in FIGS. The sender image stored in the image storage unit 5 may be an avatar or the like uniquely set by the user. In addition to the sender image, as an example, a balloon image composed of the balloons of FIGS. 18A to 18E, a background image of FIGS. 19A to 19E, and transmissions of FIGS. 20A to 20G. A facial expression image representing the facial expression of the person image is stored.

  The image storage unit 5 stores phrase related images. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, images associated with specific words such as “Tokyo” and “Tokyo Tower” are stored. As shown in FIG. 22, the relationship between the phrase related image and the specific phrase can be added and edited by the operation unit 10. The image storage unit 5 also stores longitude and latitude related images such as tourist attractions and maps.

  The storage method of the image storage unit 5 may be a memory or a hard disk built in the mobile phone 1. Further, it may be an external memory connected to the mobile phone device 1 from the outside. For the stored data, a storage method that is convenient for the user to use frequently may be adopted. For example, a cache function may be used. The same storage method as the mail storage unit 4 may be used. The image stored in the image storage unit 5 may be in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional format. The image stored in the image storage unit 5 may be acquired via a network.

  The data communication unit 6 transmits / receives data to / from the outside, and includes a large amount data communication unit for large amount data communication and a small amount data communication unit for small amount data communication. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like is used as an interface of the mass data communication unit. A large amount of data can be downloaded from a personal computer or memory by mass data communication. The small amount data communication unit performs data communication via a line such as the Internet or a telephone line. The small amount data communication unit may be a dedicated line or a public line, and may be connected by wire or wirelessly. Packet communication, circuit switching, PIAFS (Personal Handyphone System Internet Access Forum Standard), etc. can be used as the line.

  The GPS receiver 7 receives signals from GPS satellites. The electronic compass unit 8 acquires direction information by the electronic compass function. The display unit 9 displays an image such as a mail text in an e-mail or an attached file of the e-mail. The display unit 9 also displays still images and moving images. The operation unit 10 operates the mobile phone 1 to transmit an e-mail or the like. The operation unit 10 may be substituted by using an external device.

  The output unit 15 outputs the electronic data synthesized by the control unit 2. If the electronic data is a still image, the output unit 15 outputs the still image as it is to a device such as a printer. When the electronic data includes a moving image, the output is output from the output unit 15 to the projector or the like while retaining the moving image information.

  2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 forms a comic by outputting the e-mails transmitted / received by the mail transmitting / receiving unit 3 by a program stored in a memory (not shown) and outputs the comic. In other words, the mobile phone 1 constitutes an e-mail format conversion device that converts the e-mail format and outputs it.

  In step S1, user authentication is performed. Authentication is performed via a telephone line or an Internet line by inputting a user ID. In order to maintain security, the communication path may be encrypted by a technique such as SSL or IPSEC.

  User authentication may be any of password authentication, IP address authentication, LDAP authentication, digest authentication, and the like. User authentication in step S1 may be omitted.

  Further, when using the e-mail format conversion device, charging may be performed together with authentication. For example, after the user authentication at the time of starting the electronic mail format conversion device, the input of the personal identification number of the mobile phone 1 is required. The entered password is communicated through a telephone line, etc., charged and settled together with the telephone fee. You may charge by entering a credit card number. Depending on the user authentication, the user ID may be associated with the password, and the input of the password may be omitted from the next time.

  In step S2, the range of the e-mail for creating the comic electronic data is designated. The mail storage unit 4 stores a series of electronic mail exchanges. The e-mail read from the e-mail storage unit 4 is displayed on the display unit 9 as shown in the display screens of FIGS. The user sends the screens of the display unit 9 in order and confirms them, and designates the start position (for example, FIG. 4A) and the end position (for example, FIG. 4F) of the e-mail for creating the comic from the operation unit 10. To do. Further, the start position and end position of the mail may be automatically determined from the title of the electronic mail, the transmission date and time, and the like. The display unit 9 may display a list of titles in the email and the first part of the email text.

  Further, in step S2, an e-mail forming one frame of the comic is selected. When specifying the range of e-mails for creating comic electronic data as a series of e-mail exchanges, include e-mail headers, e-mails from unrelated third parties, etc. For example, advertisement mails are excluded because they are not related to a series of exchanges. As an example of screening, it is limited to the specified sender's email address, or only for emails whose Message-ID described in the In-reply-to header of the email exists in the transmission history, and is related to a series of exchanges. Sort out if there is.

For example, as an e-mail, “[●● Shop discount information] is displayed between FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f).
●●●●● is 980 yen until tomorrow! Time bargain is being held! If there is an e-mail message from an e-mail with the content "(not shown), the e-mail address of the e-mail is not related to the e-mail address of a series of senders. Discarded as not being an email to form. In addition, since the Message-ID described in the In-reply-to header does not exist in the transmission history in the header of such a supplier's email, the email is discarded. As the email header, the presence or absence of relevance may be estimated based on the email From header, Message-ID header, In-Reply-To header, References header, and the like. Further, the user may be asked to confirm the selection decision.

  In step S 3, the range-designated e-mail is read from the mail storage unit 4. When the e-mail is read, the transmission date / time, title, longitude / latitude information, e-mail text, e-mail terminal information used, e-mail address, sender name, e-mail header information, presence / absence of attached file, file size, etc. Identified.

  In step S4, the e-mail address acquired in step S3 and the pre-registered address book are compared. For example, the address book as shown in FIG. 21 is stored in a memory or hard disk built in the mobile phone 1, but may be stored in the mail storage unit 4 or the image storage unit 5. In addition, the user can edit the contents of the address book from the operation unit 10 such as addition or deletion.

  In step S5, it is determined whether or not a sender image related to the sender corresponding to the mail address is registered. If the sender image is not registered, the process proceeds to step S6. If the sender image is registered, the corresponding sender image is acquired from the image storage unit 5, and the process proceeds to step S7. 6 and 7 show examples of sender images, which correspond to, for example, the senders of e-mails shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), respectively.

  In step S6, a sender image is formed according to a predetermined generation rule. A sample image may be stored in the image storage unit 5 in advance, and a sender image may be formed by selecting an image conforming to the generation rule from the sample image. As a generation rule, registration information in an address book as shown in FIG. 21 may be utilized to generate a male image for a male and a female image for a female.

  Furthermore, you may produce | generate by hobby, age, occupation, personality, birthplace, occupation, etc. The image to be generated is not limited to a person, and may be a landscape, a creature such as a dog, a cat, or a fish. Also, it may be formed in relation to the title of the e-mail or the context of the mail text. A sender image may be formed by information acquired via a communication network.

  In step S7, it is determined whether or not there is an attached file attached to the e-mail. If there is an attached file, the process proceeds to step S8. If there is no attached file, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S8, it is determined whether or not the attached image attached to the e-mail is a moving image. If it is a moving image, the process proceeds to step S9, and if it is a still image, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S9, the moving image is converted into a still image. As an example of a moving image format, an mpeg format, a RealMedia file format, an ASF file format, an AVI file format, a MOV file format, or the like can be used. Further, the attached file may be compressed, or may be an archive file in which a plurality of files are made into one file.

  As an example of converting a moving image into a still image, when there is a moving image as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, the moving images may be superimposed and displayed as one still image as shown in FIG. Further, it may be converted into a still image by a line indicating the operation as shown in FIG. Other applications or modules that convert to still images may be used.

  In step S10, it is determined whether the specific word / phrase is included in the mail text in the e-mail. When a specific word / phrase is included in the mail text in the e-mail, the process proceeds to step S11, and when not included, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S11, a phrase related image associated with a specific phrase is acquired.

  In step S12, it is determined whether the e-mail transmission / reception interval is within a predetermined range. If it is within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S15, and if it is outside the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, an image of one frame of a comic is formed. That is, the sender image read in step S5 or the sender image formed in step S6 is combined with the mail text in the e-mail. Further, the attached file acquired in step S7 or the phrase related image acquired in step S11 is further added to the comic frame and combined.

  For example, the mail text in the electronic mail shown in FIG. 5 and the sender image shown in FIG. 6 are combined to form one comic frame as shown in FIG. At this time, the sender image is arranged at one end in the frame frame, and the mail text is arranged in a rectangular or circular balloon provided on the opposite side to the sender image. The balloon is used by randomly acquiring the balloon images shown in FIGS. 18A to 18E from the image storage unit 5.

  4C and the sender image shown in FIG. 6 are combined to form one comic frame as shown in frame 102 in FIG. Similarly, the e-mail text in the e-mail shown in FIG. 4 (d) and the sender image shown in FIG. 7 are combined to form one comic frame as shown in frame 103 in FIG.

  Further, the still image of the attached file acquired in step S7 or step S9 is added and synthesized as a background. For example, the image of the attached file of the e-mail shown in FIG. 4 (e) is synthesized to form one comic frame as shown in the frame 104 of FIG.

  Further, if there is no attached file image, the phrase-related image acquired in step S11 is synthesized as a background. For example, a word-related image made up of images of Tokyo Tower related to the word “Tokyo” included in the e-mail shown in FIG. 4A is synthesized to form one comic frame as shown in frame 101 of FIG. Is done. When there is no attached file and phrase related image, the background of the comic frame may be formed as shown in FIG. 9 using the background image and background color of the e-mail as shown in FIG. If the e-mail shown in FIG. 5 is an HTML mail, the information specified by the tag in the e-mail, for example, <BODY bgcolor = “red”> and the tag specifies the background color red. The background color of FIGS. 8 and 9 may be red.

  In addition, facial expression images corresponding to predetermined pictograms are combined into comic frames. For example, as shown in FIG. 4C, when a heart-shaped pictograph is included in an e-mail message, the heart-shaped facial expression image of FIG. 20C is acquired. Then, as shown in the frame 102 of FIG. 10, a heart-shaped facial expression image is synthesized with the eyes of the sender image. Also, as shown in FIG. 4 (f), when a sweat pictogram is included in the e-mail message, the facial expression image of FIG. 20 (d) is acquired. Then, as shown in the frame 104 in FIG. 10, a facial expression image having a sweat shape is combined with the forehead portion of the sender image. Further, the facial expression image may be associated not only with pictographs but also with predetermined symbols and phrases.

  Further, a comic frame is further synthesized corresponding to a pictograph composed of an image including a specific phrase representing emotion. For example, as shown in a frame 103 in FIG. 10, corresponding to a pictograph made up of an image including a specific phrase representing an emotion such as “Eh !?” in the e-mail in the e-mail shown in FIG. Prominently synthesized into the background. Further, when the pictogram is used effectively, such as when the pictogram is used greatly or when an exclamation mark is used, an image effect that makes the sender image stand out is added as shown in the frame 103 of FIG. Is done. Further, the facial expression image may be associated not only with pictographs but also with predetermined symbols and phrases.

  In step S14, the formed image is temporarily stored. When storing, it is necessary to make the file name unique before the process is completed so that the file name does not overlap with other images. For example, a serial number may be added to the file name. In addition to the internal memory and hard disk of the electronic mail format conversion device, the mail storage unit 4 and the image storage unit 5 can be used as the storage destination.

  In step S16, it is determined whether it is the last e-mail in the range designated in step 2. If it is the last mail whose range is specified, the process proceeds to step S17. If it is not the last mail whose range is specified, the process proceeds to step S3. Then, steps S3 to S16 are repeated.

  If it is determined in step S12 that the sender / receiver interval is within a predetermined range, the e-mail and the sender image are combined with the previous frame image in step 15. That is, if the transmission / reception interval of continuous e-mails is within a predetermined range, it is determined that the relevance is deeply determined, and one comic frame is formed from two or more e-mails. Hereinafter, an example in which one frame of a comic is formed from two e-mails will be described.

  For example, the mail text shown in FIG. 4A and the sender image shown in FIG. 6 are combined with the mail text shown in FIG. 4B and the sender shown in FIG. The image is synthesized. As a result, a comic frame including two e-mails is formed as shown by the frame 101 in FIG.

  At this time, the layout of the image by the previous e-mail is corrected, and the images by the two e-mails are equally distributed to the left and right of the frame. In general, since comics are read from right to left, it is advisable to place the image from the previous e-mail on the right and the image from the e-mail on the left.

  Similarly, the mail text in the e-mail shown in FIG. 4 (f) is combined with the mail text in the e-mail shown in FIG. 4 (e) and the sender image shown in FIG. The person image is synthesized. As a result, a comic frame including two e-mails is formed as shown in the frame 104 of FIG. For example, when the orientation of the sender image shown in FIG. 6 can be changed along the conversation, it may be changed like the transmission image on the right side shown in the frame 104 of FIG.

  In step S12, it is determined that the relationship between the senders and the receivers of the continuous e-mails is within a predetermined range. However, the relationship may be determined based on other matters. For example, if the title of an email contains the same phrase, if the email text in the later email quotes the email text in the previous email, the later email is the reply email of the previous email In some cases, it can be determined that they are closely related to each other. Further, when the sender's position is included in the header of the e-mail or the like, it may be determined that the relevance is deep when the distance between the senders of both e-mails is short.

  Note that the file combined in step S15 is stored as one file together with the previous file. The file name may be secured by using the previous file name and a combined flag may be set. As a result, useless files can be eliminated and unnecessary memory and hard disk consumption can be reduced.

  In step S17, a plurality of images formed by repeating steps S3 to S16 are laid out, and a comic having a plurality of frames in one page is formed as shown in FIG.

  In step S18, an advertisement is inserted into the formed cartoon electronic data. For example, advertisements related to words and phrases included in the body of an email, advertisements related to attached file names, advertisements related to servers and software acquired by email header information, and areas near areas associated with longitude and latitude information An advertisement of an existing store is inserted. In addition, charging may be reduced or exempted by inserting an advertisement. At this time, advertisement insertion may be selected. Advertising advertisement effect can be obtained by inserting advertisements.

  In step S19, a manga composed of a plurality of frames laid out in step S17 is preview-displayed from the display unit 9.

  In step S20, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction from the user to correct the cartoon image. If no correction is required, the process proceeds to step S24. If correction is necessary, the process proceeds to step S21.

  In step S21, the comic image is corrected. The user looks at the preview displayed on the display unit 9 and corrects it from the operation unit 10. As an example of correction, the balloon images shown in FIGS. 18A to 18E and the background images shown in FIGS. 19A to 19E are exchanged.

  In step S22, it is determined whether or not the method modified by the user should be ruled. If it is stored as a rule, the process proceeds to step S23, and if it is not stored, the process proceeds to step 24.

  In step S23, the method corrected by the user is stored as a rule. The corrected method is determined as a rule suitable for the user, and this rule is automatically reflected from the next time. For example, when a balloon image as shown in FIG. 18B is selected, the image is prioritized from the next time.

  Also, the rule of the font size, the position of the sender image, etc. may be specified using HTML or XML tag information. The rules can be saved for each user of the e-mail format conversion device. Other rules can also be referenced and added or changed. This makes it possible to generate a cartoon image that the user desires and is easy to understand.

  In addition to the internal memory and hard disk of the electronic mail format conversion device, the mail storage unit 4 and the image storage unit 5 can be used as the storage destination of the correction rule.

  In step 24, the comic electronic data formed in step S18 or step S21 is output. The electronic data is output as a still image for printing on printing paper.

  The format of the electronic data may be any file format that can be read by software on a personal computer, printer, facsimile apparatus, or copy apparatus. For example, PDF format, HTML format, XML format, Microsoft (registered trademark) WORD format, SGML format, bitmap file format, JPEG format, PNG format, GIF format, TIFF format, PSD format, PS (Post Script) format, EPS Any format, INDD format, PICT format, Adobe Illustrator (registered trademark) file format, and metafile format may be applicable, but the present invention is not limited to these. Thereby, browsing and printing can be easily performed by software corresponding to each format.

  Note that a longitude and latitude related image related to the longitude and latitude information included in the e-mail may be formed and used as a background image of a comic frame. When the GPS device is provided in the communication device of the sender of the email received by the user, the longitude / latitude information is included in the format of the header of the email, the text of the email, or the attached file. The image storage unit 5 stores longitude and latitude related images related to longitude and latitude, and acquires longitude and latitude related images based on the longitude and latitude information of the sender.

  For example, an image of a tourist attraction or the like near the position transmitted by the sender as shown in FIG. 14 may be used as the longitude-latitude related image. Further, a map near the position transmitted by the sender as shown in FIG. 15 may be used as the longitude-latitude related information.

  In addition, the current position when the user receives the e-mail can be acquired by the GPS receiving unit 7. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 16, the route may be displayed from the position when the user receives the longitude and latitude image including the map near the position transmitted by the sender.

  Further, the compass image N may be displayed based on the direction information obtained by the electronic compass as shown in FIG. This makes it easier to understand the route on the map and make the contents of the e-mail easier to understand.

  Similarly, the e-mail transmitted by the user includes the longitude and latitude information received by the GPS receiver 7. Thereby, the longitude and latitude related image can be acquired based on the longitude and latitude information of the position transmitted by the user. At this time, the direction acquired by the electronic compass 8 may be included in the header information of the e-mail, and an image of a tourist attraction in the direction acquired by the electronic compass 8 may be acquired from the position transmitted by the user.

  Further, the direction in which the sender is standing may be calculated to obtain an image of a building or the like behind the sender. Here, images of buildings, etc. are, for example, when XX bank and △△ bank are located across the road, and the sender is standing back to XX bank, If you are standing facing the bank, the image of the building with the bank on the opposite side is applicable. The sender may be the reverse of the user (recipient).

  The longitude-latitude related image may be acquired via a communication network.

  According to the present embodiment, the mail texts in the plurality of e-mails shown in FIGS. 4A to 4F and the sender images associated with each e-mail shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are synthesized in time series. Since the electronic data of comics in which multiple frames are arranged in one page are output, the records when electronic mail is exchanged can be easily understood visually and intuitively by printing the electronic data and displaying it on the screen. Can be grasped.

  Further, since one frame of a comic is formed from two consecutive e-mails shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B as shown in frame 101 of FIG. 10, the e-mails can be grouped more easily. Furthermore, the number of comic frames can be reduced. Thereby, the capacity of the storage file can be reduced, and the collected electronic mail can be easily read in a short time. Further, it may be formed from one or more e-mails into one comic frame.

  In the present embodiment, when a moving image is attached to an attached file, comic data corresponding to a comic frame may be included in the comic electronic data. Thereby, when cartoon electronic data is output to a display such as a television receiver, it can be viewed as a moving image. Furthermore, if the output device supports a tag used in a browser or the like, the tag included in the mail text in the e-mail may be used for display.

  Next, FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an image forming apparatus including an electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to the second embodiment. Compared with the block diagram of FIG. 1, the mail transmission / reception unit 3 is replaced with a data input unit 22 and a printing unit 23 is provided. Since the image forming apparatus is not normally carried, the GPS receiving unit 7 and the electronic compass unit 8 are omitted.

  The data input unit 22 receives a plurality of electronic mail data and image data electronic data stored in a mobile phone or the like from the outside. As an example of an electronic data input method, it is input from a network such as a USB memory or a LAN. The e-mail input from the data input unit 22 is stored in the mail storage unit 4. The image data input from the data input unit 22 is stored in the image storage unit 5.

  The printing unit 23 prints the electronic data output from the output unit 15 on printing paper.

  Electronic data such as an electronic mail is received and stored in the mail storage unit 4. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the electronic data stored in the mail storage unit 4 is converted by the electronic mail format conversion device to form comic electronic data, which is output to the printing unit 23. The electronic data of the comic is printed from the printing unit 23 on the printing paper.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, there exists an effect similar to 1st Embodiment. Moreover, the mail text in the e-mail can be printed visually and intuitively in a form that is easy to understand simply by inputting electronic data of the e-mail. Also, since it is printed directly on paper, it can be easily browsed at any time without losing browsing due to equipment failure. By inputting the date for each frame or page when outputting, the e-mail text can be synthesized in the form of a comic album, which can be viewed and saved in a more understandable form.

  In the first and second embodiments, the mail format conversion device is mounted on a mobile phone or an image forming apparatus as a mobile communication terminal, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be mounted on another device.

  According to the present invention, it can be used for a mobile portable terminal such as a cellular phone and a PDA. Further, it can be used for home-use printers, copy machines, convenience stores, etc., multi-function copiers, facsimile machines, projectors, television receivers, and the like.

The block diagram showing the structure of the mobile telephone provided with the electronic mail format conversion apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. E-mail message received by the mobile phone according to the first embodiment of the present invention E-mail message received by the mobile phone according to the first embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows an example of the sender image in the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the sender image in the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the moving image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the still image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the still image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the synthesized image using the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the speech balloon image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the background image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the facial expression image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the address book used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the related menu of the phrase related image used with the mobile telephone of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram showing the structure of the image forming apparatus provided with the electronic mail format conversion apparatus of 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 2 Control part 3 Mail transmission / reception part 4 Mail storage part 5 Image storage part 6 Data communication part 7 GPS receiving part 8 Electronic compass part 9 Display part 10 Operation part 15 Output part 21 Image forming apparatus 22 Data input part 23 Printing part

Claims (21)

A mail storage unit for storing sent and received emails;
An image storage unit for storing a sender image associated with an email sender;
Is formed by composing a mail text in a plurality of e-mails and the sender image associated with each e-mail to form a comic in which a plurality of frames arranged in time series are arranged in one page An e-mail format conversion device for outputting electronic data of comics.   2. The e-mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a comic frame is formed from two or more consecutive e-mails transmitted and received.   3. The e-mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein e-mails forming one frame of the comic are selected.   4. The e-mail format conversion device according to claim 1, wherein when the sender image is not included in the image storage unit, the sender image is formed based on sender information.   5. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sender image is formed by an image acquired via a communication network based on sender information.   6. The e-mail format conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the attached image attached to the e-mail is further combined with a comic frame.   7. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the attached image is a moving image, a still image converted from the moving image is combined with a comic.   2. The phrase-related image associated with a specific phrase in advance is stored in the image storage unit, and the phrase-related image is used as a comic background when the phrase is included in a mail sentence in an e-mail. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 7.   9. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a user can arbitrarily correct a comic image.   6. The e-mail format conversion device according to claim 1, further comprising: compositing a longitude-latitude related image related to longitude and latitude information in the e-mail into a comic frame.   The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the longitude-and-latitude related image is acquired by a communication network.   12. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic data format is a file format that can be read by software on a personal computer, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or a copying apparatus. .   13. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein billing or user authentication is required at the time of use.   14. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 13, wherein billing is reduced or exempted by inserting an advertisement into the electronic data.   15. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the advertisement must be inserted into the electronic data when used.   16. The content of the advertisement is associated with at least one of a mail text in an email, an email attachment, or email header information. E-mail format conversion device.   11. The current position is obtained by receiving a signal from a GPS satellite, and the longitude and latitude related image is related to longitude and latitude information in an e-mail and a current position of a recipient of the e-mail. The electronic mail format conversion apparatus according to claim 11. A mobile communication terminal comprising the electronic mail format conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 17.   The electronic mail format conversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein a data input unit that receives pre-stored electronic mail data and stores the data in the mail storage unit, and outputs the electronic data An image forming apparatus comprising: a printing unit that prints on printing paper.   Composing a mail text in a plurality of sent and received e-mails and a sender image associated with the sender of each e-mail to form a comic in which a plurality of frames arranged in time series are arranged in one page, An e-mail format conversion program that outputs electronic data of a formed comic. A mail storage unit for storing sent and received emails;
An image storage unit for storing a sender image associated with an email sender;
Is formed by composing a mail text in a plurality of e-mails and the sender image associated with each e-mail to form a comic in which a plurality of frames arranged in time series are arranged in one page An electronic mail format conversion method characterized by outputting electronic data of a cartoon.