JP2012048426A - Data volume reduction method, data volume reduction program and data volume reduction device for e-mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide data volume reduction techniques capable of automatically changing a data volume reduction rate according to a communication speed in a network environment of an e-mail receiver.SOLUTION: A data volume reduction device acquires a communication speed between a server and a client connected with the server via a network, refers to a data volume reduction rate setting table storing a data volume reduction rate of an e-mail including attached files for the communication speed, determines the data volume reduction rate for the acquired communication speed, changes an e-mail specified by an e-mail reception request received from the client with the determined data volume reduction rate, and transmits the changed e-mail to the client.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail data amount reduction technique.

  Email attachments are large in size and may take time to receive depending on the network environment.

  In contrast, technologies that reduce the amount of data within a range that can be outlined by methods such as summarization, thumbnailing, partial segmentation, and compression of electronic data such as text, word processing documents, images, audio, and moving images, and attachment files on the Web ( Technology combined with technology that saves only necessary attachments by adding information such as URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to save attachments on the World Wide Web (server) and accessing them. Has been proposed. According to this, first, the mail server creates a summary mail that has been processed to reduce the amount of data from the mail text and attached file, the recipient receives the summary mail, and if necessary, the original data before the data volume reduction is sent to the Web server. It becomes possible to receive from.

  Furthermore, a technique for changing the data amount reduction rate in accordance with the importance set by the sender and the amount of stored mail when creating this summary mail is also considered.

JP 2005-44165 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-199983 JP 2000-299699 A

  However, when a mail is received by a PC (Personal Computer), there is a large difference in communication speed depending on the network environment used (in-house LAN (Local Area Network), dial-up, etc.). Therefore, even if the data amount of the summary mail is reduced according to the network environment using the above-described conventional technology, the data amount and the data content as a result of the reduction are not necessarily those according to the network environment of the recipient. .

  Therefore, the present invention provides a mail data amount reduction technique capable of performing a process of changing the data amount reduction rate according to the communication speed of the recipient's network environment when creating a summary mail on the mail server. To do.

  One aspect of the invention is a data amount in which a communication speed from a server to a client connected to the server via a network is acquired and a data amount reduction rate of an e-mail including an attached file with respect to the communication speed is stored. Referring to the reduction rate setting table, the data amount reduction rate for the acquired communication speed is determined, and the e-mail specified by the mail reception request received from the client is summarized by the determined data amount reduction rate. And a method of reducing the amount of email data in a server, wherein the summarized email is transmitted to the client.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the server reduces the data amount of the electronic mail including the attached file, the data amount reduction rate is automatically adjusted according to the network environment of the recipient. Therefore, it is possible to prevent useless data from being received when the network line is thin. Also, when the line is thick and there is no need to reduce the amount of data, the trouble of acquiring the original data after receiving the summary mail can be saved.

It is a figure which shows one basic composition of the received mail processing system which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the recipient environment table which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the data amount reduction rate setting table which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the basic flow of the received mail process in the server which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the response processing flow of the mail reception request | requirement which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the hardware of the server which becomes embodiment of this invention.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a received mail processing system according to the present invention. The received mail processing system has a client 2 and a server 1 which are computers connected to each other via a network. The client 2 has mail software 20 and a web browser 21 installed therein, and has a mail receiving unit 22 that receives mail distributed from the server 1 and an original data acquisition unit 23 that acquires and displays original data of the mail.

  The original data acquisition unit 23 plays a role of receiving attached files such as a mail text, a word processor document, and an image before the data amount reduction stored in the mail original data 103 according to the needs of the recipient.

  The server 1 is a computer in which mail software is installed. The mail receiving unit 16 that receives the mail created and transmitted by the other client 2 ′, extracts the mail text and the attached file, saves it in the storage unit as the mail source data 103, and receives the stored data from the Web server. It has an original data extraction unit 17 that adds information such as a URL for downloading to a mail, and an original data distribution unit 18 that transmits the mail original data 103 to the client 2. Here, in response to a request from the client 2, the original data distribution unit 18 transmits the data stored in the mail original data 103 to the client 2 as it is without processing it.

  Further, the server 1 reduces the data amount of the mail including the attached file based on the recipient environment table 100, and saves the mail including the attached file after the reduction as a summary mail in the mailbox 102; The response unit 11 transmits a summary mail obtained by performing reduction processing on the request from the client 2 to the client 2.

  Further, the response unit 11 includes a communication speed acquisition unit 12, a reduction rate update unit 13, and a summary mail transmission unit 14.

  The communication speed acquisition unit 12 first calculates the communication speed in the network with the client 2 from the processing time when the summary mail transmission unit 14 sends mail to the client 2 and the data size of the mail. Next, the data amount reduction rate with respect to the acquired communication speed is determined with reference to the data amount reduction rate setting table 101 storing the data amount reduction rate of the e-mail including the attached file, and the data reduction rate for each recipient is determined. The data amount reduction rate in the receiver environment table 100 that manages the data is updated. The reduction rate update unit 13 executes the data amount reduction rate update processing only when the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the client 2 is different from the previous access time.

  Further, the summary mail transmission unit 14 transmits a summary mail with a reduced data amount created by the summary mail creation unit 15 and stored in the mail box 102 in response to a reception request from the client 2.

  With the configuration of the present invention, when the server 1 reduces the data amount of the electronic mail including the attached file, the data amount reduction rate is adjusted according to the network environment of the recipient. As a result, when the network line between the server 1 and the client 2 is thin, it is possible to prevent the client 2 from receiving data having a large amount of data and taking time to receive, and when the network line is thick, the client 2 is necessary. The trouble of acquiring the original data can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 6 described later, the server 1 and the client 2 are computers having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and the program of each processing unit stored in the auxiliary storage unit is stored in the memory at the time of activation. Expanded and executed by the CPU.

  FIG. 2 shows the data structure of the recipient environment table of the present invention. The recipient environment table 100 includes items of “user account” of the mail recipient, “IP address” of the client 2 that is the mail transmitting / receiving terminal, and “data amount reduction rate (%)” of the e-mail including the attached file. Consists of multiple records. For example, in the second record, “suzuki.m” as “user account”, “111.22.2.1.17” as “IP address”, and “25” as “data amount reduction rate (%)”. It is recorded.

  FIG. 3 shows a data structure of a data amount reduction rate setting table according to the embodiment of the present invention. The data amount reduction rate setting table 101 is for setting the data amount reduction rate of the mail in the network environment with the client 2 in advance. The “network“ communication speed (kbps) ”and the email including the attached file It consists of a plurality of records consisting of the item “Data amount reduction rate (%)”. For example, in the second record, a data amount reduction rate of 25% is set in a network environment having a communication speed in the range of 1000 to 1999 kbps.

  FIG. 4 shows a basic flow of received mail processing in the server of the present invention. First, in step S <b> 1, the summary mail transmission unit 14 transmits the requested received mail to the client 2. In step S <b> 2, the communication speed acquisition unit 13 acquires the communication speed with the client 2 in the network environment. The communication speed at this time is calculated as communication speed = [mail data size] / [reception end date-reception start date / time] from the data size of the mail transmitted in step S1 and the mail reception processing time. The reception start date and time is the date and time when the response unit 11 received the mail request command (RETR) from the client 2, and the reception end date and time is the next command (RETR (reception), DELE (deletion), QUIT (end) command, etc.).

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the reduction rate update unit 13 refers to the data amount reduction rate setting table 101 in which the data amount reduction rate with respect to the communication speed is set in advance, and corresponds to the communication rate calculated in the network with the client 2. The data amount reduction rate is converted into the data amount reduction rate, and the data amount reduction rate in the receiver environment table 100 is updated.

  Thereafter, when a new mail arrives, in step S 4, the summary mail creation unit 15 creates a summary mail with reference to the data amount reduction rate in the recipient environment table 100 and stores it in the mailbox 102. Next, in step S <b> 1 in the next reception process, the summary mail transmission unit 14 sends the summary mail created in step S <b> 4 to the client 2.

  Thereafter, in the same manner, communication speed acquisition, data amount reduction rate update, outline mail creation, and outline mail transmission are repeated.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a network used by a recipient is changed, it is possible to automatically change to an appropriate data amount reduction rate of e-mail according to the communication speed of the network environment.

  FIG. 5 shows the details of the response processing flow of the mail reception request of the present invention. First, in step S11, the response unit 11 accepts an incoming mail request command from the client 2, and acquires the IP address of the client 2 used by the recipient in step S12. Subsequently, in step S13, the IP address is acquired by referring to the recipient environment table 100. At this time, the IP address at the previous access is recorded in the recipient environment table 100.

  In step S14, it is determined whether or not the IP address acquired this time is the same as the previous IP address. If they are the same, the summary mail transmission unit 14 transmits the requested mail to the client 2 in step S15.

  If the IP addresses are different in the determination process of step S14, the reduction rate update unit 12 updates the recipient environment table 100 with the current IP address in step S16, and the current date and time (reception start date and time) in step S17. Record the amount of request mail data. Then, in step S18, the summary mail transmission unit 14 transmits the mail requested from the client 2, and in step S19, the client 2 issues the mail request command in step S11 issued after the completion of mail reception. In step S20, the current date and time (the reception end date and time) is recorded.

  Next, in step S21, the communication speed acquisition unit 12 calculates the communication speed from the start date / time, end date / time, and data amount. In step S22, the reduction rate update unit 13 acquires the data amount reduction rate corresponding to the communication speed from the data amount reduction rate setting table 101, and updates the data amount reduction rate of the receiver in the receiver environment table 100. Then, this flow is finished.

  In this way, for the first received mail when the network is changed, the summary mail with the data reduced according to the communication speed in the previous network is received, but the data amount reduction rate is set according to the communication speed at that time Is updated, and the size of new mail after that becomes appropriate. The timing for measuring the communication speed may be the time when a mail reception request is received or the time when a mail is transmitted last time.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the data amount of an electronic mail including an attached file is reduced, the data amount reduction rate is adjusted according to the network environment of the recipient. As a result, when the network line between the server 1 and the client 2 is thin, it is possible to prevent the client 2 from receiving data that requires a large amount of data and takes time to receive. On the other hand, the client 2 is necessary when the network line is thick. It is possible to reduce the time and effort required to acquire original data.

  FIG. 6 shows a hardware configuration example of the server of the present invention. The server 1 includes a CPU 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a communication unit 2004, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205, an input unit 206, a medium reading unit 207, and a display unit 208. Each part is connected to each other via a bus 209. Each unit can send and receive data to and from each other under the control of the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 is a central processing unit that controls operation of the entire server 1. The communication unit 204 receives a signal from another computer and passes the content of the signal to the CPU 201. Further, the communication unit 204 transmits a signal to another computer in response to an instruction from the CPU 201.

  For example, the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 205 causes the computer to execute each process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 as a program that causes the computer to perform the same function as the data reduction unit 10 described in the present embodiment. The program is stored. The CPU 201 reads out this program from the HDD 205 and executes it so that the computer functions as the data amount reduction unit 10, the mail reception unit 16, the original data extraction unit 17, and the original data distribution unit 18 shown in FIG. Become. This program may be stored in the ROM 202 or the RAM 203 accessible by the CPU 201.

  Furthermore, the HDD 205 stores various types of information as storage units such as the recipient environment table 100 and the data amount reduction setting table 101 illustrated in FIG. Similar to the program, each piece of information may be stored in the ROM 202 or the RAM 203 accessible by the CPU 201. The input unit 206 receives data input under the control of the CPU 201.

  For example, the program describing the processing contents shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory. Magnetic recording devices include HDDs, flexible disks (FD (Flexible Disk)), magnetic tapes (MT (Magnetic Tape)), and the like. Optical disks include DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), DVD-RAM, CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, CD-R (Recordable) / RW (ReWritable), and the like. Magneto-optical recording media include MO (Magneto-Optical disk). When this program is distributed, for example, a portable recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM in which the program is recorded may be sold.

  In the computer that executes the program, the medium reading unit 207 reads the program from, for example, a recording medium that records the program describing the processing content shown in the flowchart of FIG. The CPU 201 stores the read program in the HDD 205, ROM 202, or RAM 203. The computer reads the program from the HDD 205, the ROM 202, or the RAM 203, which is its own storage device, and executes processing according to the program.

  Note that the hardware configuration of the client 2 will be described as a computer having the same hardware configuration as the server 1 described above.

  Application to servers that automatically adjust the rate of mail data reduction due to network environments.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server 2 Client 2 'Other client 10 Data amount reduction part 11 Response part 12 Communication speed acquisition part 13 Reduction rate update part 14 Outline mail transmission part 15 Outline mail creation part 16 Mail reception part 17 Original data extraction part 18 Original data distribution part 20 Mail Software 21 Web Browser 22 Mail Receiving Unit 23 Original Data Acquisition Unit 100 Receiver Environment Table 101 Data Amount Reduction Rate Setting Table 102 Mailbox 103 Mail Original Data 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 Communication unit 205 HDD
206 Input unit 207 Medium reading unit 208 Display unit 209 Bus

Claims (4)

Get the communication speed from the server to the client connected to the server via the network,
Refer to the data amount reduction rate setting table in which the data amount reduction rate of the e-mail including the attached file with respect to the communication speed is stored, determine the data amount reduction rate with respect to the acquired communication speed,
Changing the email specified by the email reception request received from the client based on the determined data amount reduction rate;
A method for reducing the amount of email data in a server, wherein the changed email is transmitted to the client.   The acquisition is characterized in that the communication speed is calculated on the basis of the amount of data transmitted to the client during a period from the mail reception request command received from the client to the time when the next command is received. Item 2. The method for reducing the amount of e-mail data according to Item 1. Get the communication speed from the server to the client connected to the server via the network,
Refer to the data amount reduction rate setting table in which the data amount reduction rate of the e-mail including the attached file with respect to the communication speed is stored, determine the data amount reduction rate with respect to the acquired communication speed,
Changing the email specified by the email reception request received from the client based on the determined data amount reduction rate;
An e-mail data amount reduction program executed by a server, wherein the changed e-mail is transmitted to the client. A communication speed acquisition unit for acquiring a communication speed from a server to a client connected to the server via a network;
A reduction rate update unit that determines the data amount reduction rate with respect to the acquired communication speed with reference to a data amount reduction rate setting table in which the data amount reduction rate of an email including an attached file with respect to the communication speed is stored;
An e-mail identified by the e-mail reception request received from the client, based on the determined data amount reduction rate;
A summary mail sending unit for sending the changed email to the client;
An apparatus for reducing the amount of e-mail data in a server.

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