JP2014032570A - Transmission device, control method for transmission device, control program, and computer readable recording medium with control program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit a content when a receiver is presumed to be in a state suitable for reception.SOLUTION: A transmission device 1 comprises: a use date-and-time acquisition unit 12 that acquires, from a service providing device 300, a use date and time at which a service provided by the service providing device 300 is last used with an account assigned to a user who uses the service stored in a storage unit 6 in association with a communication address specified as a transmission destination of a content; and a mail transmission unit 14 that transmits the content to a reception device 100 when an elapsed time from the use date and time to the present is equal to or shorter than a predetermined threshold.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transmission device or the like that transmits content to a reception device.

  When a mobile information processing terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone receives a mail, it immediately rings a ringtone, vibration, etc., and notifies the user of the information processing terminal that the mail has been received. have. This is a function in accordance with the characteristics of a portable information processing terminal that can be carried and always powered on. Since this function is provided, unlike a stationary information processing terminal, the user does not need to bother to check e-mail regularly.

  However, when mail is transmitted to such an information processing terminal, the ringing operation of the information processing terminal on the receiving side may be inconvenient for the receiver. For example, when the receiver is sleeping, there is a possibility that the sleep of the receiver may be disturbed by the ringing accompanying the incoming call of the information processing terminal of the receiver. In addition, when a user is on duty, taking a test at school, driving a car, etc., ringing associated with an incoming call can be inconvenient for the user.

  For the above problem, the receiver can take measures to turn off the ringing function, such as setting the information processing terminal to the manner mode. However, the sender cannot know whether the information processing terminal of the receiver is currently set to the manner mode. In addition, it is difficult for the recipient to know whether there is no problem even if he / she receives the mail.

  Specifically, it may be difficult to estimate the status of the recipient, for example, when the recipient is in an industry with irregular working hours or when the recipient is overseas. Therefore, for example, even if the sender wants to send an email at midnight, the sender must be aware of the status of the recipient, such as sending an email the next morning, because he / she is concerned that the recipient will be inconvenienced. There was annoyance.

  Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are disclosed regarding a technique for transmitting mail in consideration of the state on the receiving side.

  In Patent Document 1, when the transmitting mobile phone device transmits a mail in which the mute designation information is added to the mail body to the relay server, and the mute designation control information is included in the received mail, the mute setting is set. A signal in which information is set is added to the mail body and transmitted to the mobile phone device, and the mobile phone device controls the ringtone to not ring when receiving a mail sent with the mute designation information added. A telephone system is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a communication device that transmits a mail after confirming the reception state of the recipient's communication device prior to mail transmission.

JP 2006-115124 A (published April 27, 2006) JP 2003-78649 A (published March 14, 2003)

  The invention according to Patent Document 1 is required to have a function of not ringing a ringtone when a recipient's mobile phone device receives an email with mute designation information added. Therefore, the sender needs to know in advance that the recipient's mobile phone device has the function, and then send the mail.

  The invention according to Patent Document 2 transmits a mail only when the mail surely reaches the recipient, and does not consider the convenience of the recipient. Therefore, even if the recipient is in an unfavorable situation, if the mail is surely delivered to the recipient, the mail is transmitted to the recipient. Therefore, the problem that the communication device of the recipient rings when the recipient is in an unfavorable situation cannot be solved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transmission device that transmits content when it is assumed that the receiver is in a situation suitable for reception.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a transmission device according to the present invention is a transmission device that transmits content to a reception device, the account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by the service providing device, and the reception A storage unit that stores a communication address that identifies a device in association with each other, and a use in which the service is most recently used in an account that is stored in the storage unit in association with a communication address that is designated as a content transmission destination The content is transmitted to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address when the acquisition means for acquiring the date and time from the service providing device and the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the present time are less than or equal to a predetermined threshold And a transmission means.

  The transmission apparatus control method according to the present invention is a transmission apparatus control method for transmitting content to a reception apparatus, wherein the transmission apparatus is an account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by a service providing apparatus. And a communication unit that identifies and stores the communication address for identifying the receiving device, and stores the service using the account stored in the storage unit in association with the communication address designated as the content transmission destination. An acquisition step of acquiring the most recently used date and time from the service providing device, and a receiving device identified by the specified communication address when the elapsed time from the acquired usage date and time is less than a predetermined threshold And a transmission step of transmitting content.

  According to the above configuration, the transmitting device stores an account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by the service providing device and a communication address that identifies the receiving device in association with each other. When the transmission device transmits content, the usage date and time when the service was most recently used is acquired from the service providing device with an account stored in association with the communication address designated as the content transmission destination. The transmission device transmits the content to the reception device identified by the designated communication address when the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the current time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold.

  Here, when the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the present time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the user of the receiving device is immediately after using the service, for example, during work, during testing, during sleeping, and It is not considered to be driving. Therefore, at the present time, it is presumed that the user of the receiving apparatus is in a situation suitable for receiving content.

  Therefore, when it is estimated that the user of the receiving device is in a situation suitable for reception, the content can be transmitted to the receiving device.

  Further, when the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the transmission means waits for transmission of content to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address, and the acquisition means waits for the waiting time. When the predetermined period has elapsed from the service providing apparatus, the transmission means acquires the usage date and time again, and the transmission means further determines that the elapsed time from the newly acquired usage date and time to the present is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold. It is preferable that the standby content is transmitted to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address.

  According to the above configuration, when the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold, the transmission device waits for content transmission to the reception device identified by the designated communication address. Then, the transmission device obtains the use date and time again from the service providing device when a predetermined period has elapsed since the standby. Thereafter, when the elapsed time from the newly acquired use date and time to the present time is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the transmitting device further sends the waiting content to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address. Send.

  Therefore, after the predetermined period has elapsed since the standby, the transmitting device acquires the usage time again, determines whether the user of the receiving device has used the service most recently, and is used most recently. If so, the transmitting device transmits the content to the receiving device.

  Therefore, the transmitting apparatus can stand by for the transmission of content while it is estimated that the user of the receiving apparatus is not in a situation suitable for reception.

  Further, the transmission means transmits the content to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address when the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold and the elapsed time has passed the predetermined date and time. Is preferred.

  According to the above configuration, when the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold value and the elapsed time has passed the predetermined date and time, the transmitting device is connected to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address. Send content.

  Therefore, even if the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold, the transmitting device forcibly transmits the content to the receiving device when the elapsed time reaches the predetermined date and time.

  Therefore, even if the situation where the user of the receiving apparatus is not suitable for reception continues, the transmitting apparatus can transmit the content at the predetermined date and time at the latest.

  Furthermore, the transmission device according to the present invention further includes an operation unit that receives a user operation, and a generation unit that generates content according to the operation received by the operation unit, wherein the transmission unit is generated as described above. The content is preferably transmitted to the receiving device.

  According to said structure, the said transmission apparatus can receive a user's operation, can produce | generate a content according to the accepted operation, and can transmit the said produced | generated content to the said receiving apparatus.

  Therefore, the transmission device has an effect that the content created by the user can be transmitted to the reception device when it is estimated that the user of the reception device is in a situation suitable for reception. Note that the content created by the user is, for example, an electronic mail. Emails, except those that are highly urgent, need only be readable by the recipient.

  The transmission apparatus may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program for the transmission apparatus for causing the transmission apparatus to be realized by the computer by causing the computer to operate as the respective means, and recording the program. Such computer-readable recording media also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the transmission device according to the present invention is a transmission device that transmits content to the reception device, and identifies the account assigned to the user who uses the service provided by the service providing device and the reception device. A storage unit that associates and stores a communication address and a use date and time that the service was most recently used in an account that is stored in the storage unit in association with a communication address designated as a content transmission destination. An acquisition unit that acquires from a service providing device; and a transmission unit that transmits content to a reception device identified by the specified communication address when an elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the present is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. It is characterized by having.

  The transmission apparatus control method according to the present invention is a transmission apparatus control method for transmitting content to a reception apparatus, wherein the transmission apparatus is an account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by a service providing apparatus. And a communication unit that identifies and stores the communication address for identifying the receiving device, and stores the service using the account stored in the storage unit in association with the communication address designated as the content transmission destination. An acquisition step of acquiring the most recently used date and time from the service providing device, and a receiving device identified by the specified communication address when the elapsed time from the acquired usage date and time is less than a predetermined threshold And a transmission step of transmitting content.

  Here, when the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the present time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the user of the receiving device is immediately after using the service. It is assumed that.

  Therefore, the transmitting device has an effect of being able to transmit content to the receiving device when it is assumed that the user of the receiving device is in a situation suitable for reception.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the transmission system containing the transmission apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the flow of the process in the said transmission system. It is the sequence diagram which showed another example of the flow of the process in the said transmission system.

  One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

(System overview)
An overview of a transmission system 900 including the transmission device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmission system 900 including the transmission device 1. In addition to the transmission device 1, the transmission system 900 includes at least a reception device 100, a network 200, and a service providing device 300.

  The transmission system 900 is a system that transmits content from the transmission device 1 to the reception device 100. A typical example of the content is an e-mail, but any content such as a moving image, a still image, music, text, a program, and a combination thereof may be used. In the present embodiment, the content transmitted from the transmission device 1 to the reception device 100 will be described as an e-mail.

  The transmission device 1 is an information processing device having a function of transmitting an electronic mail to the reception device 100. The receiving apparatus 100 is an information processing apparatus having a function of receiving an electronic mail transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 1. The transmission device 1 and the reception device 100 are typically portable information processing devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablet PCs, but may be stationary information processing devices.

  The network 200 is a communication network to which the transmission device 1, the reception device 100, and the service providing device 300 can be connected.

  The service providing apparatus 300 is a server apparatus that provides a network service. Assume that each user who uses the network service provided by the service providing apparatus 300 is assigned an account for using the service. Each user uses a network service by accessing the service providing apparatus 300 from an information processing apparatus such as the transmission apparatus 1 or the reception apparatus 100 using the assigned account. A plurality of accounts may be assigned to one user.

  A typical example of the network service is SNS (Social Network Service), but is not limited to this, and any service may be used as long as an account is assigned to the user. Other examples include blogs, homepages, electronic bulletin boards, and messenger services. In the present embodiment, the service providing apparatus 300 will be described as providing an SNS.

  In addition, when an account is specified from an external device, the service providing device 300 provides the external device with the date and time when the SNS was most recently used with the specified account (hereinafter referred to as the usage date and time). It has. The use date / time is typically a login date / time, a posting date / time, or the like.

  It is assumed that a mechanism for acquiring the use date and time using the function (hereinafter referred to as a use date and time acquisition mechanism) is available from a business operator that operates the service providing apparatus 300. The use date acquisition mechanism is configured to be usable as a library in a format such as API (Application Programming Interface) or RSS (RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary).

(Main features of transmitter 1)
In such a transmission system 900, when transmitting an e-mail from the transmission device 1 to the reception device 100, the user of the reception device 100 (hereinafter also referred to as a receiver) uses the SNS provided by the service providing device 300 most recently. The main feature of the transmitting apparatus 1 is that an e-mail is transmitted to the receiving apparatus 100 when the elapsed time from the use date and time to the current date and time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold.

(Configuration of transmitter 1)
Next, the configuration of the transmission device 1 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the transmission device 1 includes a control unit 2, a communication unit 3, an operation unit 4, a display unit 5, and a storage unit 6.

  The control unit 2 controls the entire transmission apparatus 1 and can be configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 2 controls each of the communication unit 3, the operation unit 4, the display unit 5, and the storage unit 6. The detailed configuration of the control unit 2 will be described later.

  The communication unit 3 is a communication interface for the transmission device 1 to communicate with the reception device 100 and the service providing device 300 via the network 200.

  The operation unit 4 receives an operation of a user of the transmission device 1 (hereinafter also referred to as a sender), and is typically a physical key, a keyboard, a touch panel, or the like. When the display unit 5 is a touch panel, the display unit 5 also functions as the operation unit 4.

  The display unit 5 is a display device that displays an image based on an instruction from the control unit 2. An LC (Liquid Crystal) display panel, an EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel, or the like can be used as the display unit 5. Although not shown, the control unit 2 or the display unit 5 is appropriately provided with a configuration necessary for displaying images such as a VDP (Video Display Processor) and a VRAM (Video RAM). The display unit 5 may be a touch panel having both functions of image display and operation input.

  The storage unit 6 includes (1) a control program executed by the control unit 2, (2) an OS (Operation System) program, (3) an application program, and (4) various data read when these programs are executed. Is memorized. The storage unit 6 is configured by a nonvolatile storage device such as a flash memory. In addition, the storage unit 6 is configured by a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a work area for temporarily storing data in the process in which the control unit 2 executes the various programs described above. Has an area.

  Note that the storage unit 6 is not necessarily provided in the transmission device 1, and is configured to be connected to the transmission device 1 as an external storage device that can be attached to and detached from the transmission device 1 or an external storage device on the network 200. There may be.

  And the memory | storage part 6 memorize | stores the mail data 21, the telephone directory 22, and the setting information 23 especially.

  The mail data 21 is an electronic mail itself that is transmitted to the receiving device 100.

  The telephone directory 22 is assigned to a user who uses an e-mail address indicating an e-mail destination (hereinafter referred to as a destination e-mail address) as a communication address for identifying the receiving apparatus 100 and a SNS provided by the service providing apparatus 300. This is data in which one or a plurality of accounts are associated with each other.

  The setting information 23 is data including at least a “threshold value TH” (predetermined threshold value) and an “access interval AI” (predetermined period) referred to by the mail transmission condition determining unit 13. The setting information 23 may be set in advance at the time of shipment of the transmission device 1, or may be set by the sender as will be described later.

(Detailed configuration of the control unit 2)
Next, the configuration of the control unit 2 will be described in detail. The control unit 2 includes a mail creation unit (generation unit) 11, a use date acquisition unit (acquisition unit) 12, a mail transmission condition determination unit 13, a mail transmission unit (transmission unit) 14, and a current date acquisition unit 15. . Furthermore, the structure provided with the setting part 16 may be sufficient as illustration.

  The mail creating unit 11 provides a function similar to that of a generally known electronic mail application as a function of creating an electronic mail. The mail creation unit 11 generates an email by accepting input of an email destination address and text from the sender via the operation unit 4, and displays the generated email on the display unit 5. .

  Then, the mail creation unit 11 stores the generated electronic mail as the mail data 21 in the storage unit 6 by receiving an electronic mail transmission instruction from the sender via the operation unit 4. The storage process is also referred to as “transmission registration” below.

  Next, the usage date and time acquisition unit 12 acquires from the service providing device 300 the usage date and time when the recipient of the email generated by the mail creation unit 11 has recently used the SNS provided by the service providing device 300. Is. Therefore, the use date acquisition unit 12 is configured to use the above-described use date acquisition mechanism.

  Then, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 first identifies an account stored in the telephone directory 22 of the storage unit 6 in association with the destination mail address of the email generated by the mail creation unit 11, and identifies the identified account. get.

  Then, the use date acquisition unit 12 uses the use date acquisition mechanism to acquire the use date and time when the SNS was most recently used with the acquired account from the service providing apparatus 300 using the use date acquisition mechanism.

  Note that the account does not necessarily have to be acquired from the telephone directory 22, and may be configured such that the sender designates the e-mail when the e-mail creating unit 11 generates the e-mail.

  Note that the usage date and time acquisition unit 12 may acquire the usage date and time from the service providing apparatus 300 using not only an instruction from the mail creation unit 11 but also an instruction from the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 as a trigger. This will be described later.

  Next, the current date and time acquisition unit 15 acquires the current system time in the transmission device 1. The current system time may be acquired from an external device.

  Next, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 compares the usage date and time acquired by the usage date and time acquisition unit 12 with the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 and is stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21. It is determined whether to send an e-mail. In making this determination, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 refers to the setting information 23 stored in the storage unit 6.

  Specifically, the e-mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines that the elapsed time from the use date and time acquired by the use date and time acquisition unit 12 to the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH (that is, the current date and time). If the difference obtained by subtracting the use date and time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH), it is determined to send an e-mail. The mail transmission unit 14 is instructed to transmit an email stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21.

  On the other hand, when the elapsed period exceeds the threshold value TH, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines not to transmit an electronic mail at the present time. Then, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 waits for the period indicated by the access interval AI without instructing the mail transmission unit 14 to transmit an e-mail.

  Then, when the period indicated by the access interval AI has elapsed since the standby, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 instructs the usage date acquisition unit 12 to acquire the usage date.

  Upon receiving this instruction, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 acquires again from the service providing apparatus 300 the use date and time when the recipient of the e-mail waiting for transmission used the SNS most recently. Then, the determination process by the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 is performed again.

  That is, when the elapsed time from the usage date and time acquired by the usage date and time acquisition unit 12 to the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH, it is determined to transmit an email waiting for transmission. The mail transmission unit 14 is instructed to transmit an email stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21.

  As described above, the use date acquisition unit 12 repeats periodic access to the service providing apparatus 300 until the determination condition in the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 is satisfied, and acquires the use date and time. Note that when the transmission of an e-mail waiting for transmission is completed, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 stops periodic access to the service providing apparatus 300.

  The access interval AI does not necessarily need to be acquired from the setting information 23, and may be configured by the sender via the operation unit 4.

  Next, when receiving an instruction from the mail transmission condition determination unit 13, the mail transmission unit 14 transmits an e-mail stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21 to the receiving device 100.

  Next, the setting unit 16 sets the telephone directory 22 and the setting information 23 stored in the storage unit 6 according to the operation of the sender that is accepted by the operation unit 4. At this time, the setting unit 16 may be configured to output the telephone directory 22 and the setting information 23 to the display unit 5.

  Note that the telephone directory 22 is not necessarily configured to be set by the sender. For example, when a mechanism for acquiring an account corresponding to a designated electronic mail address from the service providing apparatus 300 is provided, an account corresponding to the destination mail address is automatically acquired from the service providing apparatus 300 by using the mechanism. For example, the telephone book 22 may be automatically set.

(Case where there are multiple accounts corresponding to the destination email address)
When there are a plurality of accounts stored in the telephone directory 22 in association with the destination mail address of the e-mail generated by the mail creation unit 11, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 has the SNS most recently in each of the plurality of accounts. The used date / time is acquired from the service providing apparatus 300.

  Then, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the elapsed time until the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH for each of the acquired usage dates and times. If at least one of the elapsed times is equal to or less than the threshold value TH, it is determined to send an e-mail.

(Case where multiple destination email addresses are specified)
When a plurality of e-mail destination mail addresses are designated, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 specifies an account stored in the telephone directory 22 of the storage unit 6 in association with each of the plurality of destination e-mail addresses, and Get the identified account. Then, the usage date acquisition unit 12 acquires the usage date and time when the SNS was used most recently from the service providing apparatus 300 for each of the acquired accounts.

  Then, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the elapsed time until the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH for each of the acquired usage dates and times. Then, the e-mail is sequentially transmitted to the destination e-mail address from which the elapsed time that is equal to or less than the threshold value TH is derived. Instead of this transmission method, for each of the accounts corresponding to some or all of the plurality of destination email addresses, when the elapsed time from the use date and time to the current system time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH, A method of sending e-mails to a plurality of destination e-mail addresses all at once may be adopted. Further, the transmission method may be selected by the sender.

(Threshold TH and access interval AI)
Although the threshold value TH can take an arbitrary value, the smaller the threshold value TH, the sooner the recipient can use the service, the e-mail can be transmitted. However, considering that the increase in communication cost and power consumption is considered, the threshold value TH is preferably about 10 minutes.

  In consideration of the time required to acquire the usage time from the service providing apparatus 300, the access interval AI is preferably smaller than the threshold value TH.

(Modification 1)
In the above configuration, an e-mail cannot be transmitted until the recipient uses the SNS. Therefore, it is preferable to add a process for forcibly transmitting an e-mail (hereinafter also referred to as “forced transmission process”) when a predetermined date and time (hereinafter referred to as “forced transmission date and time FD”) is reached. Even if the recipient does not use the SNS for a long period of time by the forced transmission process, it becomes possible to transmit an e-mail at the forced transmission date and time FD at the latest.

  In this case, the transmission device 1 operates as follows. That is, when the elapsed time from the use date and time acquired by the use date and time acquisition unit 12 to the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 exceeds the threshold value TH (that is, the difference obtained by subtracting the use date and time from the current date and time exceeds the threshold value TH). ), The mail transmission condition determination unit 13 continues to determine whether or not the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 exceeds the forced transmission date and time FD. Then, when the system time exceeds the forced transmission date and time FD, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines to transmit an electronic mail. Then, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 instructs the mail transmission unit 14 to transmit an e-mail stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21.

  On the other hand, when the elapsed time exceeds the threshold value TH and the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 does not exceed the forced transmission date and time FD, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 sends an e-mail at the present time. Decide not to send. Then, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 waits for the period indicated by the access interval AI without instructing the mail transmission unit 14 to transmit an e-mail.

  Then, when the period indicated by the access interval AI has elapsed since the standby, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 instructs the usage date acquisition unit 12 to acquire the usage date. Upon receiving this instruction, the use date and time acquisition unit 12 acquires again from the service providing apparatus 300 the use date and time when the recipient of the e-mail waiting for transmission used the SNS most recently. Then, the determination process by the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 is performed again.

  That is, when the elapsed time from the usage date and time acquired by the usage date and time acquisition unit 12 to the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH and the system time exceeds the forced transmission date and time FD And decide to send an email waiting to be sent. The mail transmission unit 14 is instructed to transmit an email stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21.

  The forced transmission date and time FD may be configured to be included in the setting information 23 and stored in the storage unit 6, or configured to be designated by the sender when the email creation unit 11 generates an email. Also good.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the date and time set as the forced transmission date and time FD is a date and time when it is estimated that it is not inconvenient even if the recipient receives the e-mail. For example, since there is a high possibility that the receiver is sleeping at midnight, it is preferable to set the next morning (for example, 10:00 am) that the receiver will wake up as the forced transmission date and time FD.

(Modification 2)
In the above description, the mail creating unit 11 has been described as performing “transmission registration” in which the generated electronic mail is temporarily stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21. However, instead of performing “transmission registration”, a configuration may be possible in which the sender can instruct transmission to the recipient immediately as usual.

  In this case, the mail transmitting unit 14 immediately transmits the electronic mail generated by the mail creating unit 11 to the receiving device 100.

(Processing flow 1)
Next, the flow of processing in the transmission system 900 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in the transmission system 900. This example is a flowchart including forced transmission processing.

  First, the mail creation unit 11 included in the transmission device 1 creates an electronic mail according to an input operation from the sender (step (hereinafter simply referred to as “S”) 1).

  When receiving the instruction to send the generated electronic mail, the mail creating unit 11 stores the generated electronic mail as the mail data 21 in the storage unit 6 (S2).

  Then, the use date acquisition unit 12 included in the transmission device 1 identifies an account stored in the telephone directory 22 of the storage unit 6 in association with the destination mail address of the email generated by the mail creation unit 11, The acquired account is acquired (S3).

  And the use date acquisition part 12 acquires the use date and time when SNS was used most recently by the said acquired account from the service provision apparatus 300 (S4, acquisition step). At this time, the use date acquisition unit 12 requests the service providing apparatus 300 to acquire the use date (M1). In response to the request, the service providing apparatus 300 transmits the use date and time to the transmission apparatus 1 (M2).

  The receiver uses SNS at an arbitrary timing (S9, M3). For example, a diary is posted. And the service provision apparatus 300 will update a utilization date, if a receiver uses SNS (S10).

  Subsequently, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 included in the transmission device 1 compares the use date and time acquired by the use date and time acquisition unit 12 with the system time acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 and stores the data as the mail data 21 in the storage unit 6. It is determined whether or not to transmit the electronic mail stored in (S5). Specifically, the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 determines whether the elapsed time from the use date and time acquired by the use date and time acquisition unit 12 to the system time (current date and time) acquired by the current date and time acquisition unit 15 is equal to or less than the threshold value TH. Determine whether or not.

  If the elapsed time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH (Yes in S5), the mail transmission unit 14 is instructed to transmit an email stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21. Then, the mail transmission unit 14 transmits an electronic mail to the receiving device 100 (S8, M4).

  On the other hand, when the elapsed time exceeds the threshold TH (No in S5), the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 further determines whether the system time acquired by the current date acquisition unit 15 exceeds the forced transmission date FD. Is determined (S6).

  When the system time exceeds the forced transmission date and time FD (Yes in S6), the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 stores the electronic data stored in the storage unit 6 as the mail data 21 with respect to the mail transmission unit 14. Instruct to send mail. Then, the mail transmission unit 14 transmits an electronic mail to the receiving device 100 (S8, M4, transmission step).

  On the other hand, when the system time does not exceed the forced transmission date and time FD (No in S6), the mail transmission condition determination unit 13 does not instruct the mail transmission unit 14 to transmit an e-mail at the access interval AI. Wait for the indicated period (S7). Then, when the period indicated by the access interval AI has passed, the process returns to step S4, and the usage date acquisition unit 12 acquires again the usage date and time that the e-mail recipient used the SNS most recently from the service providing apparatus 300 ( S4, acquisition step).

  In this way, steps S4 to S7 are repeated until the determination condition of step S5 or step S6 is satisfied.

  In the above example, step S6 is performed after step S5. However, steps S6 and S5 may be performed asynchronously using different threads.

(Processing flow 2)
Next, another example of the processing flow in the transmission system 900 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of the processing flow in the transmission system 900.

  In this example, the transmission device 1 transmits the e-mail to the reception device 100 after acquiring the use date and time of the recipient from the service providing device 300 four times.

  In this example, it is assumed that the threshold value TH is set to 15 minutes and the access interval AI is set to 10 minutes. For simplification, the forced transmission process (corresponding to the determination in step S6 shown in FIG. 2) is not performed.

  First, it is assumed that the receiver uses the SNS by accessing the service providing apparatus 300 at 17:10 (S21). Therefore, in the service providing apparatus 300, “17:10” is registered as the use date and time when the receiver uses the SNS.

  Then, it is assumed that the sender creates an e-mail and the created e-mail is registered for transmission at 23:32 (S22). Then, the transmission device 1 accesses the service providing device 300 and acquires “17:10” as the use date and time when the receiver has recently used the SNS. Further, the transmission device 1 acquires “23:32” as the current system time.

  Here, the transmission device 1 determines whether or not the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time to the current system time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH (corresponding to the determination in step S5 shown in FIG. 2). In this case, the elapsed time is “23:32” − “17:10” = “322 minutes”. Since the threshold value TH is set to 15 minutes, the elapsed time exceeds the threshold value TH. Therefore, the transmission device 1 does not transmit an e-mail at this time and enters a standby state (S23).

  Thereafter, the transmission apparatus 1 waits for 10 minutes set as the access interval AI. Then, at 23:42, 10 minutes later, the transmission device 1 makes a second access to the service providing device 300, and the receiver acquires the use date and time when the SNS was most recently used (S24).

  Here, it is assumed that the receiver does not use the SNS between the first access to the service providing apparatus 300 and the present time. Therefore, the transmission apparatus 1 acquires “17:10”, which is the same date and time as the use date and time acquired at the first access (S22). Then, the transmission device 1 again determines whether or not the elapsed time from the use date to the current date is equal to or less than the threshold value TH. Since the elapsed time is “23:42” − “17:10” = “332 minutes” and exceeds the threshold value TH, the transmission device 1 does not transmit an e-mail and again enters a standby state. .

  Thereafter, the transmitting apparatus 1 again enters a standby state for 10 minutes set as the access interval. Then, the third access to the service providing apparatus 300 performed at 23:52 after 10 minutes is performed, and the recipient acquires the use date and time when the SNS was most recently used (S25). Here, it is assumed that the receiver does not use the SNS between the second access to the service providing apparatus 300 and the present time. Therefore, the transmission apparatus 1 acquires “17:10”, which is the same date and time as the use date and time acquired at the first access (S22). Then, the transmission device 1 again determines whether or not the elapsed time from the use date to the current date is equal to or less than the threshold value TH. Since the elapsed time is “23:52” − “17:10” = “342 minutes” and exceeds the threshold value TH, the transmission device 1 does not transmit an e-mail and again enters a standby state. .

  It is assumed that the receiver uses the SNS at 23:55 three minutes after this time (S26). Accordingly, the service providing apparatus 300 registers “23:55” as the use date and time when the receiver uses the SNS.

  Then, the transmitting apparatus 1 performs the fourth access to the service providing apparatus 300 at 24:02, 10 minutes after the third access (S25), and the receiver uses the SNS most recently as the use date and time. “23:55” is acquired (S27). Here, the transmission apparatus 1 determines whether or not the elapsed time from the use date and time to the current date and time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH. The elapsed time is “24:02” − “23:55” = “7 minutes”, which is below the threshold value TH of 15 minutes. Therefore, the transmission device 1 transmits the electronic mail registered for transmission to the reception device 100 (S28).

(effect)
As described above, the transmission device 1 acquires the use date and time when the SNS is used by the recipient who is the transmission destination of the email from the service providing device 300 when transmitting the email. If the elapsed time from the use date and time to the current date and time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH, an e-mail is transmitted to the receiving device 100. For example, when the receiver uses SNS in a time zone within the past threshold TH from the time when the sender performed an operation of transmitting an e-mail, the transmitting device 1 immediately transmits to the receiving device 100. Send an email to

  On the other hand, when the receiver does not use SNS in the time zone within the past threshold TH, the transmission device 1 waits for transmission of an e-mail only during the period indicated by the access interval AI. And when the said period passes, the utilization date and time when SNS was utilized by the recipient of an email will be newly acquired from the service provision apparatus 300. FIG.

  When the receiver uses the SNS during the period, if the elapsed time from the newly acquired usage date and time to the current date and time is equal to or less than the threshold value TH, the transmission device 1 In response to this, an e-mail waiting for transmission is transmitted.

  As described above, when the receiver uses the SNS most recently, the transmitting device 1 determines that there is no problem even if the receiver transmits an e-mail, and sends the e-mail to the receiving device 100. Send.

  In particular, it is presumed that it is not inconvenient for the recipient to receive an e-mail if he / she has just used SNS. This is because, immediately after using the SNS, for example, it is assumed that the receiver is not in business, during testing, during sleep, during driving, or the like.

  According to the configuration of the transmission device 1, since the transmission device 1 automatically controls the transmission of the email and transmits the email in a situation that is not inconvenient for the recipient, the sender is conscious of the status of the recipient. Without sending (in other words, the sender does not bother the recipient).

  Therefore, there is an effect that the convenience of the sender can be improved.

  Furthermore, since the transmission apparatus 1 performs the process of determining whether or not the receiver has used the SNS most recently, the reception apparatus 100 does not need to have a special function.

  Furthermore, even if the receiver does not use the SNS in the time zone within the past threshold TH, if the current date and time exceeds the forced transmission date and time FD, the transmission device 1 causes the reception device 100 to On the other hand, it is preferable to provide forcible transmission processing that immediately transmits an e-mail. As a result, even if the recipient does not use the SNS for a long period of time, an e-mail can always be transmitted on the forced transmission date and time FD at the latest.

(Example of software implementation)
Finally, each block of the transmission device 1, particularly the control unit 2, may be realized in hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit (IC chip) or using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). It may be realized by software.

  In the latter case, the transmission apparatus 1 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program, the program, and various programs. A storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing data is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium in which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program of the transmission apparatus 1 which is software that realizes the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the transmission apparatus 1 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include non-transitory tangible medium, such as magnetic tape and cassette tape, magnetic disk such as floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and CD-ROM / MO. Discs including optical discs such as / MD / DVD / CD-R, cards such as IC cards (including memory cards) / optical cards, semiconductor memories such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM (registered trademark) / flash ROM Alternatively, logic circuits such as PLD (Programmable Logic Device) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) can be used.

  Further, the transmission apparatus 1 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited as long as it can transmit the program code. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, and the like can be used. The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even with wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), IEEE 802.11 wireless, HDR ( It can also be used by radio such as High Data Rate (NFC), Near Field Communication (NFC), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), mobile phone network, satellite line, and digital terrestrial network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The transmission device according to the present invention can be applied to an information processing device having a function of transmitting content. In particular, the present invention can be widely applied to various information processing apparatuses such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet PC, and a game device having a function of transmitting an e-mail.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmission apparatus 4 Operation part 6 Memory | storage part 11 Mail preparation part (generation means)
12 Date and time acquisition unit (acquisition means)
13 Mail transmission condition judgment part 14 Mail transmission part (transmission means)
21 Mail data (content)
22 Phone book (memory part)
100 receiving device 300 service providing device TH threshold (predetermined threshold)
FD forced transmission date and time (predetermined date and time)
AI access interval (predetermined period)

Claims (7)

A transmitting device that transmits content to a receiving device,
A storage unit that stores an account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by a service providing apparatus and a communication address that identifies the receiving apparatus in association with each other;
Acquisition means for acquiring, from the service providing apparatus, a usage date and time when the service was most recently used with an account stored in the storage unit in association with a communication address designated as a content transmission destination;
A transmission device comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit content to the reception device identified by the designated communication address when an elapsed time from the acquired use date to the present time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value; . When the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold, the transmission means waits for transmission of content to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address,
The acquisition means acquires the use date and time from the service providing apparatus again when a predetermined period has elapsed since the standby,
The transmission means further transmits the waiting content to the receiving device identified by the designated communication address when the elapsed time from the newly acquired use date and time to the present is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The transmission means further includes:
2. The content is transmitted to a receiving device identified by the designated communication address when the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined threshold and the elapsed time has passed a predetermined date and time. Or the transmission apparatus of 2. An operation unit for receiving user operations;
Generation means for generating content according to the operation received by the operation unit,
The transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission means transmits the generated content to the reception device. A method of controlling a transmitting device that transmits content to a receiving device,
The transmitting device includes a storage unit that stores an account assigned to a user who uses a service provided by a service providing device and a communication address that identifies the receiving device in association with each other,
An acquisition step of acquiring, from the service providing apparatus, a use date and time when the service was most recently used with an account stored in the storage unit in association with a communication address designated as a content transmission destination;
And a transmission step of transmitting content to the reception device identified by the designated communication address when the elapsed time from the acquired use date and time is less than a predetermined threshold. Method.   5. A control program for operating a computer included in the transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the control program causes the computer to function as each of the means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 6 is recorded.

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