JP2020013597A - Information processing device, information processing method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform transmission control of a transmission destination division mail obtained by creating envelope information for each transmission destination using the envelope information before transmission destination division.SOLUTION: It is determined whether other e-mail having the same identification information as received e-mail data has been already acquired. When it is determined that the other e-mail having the same identification information has been already acquired, integration of envelope information is executed. Then, the integrated envelope information and transmission control rules are collated, and when a condition set in the transmission control rules is satisfied, processing set in the transmission control rules is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic mail transmission control process.

  In recent years, electronic mail has been widely used as a means for transmitting and receiving information. In order to reduce the risk of information leakage, companies, etc., prohibit sending e-mails outside the company, depending on the contents of the e-mail and the destination when sending e-mails, etc. The need has come to take.

  In order to prevent erroneous transmission of electronic mail and intentional leakage of information, companies and the like sometimes provide a server device for controlling transmission of electronic mail. The server device combines the conditions of the e-mail destinations and their combinations, the number of destinations, keywords included in the subject and body of the e-mail, the contents of attached files, etc., and combines multiple conditions of those items. Thus, a rule for controlling the transmission of the e-mail is set, and the transmission of the e-mail is controlled according to the rule.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an invention relating to electronic mail transmission control using electronic mail domain information, and Patent Literature 2 discloses an invention which performs electronic mail transmission control based on organization information in a company. I have.

JP 2007-102334 A JP 2010-171523 A

  Some e-mail servers and e-mail clients create an individual envelope for each destination when sending an e-mail to a plurality of destinations. When envelope information is created in such a manner, when a combination of destinations is used as a condition of a rule for transmission control, transmission control intended by a system administrator who created the rule is not performed. There is. The reason is that if an envelope is created individually for each transmission destination, there is a case where not all transmission destinations set in the e-mail are set in the envelope.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an electronic mail system in which, when a plurality of transmission destinations (TO, CC, BCC) are set, an envelope is generated for each transmission destination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technology capable of controlling transmission of an electronic mail based on a plurality of pieces of destination information.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control of e-mail data, and stores a plurality of transmission control rules used for the transmission control of the e-mail data. Means, acquiring means for acquiring the e-mail data, first determining means for determining whether another e-mail having the same identification information as the e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means has already been acquired, When it is determined by the first determining means that the envelope is obtained, the combining means for combining the envelope of the e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means and the envelope of the other e-mail data, A second determination unit that determines whether the condition of the transmission control rule is satisfied by comparing the mail data with the transmission control rule; Execution means for executing an operation defined in the transmission control rule on the e-mail data when the second determination means determines that the condition is satisfied, wherein the second determination means It is characterized in that a condition relating to the destination of the control rule condition is compared with the destination information set in the envelope combined by the combining means.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing method according to the present invention includes a storage device for storing a plurality of transmission control rules used for transmission control of the e-mail data, and an e-mail using the plurality of transmission control rules. An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus that performs data relay control, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring the e-mail data; and another e-mail having the same identification information as the e-mail data acquired in the acquiring step. A first determining step of determining whether or not the electronic mail has already been obtained, and if it is determined that the electronic mail has been obtained in the first determining step, the envelope of the e-mail data obtained in the obtaining step and the other e-mail data An integration step of integrating the envelopes, by comparing the email data integrated in the integration step with the relay control rule, A second determining step of determining whether or not the condition of the relay control rule is met; and, if determining in the second determining step that the condition is satisfied, the operation defined in the relay control rule is transmitted to the electronic mail. An execution step of executing on the data, wherein the second determination step checks a condition relating to a transmission destination of the condition of the relay control rule with transmission destination information set in an envelope.

  In order to achieve the above object, a computer program according to the present invention includes a storage device that stores a plurality of transmission control rules used for transmission control of the e-mail data, and uses the plurality of transmission control rules to store e-mail data. The information processing apparatus that performs the relay control of the above is determined by acquiring means for acquiring the e-mail data, and whether another e-mail having the same identification information as the e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means has already been acquired. First determining means, and integrating means for integrating the envelope of the e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means and the envelope of the other e-mail data when it is determined that the e-mail data is acquired by the first determining means; By comparing the email data integrated by the integration means with the relay control rule, the condition of the relay control rule A second determining unit for determining whether or not the packet is matched; and an executing unit for performing an operation defined in the relay control rule on the e-mail data when the second determining unit determines that the condition is satisfied. The function is made to function, and the second judging step is characterized in that a condition relating to a transmission destination of the condition of the relay control rule is compared with transmission destination information set in an envelope.

  According to the present invention, transmission control of e-mail data created in an e-mail system in which an envelope is created for each destination can be appropriately performed using a plurality of pieces of destination information set at the time of e-mail creation. it can.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the proxy server 101 in FIG. 1. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a process performed by a CPU 201 of the proxy server 101. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of an e-mail saving process in step S302 in FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of an e-mail transmission control process in step S304 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of a pending e-mail inspection process in step S306 of FIG. 3; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an electronic mail DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a pending electronic mail DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an electronic mail transmission control rule DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a pending e-mail list screen 1000. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a held e-mail details confirmation screen 1100. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a proxy server 101. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of an e-mail transmission control process in step S304 in FIG. 3 (second embodiment). 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of an e-mail transmission process in step S304 in FIG. 3 (second embodiment). 15 is a flowchart showing details of an e-mail transmission control execution process in step S1415 in FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of a pending e-mail inspection process in step S306 in FIG. 3 (second embodiment). FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of a pending e-mail transmission control execution process in step S1613 of FIG. It is a figure showing an example of composition of a suspended e-mail details confirmation screen 1800. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a mail transmission control rule DB (database) 1900 (second embodiment). FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an electronic mail transmission history DB2000. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a pending electronic mail DB (database) 2100. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of a pause electronic mail DB (database) 2200. It is an image figure showing envelope division of an electronic mail. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a proxy server 101 according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an information processing system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system of the present invention includes a proxy server 101, a mail server 102, and client devices 103-1 to 103-3 (hereinafter collectively referred to as client devices 103). Further, the above devices are communicably connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network) 104.

  Further, the mail server 102 and the client device 103 are communicably connected to the external mail servers 106-1 and 106-2 connected to the wide area network 105 via the proxy server 101.

  The proxy server 101 is a server device that functions as the information processing device of the present invention, and performs transmission control processing for electronic mail transmitted from the mail server 102 or the client device 103 using a transmission control rule described later.

  Further, the proxy server 101 has a web server function, and uses the function to input a transmission control rule used for an electronic mail transmission control process in response to a request from a user who operates the client device 103. As a result of the reception or the transmission control process, transmission of an e-mail for which transmission is suspended, and input of prohibition of transmission (audit input) are received.

  The mail server 102 is a server device used for sending and receiving e-mails, and has functions such as managing e-mail addresses of e-mails and storing e-mails transmitted to the e-mail addresses. . The client device 103 is a terminal device operated by a user who exchanges e-mails using a mail address managed by the mail server 102.

  Next, an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the proxy server 101 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the figure, a CPU 201 controls overall devices and controllers described below connected to a system bus 204. In addition, the ROM 203 or the external memory 211 is required to execute a basic input / output system (BIOS), an operating system program (hereinafter, OS), which is a control program of the CPU 201, and various processes to be described later by the proxy server 101. Various programs and data are stored. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like for the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 loads various programs and the like necessary for executing processing into the RAM 202 and executes the programs to realize various processing described below. An input controller (input C) 205 controls an input from an input device 209 including a keyboard, a pointing device, and the like. A video controller (VC) 206 controls display on a display device such as the display device 210. The display device 210 includes, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like.

  A memory controller (MC) 207 is a hard disk (HD), a floppy disk (registered trademark FD) or a PCMCIA card slot for storing a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, edited files, various data, and the like. And an external memory 211 such as a compact flash memory connected via an adapter.

  A communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 208 connects and communicates with external devices via a network, and executes communication control processing on the network. For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP is possible.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the display device 210 by executing, for example, a process of developing (rasterizing) an outline font in a display information area in the RAM 202. Further, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the display device 210. The above is the description of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus applicable to the proxy server 101. However, as long as various types of processing described below can be performed, the information processing apparatus does not necessarily have to have the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. It goes without saying that it does not matter.

  Next, an outline of processing performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 will be described with reference to FIG. A program for causing the proxy server 101 to execute the process illustrated in FIG. 3 is stored in the external memory 211 or the like, and the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 executes the process according to control by the program.

  During the execution of this processing, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether a new e-mail has been received (step S301), whether there is an e-mail for determining whether transmission is possible (step S303), or whether an audit processing request for the pending e-mail is issued. It is always determined whether or not it has been received from the client device 103 (step S305).

  If it is determined that a new e-mail has been received (YES in step S301), e-mail saving processing is performed (step S302). The details of the e-mail storage processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

If it is determined that there is an e-mail for which transmission of the e-mail is determined (YES in step S303), an e-mail transmission control process is performed (step S304). The details of the e-mail transmission control processing will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If an audit request for a pending e-mail has been received (YES in step S305), a pending e-mail inspection process is performed (step S306). The details of the held e-mail inspection process will be described later with reference to FIG. The above is the description of the outline of the processing performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101.

  Next, the details of the e-mail saving process in step S302 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In this process, when an e-mail is transmitted, if the size increases, the e-mail is divided into a predetermined size and transmitted (hereinafter, referred to as a size-divided e-mail). Depending on the mail client software installed in the 103, an envelope is created for each destination and an e-mail is transmitted to each destination (hereinafter referred to as destination division mail). A process performed to combine the divided emails into one original email (hereinafter, the combined email is referred to as a combined email) and perform transmission control based on the original email. is there.

  First, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether the received mail is a size-divided electronic mail (step S401). When the Content-type of the mail header of the received e-mail is message / partial, the CPU 201 determines that the e-mail is a size-divided e-mail.

  If the determination in step S401 is YES, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S402, and stores the e-mail in the size-divided e-mail storage unit. Then, it is determined whether all the size-divided e-mails have been collected (step S403). In this determination, since the number (total) divided into Content-type of the mail header and information indicating the number of the divided mail (number) are set, all the size divisions are performed according to this information. It is determined whether the e-mails have been collected. If it is determined that all the size-divided e-mails have been collected (YES in step S403), the size-divided e-mails are combined to create a combined e-mail that is the e-mail before the size division (step S404). The process proceeds to step S405. If the determination is NO, the present process ends.

  If NO is determined in step S401, or after the process in step S404 is completed, the CPU 201 stores an e-mail having the same mail ID as the received e-mail in the e-mail DB 700 stored in the external memory 211. Is determined (step S405). This e-mail ID indicates information set in Message-id of the mail header.

  Here, the data configuration of the e-mail DB 700 stored in the external memory 211 of the proxy server 101 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the e-mail DB 700 includes a mail ID 701, a transmission date and time 702, a sender (FROM) 703, a transmission destination 704, a subject 705, a text 706, an attachment 707, a combination 708, a division size 709, and a transmission control result 710. And so on.

  The mail ID 701 is a data item in which identification information of an e-mail is registered. For example, a value set in Message-id of a mail header is registered. As the transmission date and time 702, date and time information when the electronic mail is transmitted is registered. For example, the value set in Date of the mail header is registered.

  The sender (FROM) 703 is a data item in which sender information of an e-mail is registered, and an e-mail address set as the FROM information of the e-mail is registered. For example, a sender mail address set in the envelope of the e-mail is registered.

  The transmission destination 704 is a data item in which the transmission destination information of the e-mail is registered, and the e-mail address set as the transmission destination of the e-mail (TO, CC, BCC) is registered. The e-mail address set in TO is registered in TO704-1, the e-mail address set in CC is registered in CC704-2, and the e-mail address set in BCC is registered in BCC704-3. This information will be registered according to the email header and envelope of the email.

  The subject 705 is a data item in which the subject information of the e-mail is registered, and the information set in the subject (Subject) of the e-mail is registered. For example, the value set in the subject of the mail header is registered.

  The body 706 is a data item in which body information of the electronic mail is registered. Attachment 707 is a data item in which the attached file information attached to the e-mail is registered.

  The combination 708 is a data item in which information indicating whether the mail data is a combination of size-divided e-mails is registered. For example, “○” is registered for a combined email of size-divided emails, and “×” is registered for other emails. Note that the registration method is not limited to this method. The division size 709 is a data item in which, when the electronic mail is a combined electronic mail of the size-divided electronic mail, the maximum size information of the original size-divided electronic mail is registered.

  The transmission control result 710 is a data item in which a transmission control result or the like for the electronic mail by the proxy server 101 is registered. The above is the description of the e-mail DB 700 stored in the external memory 211 of the proxy server 101.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether e-mail data having the same message ID as the received e-mail or the combined e-mail created in step S404 is registered in the e-mail DB 700 (step S405). If it is determined that an e-mail having the same message ID is registered in e-mail DB 700 (YES in step S405), the process proceeds to step S406, and the transmission set in the envelope of the e-mail is performed. Envelopes are combined by additionally registering destinations that are not set in the e-mail with the same message ID among the destination information.

  Normally, when envelopes are individually created, not all destinations of the e-mail are set in the envelope. Since TO and CC are also set in the e-mail header information, that information can be used, but BCC is not included in the e-mail header information.

  Further, if both the envelope and the header information are checked to identify the destination, the processing efficiency is low. Thus, in the present invention, in the case of an e-mail system or the like in which an envelope is set for each destination, the same e-mail is specified based on the mail ID, and the destinations set in those envelopes are combined. By doing so, an envelope similar to the envelope created in the e-mail system where the envelope is not created individually is generated. Accordingly, when the destination condition is set in the transmission control rule, it is possible to acquire information on the destination of the e-mail used to determine whether or not the condition is met from only the envelope. Also, if the envelope is divided and a plurality of destinations are set to BCC, if a condition that a plurality of destinations are set at the same time is set in the transmission control rule, In some cases, appropriate transmission control cannot be performed. By performing the envelope coupling in this manner, even in such a case, it is possible to appropriately perform transmission control processing in accordance with the destination conditions of the transmission control rule.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the e-mail having the same message ID is not registered in the e-mail DB 700 (NO in step S405), the e-mail is stored in the e-mail DB 700 (step S407). The above is the details of the e-mail saving process in step S302 in FIG.

  By performing such processing, according to the present invention, the e-mail divided by the mail client software operating on the client device 103 and the destination divided by the mail server application operating on the mail server 102 are divided. The electronic mail can be restored to the original electronic mail, and transmission control can be performed based on the original mail.

  Next, the details of the e-mail transmission control process in step S304 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 checks the e-mail DB 700 at regular intervals, and sends an e-mail for which data has not been registered in the transmission control result 710 (the transmission control processing has not been performed yet), and the last update time (not valid). In the case where there is an item (shown in FIG. 3) which is earlier than the predetermined time, YES is determined in step S303 of FIG. 3 and this processing is performed.

  First, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether there is a transmission control rule that has not yet been applied to the e-mail targeted for transmission control (step S501). (YES in step S501), the process proceeds to step S502, and an unapplied transmission control rule is acquired according to the priority.

  Here, an example of the data configuration of the transmission control rule DB 900 stored in the external memory 211 of the proxy server 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the transmission control rule DB 900 includes, as data items, a rule ID 901, a priority 902, a rule name 903, a comment 904, a condition 905, and an operation 906.

  The rule ID 901 is a data item in which identification information for uniquely identifying a transmission control rule is registered. The priority 902 is a data item in which priority information indicating a priority in which the transmission control rule is applied is registered.

  The rule name 903 is a data item in which the name of the transmission control rule is registered. The comment 904 is a data item in which a comment on the transmission control rule is registered. For example, information indicating the purpose of setting the transmission control rule is registered.

  The condition 905 is a data item in which the condition of the e-mail to which the transmission control rule is applied is set, and the sender condition 905-1, the destination condition 905-2, the subject / body condition 905-3, and the attached file condition 905 4 is set.

  The sender condition 905-1 is a data item in which the sender condition of the e-mail is registered. For example, “*@example.co.jp”, “other than ** example.co.jp” (* indicates Wildcard), etc. are registered.

  The destination condition 905-2 is a data item in which the destination condition of the e-mail is registered. For example, an address other than *@example.co.jp is set in any of TO, CC, and BCC. , "The number of addresses set in the TO and CC is n or more", "Including more than n domains", "The email address of the administrator of the sender is not set in the CC", Such conditions are registered.

  The subject / body condition 905-3 is a data item in which a condition relating to a character string set in the subject or body of the e-mail is registered. For example, “the subject is not input”, “the subject or body, "Confidential, confidential, confidential, or confidential" is included. "

  The attached file condition 905-4 is a data item in which a condition relating to an attached file attached to the electronic mail is registered, and a MIME type condition 905-41, a keyword condition 905-42, and a size condition 905-43 are set. I have.

  The MIME type condition 905-41 is a data item in which information on the type of file is registered. For example, “image / jpeg” is registered for a JPEG file, and “text / plain” is registered for a text file. Will be.

  The keyword condition 905-42 is a data item in which a condition relating to a character string included in an attached file is registered, and includes, for example, “includes any of“ confidential, confidential, confidential, confidential ”. The condition will be registered.

  The size condition 905-43 is a data item in which a condition relating to the size of the attached file is registered. For example, conditions such as "30 MB or more" and "less than 20 MB" are registered.

  It is needless to say that the sender condition 905-1, the destination condition 905-2, the subject / text condition 905-3, and the attached file condition 905-4 need not be set in one transmission control rule. When a plurality of conditions are registered among the sender condition 905-1, the destination condition 905-2, the subject / body condition 905-3, and the attached file condition 905-4, an electronic device including all the conditions is registered. The e-mail matches the condition of the transmission control rule and is an e-mail that performs transmission control processing in accordance with the operation 906 of the transmission control rule.

  An operation 906 is a data item in which a process to be applied to e-mail data that matches the condition 905 is registered, and any one of “transmission”, “transmission prohibited”, and “hold” is registered. If “Send” is set, the e-mail is sent to the specified destination. If “transmission prohibited” is set, transmission of the e-mail is prohibited. If “hold” is set, transmission of the e-mail is suspended, and transmission control is performed according to an instruction of “transmission” or “transmission prohibition” received from the administrator.

  The above is an example of the data configuration of the transmission control rule DB 900 stored in the external memory 211 of the proxy server 101.

  Returning to the description of FIG. In step S502, the CPU 201 sets the transmission control rule condition 905 acquired in accordance with the priority information registered in the priority 902 of each transmission control rule in the transmission control rule DB 900 to indicate that the e-mail targeted for transmission control is It is determined whether they match (step S503).

  If it is determined in step S503 that the condition 905 set in the transmission control rule is met (YES), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S504, and the CPU 201 sets the operation 906 of the transmission control rule. Decide to perform the action. At this time, if conditions related to the destination (TO, CC, BCC) are set in the transmission control rule, the information related to the destination set in the envelope is checked against the destination conditions, and the destination conditions are matched. Will be determined.

  On the other hand, if the CPU 201 determines that the condition 905 is not satisfied (NO) in the determination process of step S503, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S501, determines whether there is an unapplied transmission control rule, and determines that there is a transmission control rule (YES). If it is determined, the process from step S502 is performed. If it is determined that there is no operation (NO), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S505, and determines to execute the operation set as the default process.

  In step S506, the CPU 201 determines whether the processing determined to be executed on the e-mail in step S504 or S505 is “transmission”, “hold”, or “transmission prohibited”.

  If it is determined that the transmission is “transmission” in the determination processing of step S506, the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S507 to determine whether the e-mail to be transmitted is a combined e-mail obtained by combining the size-divided e-mails. judge. If it is determined that the e-mail is a combined e-mail (YES), the process proceeds to step S508, and the process for the e-mail is performed based on the e-mail size of the divided e-mail before the combination registered in the e-mail division size 709. Perform size division processing. Then, an e-mail is transmitted to the specified destination (step S509).

  If it is determined in the determination process of step S506 that the status is “pending”, the process proceeds to step S510, and the information of the electronic mail is registered in the pending electronic mail DB 800 illustrated in FIG.

  Here, an example of the data configuration of the held e-mail DB 800 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the hold electronic mail DB 800 includes data items such as a mail ID 801, a sender 802, an inspector 803, a hold date and time 804, and the like.

  The mail ID 801 is a data item in which identification information for uniquely identifying an electronic mail is registered. Using the information registered in the mail ID 801, the information of the e-mail registered in the e-mail DB 700 is obtained.

  The sender 802 is a data item in which the user who sent the electronic mail is registered. The inspector 803 is a data item in which user information of a user who performs an audit input for instructing “transmission” or “transmission prohibition” with respect to the electronic mail specified by the mail ID is registered. For example, the superior of the sender of the e-mail is registered as an auditor.

  The suspension date and time 804 is a data item in which date and time information of the suspension of the e-mail is registered. After a certain period of time has elapsed with the e-mail being held, the e-mail may be transmitted or the transmission of the e-mail may be prohibited without instruction from the auditor.

  The above is an explanation of an example of the data configuration of the held e-mail DB 800.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After adding the information on the e-mail determined to be held in step S510 to the held e-mail DB 800, the sender is notified that the e-mail is held (step S511). Further, the user set as the auditor of the held e-mail is notified that the e-mail has been held (step S512).

  If it is determined in step S506 that the process to be executed is “transmission prohibited”, the process proceeds to step S513, and transmission of the electronic mail is prohibited. Then, the sender of the e-mail is notified that the transmission of the e-mail is prohibited (step S514).

  After any of steps S509, S512, and S514 is completed, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S515, and registers the transmission control result in the transmission control result 710 of the electronic mail in the electronic mail DB 700. The above is the details of the e-mail transmission control processing in step S304 in FIG.

  According to the present invention, a transmission control process using a transmission control rule is executed after combining the envelopes of the electronic mail into which the envelope of one electronic mail is divided. If a method of performing transmission control processing without performing envelope combining is adopted, if the e-mail is held or prohibited, the notification that the e-mail has been held is sent by the number of divided envelopes. It could be done by an auditor or sender. However, according to the present invention, the transmission control process is performed after the original e-mail is sent, so that there is an operational effect that a plurality of notifications are not sent.

  next. With reference to FIG. 6, the details of the held e-mail audit processing in step S306 in FIG. 3 will be described. This process is performed when there is an access request from the client device 103 used by the inspector to the web page for auditing the held e-mail provided by the proxy server 101.

  The CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 performs a process of specifying a user who operates the client device 103 that has issued the access request (step S601). For example, when input of a user ID and a password is received and the information is registered in a user management DB (not shown), the user specified by the user ID is specified as a user who performs an electronic mail audit. .

  Then, after the user is specified in step S601, the CPU 201 determines whether the pending e-mail to be audited by the user is stored in the pending e-mail DB 800 (step S602).

  If the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing of step S602 that there is no pending e-mail to be audited (NO), the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S603 and notifies that there is no pending e-mail to be audited. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination processing of step S602 that there is a pending e-mail to be audited by the user (YES), the process proceeds to step S604, and the pending e-mail to be audited by the user from the pending e-mail DB 800 To get. Then, screen information including a list of pending electronic mails to be audited is generated (step S605), and the screen information is transmitted to the client device 103 (step S606).

  Here, an example of the held e-mail list display screen 1000 displayed on the display device of the client device 103 that has received the screen information transmitted in step S606 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, on the hold e-mail list display screen 1000, a hold e-mail list display portion 1001, a send button 1002, and a send prohibition button 1003 are set.

  The pending e-mail list display unit 1001 is a display unit that displays a list of pending e-mails, and includes a check box 1001-1 for selecting an audit target mail, a mail ID display unit 1001-2, a transmission date and time display unit 1001-3, and a transmission. A user / subject display section 1001-4, an attached file presence / absence display section 1001-5, and a detail button 1001-6 are set.

  The audit target mail selection check box 1001-1 is a check box for selecting an electronic mail to be subjected to the collective audit. If an instruction to press the send button 1002 is received with the check target email selection check box 1001-1 checked, the sending process for the held e-mail that has been checked is checked by pressing the send inhibit button 1003. When receiving the instruction, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 executes the transmission prohibition process.

  The mail ID 1001-2 is a display unit that displays the mail ID of the held electronic mail. The transmission date and time display unit 1001-3 is a display unit that displays time information when the held electronic mail was transmitted. The sender / subject display unit 1001-4 is a display unit that displays the sender information and the subject information of the held e-mail.

  The attached file presence / absence display section 1001-5 is a display section for displaying the presence / absence of an attached file of the held e-mail. The detail button 1001-6 is a button used to make a request for detailed data of the held e-mail to the proxy server 101. The above is an explanation of an example of the held e-mail list screen 1000 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After transmitting the screen information for displaying the pending e-mail list screen 1000 (step S606), if a request for detailed data of the pending e-mail is received from the client apparatus 103 (YES in step S607), the CPU 201 executes the processing in step S607. Proceeding to S608, an e-mail requesting detailed data is acquired from the e-mail DB 700, and screen information including the detailed data of the pending e-mail is generated using the e-mail. Then, the CPU 201 transmits the screen information to the client device 103 that has made the request (step S609).

  Here, an example of the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1100 displayed on the display device of the client device 103 that has received the screen information transmitted in step S609 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1100 includes a sender (FROM) information display column 1101, a TO information display column 1102, a CC information display column 1103, a BCC information display column 1104, and a subject information display column 1105. , A text information display field 1106, an attached file information display field 1107, an audit input field 1108, and an enter button 1109 are set.

  The sender (FROM) information display column 1101 is a display column for displaying information of the sender of the held e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the sender (FROM) 703 of the e-mail DB 700. is there. The TO information display column 1102 is a display column for displaying the transmission destination (TO) information of the hold e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the TO 704-1 of the e-mail DB 700. The CC information display field 1103 is a display field for displaying the destination (CC) information of the held e-mail, and is a display field for displaying information registered in CC704-2 of the e-mail DB 700. The BCC information display column 1104 is a display column for displaying the transmission destination (BCC) information of the pending e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the BCC 704-3 of the e-mail DB 700.

  The subject information display column 1105 is a display column for displaying the subject of the held e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the subject 705 of the e-mail DB 700. The text information display field 1106 is a display field for displaying the text of the suspended e-mail, and is a display field for displaying information registered in the text 706 of the e-mail DB 700. The attached file information display column 1107 is a display column for displaying an icon according to the file format when an attached file is set in the held e-mail, and is registered in the attachment 707 of the e-mail DB 700. This is a display column for displaying information. By performing a double-click process on the icon displayed in the attached file information display field 1107, the content of the file can be confirmed.

  The audit input field 1108 is an input field for receiving an input of audit information (“transmission” or “transmission prohibition”) with respect to the held e-mail. The OK button 1109 is a button used to execute the process specified in the audit input field 1108 on the held e-mail. The above is an explanation of an example of the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1100 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. When the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 receives the audit result for the held e-mail from the client device 103 (YES in step S610), the process proceeds to step S611, and the received audit result is “transmission” or “transmission prohibited”. Is determined. If it is determined that the transmission is “transmission” in this determination processing (“transmission” in step S611), transmission processing of the held electronic mail is performed (step S612). At this time, if the held e-mail is a combined e-mail of the size-divided e-mail, the e-mail is transmitted by performing the division processing again. On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission is “transmission prohibited” (“transmission prohibited” in step S611), the transmission of the held e-mail is prohibited (step S613).

  After the processing in step S612 or S613, the sender of the held e-mail is notified that the processing has been performed on the held e-mail. At this time, a notification is made in such a manner as to indicate whether the held electronic mail has been transmitted or whether transmission has been prohibited. Thereafter, the control result 710 of the data in the e-mail DB 700 corresponding to the pending e-mail is updated according to the audit result (step S615). When a transmission audit result is input, the information of the data item is changed to “hold → transmission”, and when a transmission inhibition audit result is input, “hold → transmission prohibited”. Further, the record related to the held e-mail is deleted from the held e-mail DB 800.

  Then, the above processing is performed until it is determined in step S616 that the present processing is ended (YES). The above is the detailed description of the held e-mail audit processing in step S306 in FIG.

  Here, an example of a functional configuration of the proxy server 101 in FIG. 1 that functions as the information processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the proxy server 101 includes a transmission control rule storage unit 1201, an e-mail acquisition unit 1202, an e-mail storage unit 1203, a pending e-mail storage unit 1204, an e-mail combining unit 1205, an e-mail division unit 1206, The system includes an identical e-mail presence / absence determination unit 1207, a condition match determination unit 1208, an e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 1209, an audit reception unit 1210, and the like.

  The transmission control rule storage unit 1201 is a functional unit that stores the transmission control rule DB 900 shown in FIG. The e-mail acquisition unit 1202 is a functional unit that acquires an e-mail transmitted from the client device 103 or the mail server 102. The e-mail storage unit 1203 is a storage unit that stores the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 1202, and stores and manages the e-mail DB 700 illustrated in FIG. The pending e-mail storage unit 1204 is a storage unit that stores e-mails whose transmission has been suspended as a result of transmission control processing by an e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 1209 described later, and stores a pending e-mail DB 800 shown in FIG. ,to manage.

  When the same e-mail presence / absence determining unit 1207, which will be described later, determines that there is an e-mail having the same e-mail ID in the e-mail storage unit 1203, the e-mail combining unit 1205 transmits the e-mail having the same e-mail ID. This is a functional unit that combines the envelopes into one combined e-mail, or converts the size-divided e-mail into one combined e-mail. The e-mail dividing unit 1206 is a functional unit that re-divides the combined e-mail combined by the e-mail combining unit 1205 based on the size before combining before the transmission of the e-mail.

  The same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 1207 is a functional unit that determines whether an e-mail having the same mail ID as the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 1202 is stored in the e-mail DB 700. The condition matching determination unit 1208 is a functional unit that determines whether the e-mail to be subjected to the transmission control processing matches the conditions of the transmission control rule. The e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 1209 is a functional unit that controls the transmission of e-mail according to the operation set by the transmission control rule determined by the condition match determination unit 1208 to match the condition.

  The audit reception unit 1210 is a functional unit that receives an input of audit information (transmission, transmission prohibition) with respect to the held e-mail stored in the held e-mail DB 800. The above is an example of the functional configuration of the proxy server 101.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to control the transmission of an e-mail according to the originally set destination information even for an e-mail in which the envelope information is divided for each destination. . In particular, it is effective when transmission control is performed on a true destination condition that is a condition of a destination such as BCC that does not exist in the header information of the electronic mail.

<Second embodiment>
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which different transmission control can be performed on a plurality of addresses set in one electronic mail.

  As described above, the reason why different transmission control is performed for a plurality of destinations set in one e-mail is that the e-mail is sent to some destinations set in the e-mail. However, if transmission is not to be performed to the remaining destinations, the e-mail transmission control process according to the first embodiment assumes that the remaining transmission destinations have been set. The transmission of the e-mail is also prohibited for the copy destination.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, different transmission control can be performed for each transmission destination set for one e-mail. However, in such a case, the following must also be considered.

  As a result of performing transmission control processing on an e-mail (e-mail X) to which a plurality of transmission destinations (transmission destination A, transmission destination B, transmission destination C) are set, transmission destination A and transmission destination B are When the e-mail X was transmitted but transmission to the transmission destination C was suspended, the transmission destination A transmitted an e-mail Y which was a reply mail of the e-mail X. At this time, the destination of the e-mail Y is set to the destination B, the destination C, and the sender of the e-mail X.

  At this time, as a result of performing the transmission control processing for the e-mail Y, if it is determined that the e-mail Y is to be transmitted to all the destinations, the destination C is sent to the e-mail Y before the e-mail X that should have arrived. There is a possibility that a problem may occur.

  Further, it is conceivable that the transmission of the electronic mail X to the transmission destination C is prohibited in the audit of the electronic mail X. In this case, there is also a problem that an electronic mail Y, which is a reply mail of the electronic mail X, may reach a destination C to which the electronic mail X should not be transmitted.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, in consideration of the above-described problem, when transmission of the e-mail to some destinations set in one e-mail is suspended or prohibited, E-mail transmission control by the proxy server 101 that enables transmission control so that an e-mail related to the e-mail (reply mail or the like) is not transmitted to some of the destinations will be described.

  In the second embodiment as well, the outline of the processing performed by the proxy server 101 (the processing shown in FIG. 3) is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, only the differences between the first embodiment and the processing will be described, and the description of the other processing will be omitted.

  FIGS. 13 and 14 are flowcharts showing details of the electronic mail transmission control process (the process of step S304 in FIG. 3) according to the second embodiment. A program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute the processing shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is stored in the external memory 211 or the like. When executing this processing, the CPU 201 loads the program into the RAM 202, This processing is executed according to the control by the loaded program.

  First, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether there is a transmission control rule that has not yet been applied (not applied) to the electronic mail targeted for transmission control (step S1301). If it is determined that there is an unapplied transmission control rule (YES in step S1301), the process proceeds to step S1302, and an unapplied transmission control rule is acquired according to the priority set in the transmission control rule.

  Here, the data configuration of the transmission control rule DB 1900 used in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the transmission control rule DB 1900 includes data items such as a rule ID 1901, a priority 1902, a rule name 1903, a comment 1904, a division evaluation 1905, a condition 1906, an operation setting 1907, and an auditor 1908 as data items. It is configured.

  The rule ID 1901 is a data item in which identification information for uniquely identifying a transmission control rule is registered. The priority 1902 is a data item in which priority information indicating a priority in which the transmission control rule is applied is registered.

  The rule name 1903 is a data item in which the name of the transmission control rule is registered. The comment 1904 is a data item in which a comment on the transmission control rule is registered. For example, information indicating the purpose of setting the transmission control rule is registered.

  The division evaluation 1905 is a data item in which information as to whether or not to apply the transmission control rule is registered for each destination set for the destination (TO, CC, BCC) of the email.

  If the division evaluation 1905 sets a transmission control rule for each transmission destination, the proxy server 101 applies the transmission control rule to each transmission destination included in the e-mail. . As a result, transmission control processing using the transmission control rule is performed on some transmission destinations set in one e-mail, and transmission control processing on the e-mail to the other transmission destinations is performed on another transmission destination. In some cases, the operation is performed according to the control rules.

  The condition 1906 is a data item in which an e-mail condition to which the transmission control rule is applied is registered. As the data items, a sender condition 1906-1, a destination condition 1906-2, a subject / text condition 1906-3, An attached file condition 1906-4 is provided.

  The sender condition 1906-1 is a data item in which the sender condition of the e-mail is registered. For example, destination conditions such as “*@example.co.jp” and “other than ** example.co.jp” Can be registered. It is also possible to set group information in which mail addresses of “section manager or higher” and “section manager or higher” are registered, and register the group. In this case, an e-mail whose e-mail address included in the group information is set as the sender (FROM) matches the sender condition.

  The destination condition 1906-2 is a data item in which the destination condition of the e-mail is registered. For example, "an address other than *@example.co.jp is set in TO, CC, and BCC", " Conditions such as "the number of addresses set in TO and CC is n or more", "includes n or more domains", "the sender's administrator's email address is not set in CC", etc. Can be registered.

  The subject / body condition 1906-3 is a data item in which a condition relating to a character string set in the subject or body of the e-mail is registered. For example, “the subject is not input”, “the subject or body, "Includes any of" confidential, confidential, confidential, confidential "."

  The attached file condition 1906-4 is a data item in which a condition relating to an attached file attached to the electronic mail is registered, and a MIME type condition 1906-41, a keyword condition 1906-42, and a size condition 1906-43 are set. I have.

  The MIME type condition 1906-41 is a data item in which information about the file type is registered. For example, when registering the condition "includes JPEG file in attached file", when registering the condition "include image / jpeg", and when registering the condition "attached file is other than text file", "text / other than plain ".

  The keyword condition 1906-42 is a data item in which a condition relating to a character string included in an attached file is registered, and includes, for example, “includes any of“ confidential, confidential, confidential, confidential ”. Conditions can be registered.

  The size condition 1906-43 is a data item in which a condition relating to the size of the attached file is registered. For example, conditions such as “30 MB or more” and “less than 20 MB” are registered. Note that the MIME type condition 1906-41, the keyword condition 1906-42, and the size condition 1906-43 do not always need to be set, and only the necessary ones need to be registered. For example, regardless of the type and content of the file, if it is a transmission control rule for controlling transmission of an e-mail to which a file of 5 MB or more is attached, only 5 MB or more may be registered in the size condition 1906-43. .

  It is needless to say that all of the sender condition 1906-1, the destination condition 1906-2, the subject / text condition 1906-3, and the attached file condition 1906-4 need not be set in one transmission control rule. When a plurality of conditions are registered among the sender condition 1906-1, the destination condition 1906-2, the subject / text condition 1906-3, and the attached file condition 1906-4, an electronic device including all of those conditions is registered. The mail is an electronic mail to which the transmission control rule is applied.

  The operation setting 1907 is a data item in which a process to be performed on e-mail data that matches the condition set in the condition 1906 is registered, and a destination condition 1907-1 and an operation 1907-2 are set. . Note that a plurality of operation settings 1907 can be registered in order to enable different operations (transmission control processing for electronic mail) for each of a plurality of destinations set in one electronic mail. .

  The destination condition 1907-1 is a data item in which a destination condition for specifying to which destination the process set in the operation 1907-2 of the operation setting 1907 is to be executed is registered. .

  An operation 1907-2 is to execute the e-mail of the e-mail to be executed for the destinations (TO, CC, BCC) set in the e-mail that match the conditions set in the destination condition 1907-1. A data item for which processing is registered, and any one of “transmission”, “transmission prohibition”, and “hold” is registered. If “transmission” is set in the operation 1907-2, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 transmits the e-mail to a destination that matches the condition set in the destination condition 1907-1. Similarly, when “transmission prohibited” is set in the operation 1907-2, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 sends the electronic mail to the destination that matches the condition set in the destination condition 1907-1. If the transmission of the e-mail is prohibited and “hold” is set, the transmission of the e-mail to the destination that matches the condition set in the destination condition 1907-1 is suspended, and the administrator The transmission control is performed according to the audit input of "transmission" or "transmission prohibited" to be accepted.

  The auditor 1908 is a data item in which an auditor (administrator) who inputs an instruction of “send” or “prohibit transmission” for an e-mail that meets the conditions and is held is registered. . The above is the description of the data configuration of the transmission control rule DB 1900 in the second embodiment.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After acquiring the transmission control rule applied to the e-mail in step S1302, the CPU 201 determines that the transmission control rule is a division evaluation transmission control rule according to the information registered in the division evaluation 1905 of the acquired transmission control rule. Is determined (step S1303).

  If the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 is a transmission control rule for split evaluation, as described above, the CPU 201 determines whether the transmission control rule matches the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail. Then, only for the transmission destination that matches the condition, the transmission control processing of the e-mail set in operation 1907-2 of any operation setting 1907 of the transmission control rule is performed.

  If the CPU 201 determines that the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 is not the transmission control rule for divisional evaluation (NO in step S1303), the process proceeds to step S1304, and the e-mail to be subjected to transmission control processing is sent to step S1302. It is determined whether or not the conditions 1906 of the transmission control rule acquired in step 1906 are met.

  If the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing of step S1304 that the various conditions of the condition 1906 are met (YES), the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1305, and performs the processing according to the operation set in the operation setting 1907 of the transmission control rule. Decide what to do with the email. At this time, when a plurality of operation settings 1907 are set, which operation setting 1907 is to be processed for each destination is determined according to the destination condition 1907-1, and the operation of the determined operation setting 1907 is performed. Based on the setting of 1907-2, the processing of the e-mail to the destination is determined. At this time, if the operation of the e-mail to a plurality of destinations set in one e-mail is different, the CPU 201 divides the e-mail into envelopes, and To set the operation. Note that the envelope division will be described with reference to FIG. After the processing in step S1305 ends, the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1401 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing of step S1304 that the e-mail to be subjected to the transmission control processing does not match the various conditions set in the conditions 1906 of the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 (NO), the processing proceeds. Is advanced to step S1301.

  If it is determined in step S1303 that the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 is a transmission control rule for divisional evaluation, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1306, and the envelope of the e-mail is transmitted to each destination. Divided into envelopes. If the envelope division has already been performed or if only one transmission destination has been set, the envelope division processing in step S1306 is not performed. FIG. 23 shows an image of the envelope division of the electronic mail.

  FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an image of an envelope division of an electronic mail. In the e-mail before the envelope division in FIG. 23, a plurality of destinations (A, B, C) are set in the e-mail envelope.

  When envelope division is performed on such electronic mail data, the result is as after envelope division. That is, a plurality of e-mails, each of which is individually set in the envelope, are created. As can be seen from the email after the envelope division in FIG. 23, an email is created in which each of the destinations (A, B, C) set in the envelope of the original email is set one by one.

  The above is the description of the envelope division of the e-mail.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After performing the envelope division processing in step S1306, the CPU 201 executes steps S1307 to S1307 for all envelope division e-mails created by the envelope division (that is, for individual e-mails to all transmission destinations). The processing in step S1309 is executed.

  In step 1307, the CPU 201 acquires an envelope-divided electronic mail for an undetermined destination. Then, it is determined whether or not the envelope split e-mail acquired in step S1307 matches the condition 1906 set in the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 (step S1308). Then, if it is determined in the determination processing in step S1308 that they match (YES), the CPU 201 according to the operation set in the transmission control rule obtained in step S1302, obtains the envelope split electronic mail obtained in step S1307. Is determined (step S1309). At this time, when a plurality of operation settings 1907 are set for each transmission destination in the transmission control rule, the operation is determined according to the transmission destination. In the process of step S1308, it is individually determined whether each of the envelope-divided e-mails matches the transmission control rule, and if so, the operation of the envelope-divided e-mail set in the transmission control rule is performed. , And the operation of the envelope split mail that does not match the transmission control rule is not determined by the transmission control rule.

  After the processing of steps S1307 to S1309 has been completed for the envelope division e-mails for all transmission destinations, it is determined whether there is an envelope division e-mail for which the operation has not been determined (step S1310). If the determination is YES, the envelopes of the envelope-divided e-mails for the destinations whose operations have not been determined are combined to create one e-mail (step S1311). In order to combine the envelopes and create one e-mail, a process reverse to that of the envelope division is performed. If there is only one envelope split e-mail for which the operation has not been determined, the e-mail combining process is not performed.

  After the step S1311, the process returns to the step S1301, and the processes after the step S1301 are performed. The operation of the e-mail to the destination whose operation has already been determined in step S1309 is not changed in the subsequent processing.

  If the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines NO in the determination process of step S1310, the process proceeds to step S1401 in FIG.

  As a result of applying all the transmission control rules to the e-mail, if there is no transmission control rule that matches the condition 1906 (in this case, the determination processing in step S1301 determines NO), the processing is performed. To step S1312, and determine the operation of the e-mail according to a preset default operation. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S1401 in FIG.

  If the determination in step S1310 is NO after the processing in step S1305 in FIG. 13 is completed, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 continues to perform the processing in FIG. 14 after the processing in step S1312. In FIG. 14, for each transmission destination set in the e-mail, a process of determining the final transmission control (operation) based on the status of the transmission control process of another e-mail related to the e-mail is performed. Will be.

  In the second embodiment, when a plurality of transmission destinations are set in one e-mail, different transmission control may be performed for each transmission destination. For example, the result of the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 performing the transmission control process using the transmission control rule on the email A in which the sender P sets the plurality of destinations X, Y, and Z is X and If e-mail A is transmitted to Z, e-mail A is not transmitted immediately to Y, and control is performed in accordance with the instruction of the transmission / prohibition determination by the auditor (that is, transmission is suspended). It may be determined.

  In the case as described above, when the X who has received the e-mail A creates an e-mail B which is a reply e-mail of the e-mail A to all the members, the destinations (TO, CC) are P, Y and Z are set. It is conceivable that the result of the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 performing transmission control processing on the electronic mail B using the transmission control rule may permit transmission to all transmission destinations.

  In this case, the e-mail B arrives at the destination Y in a state where the e-mail A that should have arrived first has not been transmitted to the destination Y. In some cases, the auditor may determine that the e-mail A should not be sent to the destination Y. Therefore, the e-mail A cannot be sent to the destination Y. There is a problem in sending the mail B to the destination Y.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, particularly, when the e-mail targeted for the transmission control processing in FIG. 13 is a reply e-mail of another e-mail (hereinafter, such an e-mail is referred to as E-mail "), the result of the transmission control of the reply source e-mail is confirmed, and the e-mail transmission control method is finally determined.

  First, in step S1401, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether it is a reply e-mail of another e-mail based on the header information of the e-mail to be subjected to the transmission control processing.

  If the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing of step S1401 that the received mail is not a reply mail (NO), the processing proceeds to step S1402, and each of the emails set in the electronic mail determined by performing the processing illustrated in FIG. The operation of the e-mail for each destination is set as the operation for the e-mail. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S1412.

  If the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing in step S1401 that the mail is a reply mail (YES), the processing in steps S1403 to S1411 is performed on all the transmission destinations set in the electronic mail.

  First, in step S1403, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 acquires a destination that has not been processed in steps S1403 to S1411 among destinations set in the e-mail. Then, it is determined whether or not the operation for the destination determined by executing the transmission control process shown in FIG. 13 by the CPU 201 is prohibited (step S1404). If the CPU 201 determines that transmission is prohibited (YES) in the determination processing of step S1404, the processing proceeds to step S1407. On the other hand, if it is determined that transmission is not prohibited (NO: transmission or suspension), the process proceeds to step S1405.

  In step S1405, the CPU 201 acquires the transmission history information of the reply source e-mail of the e-mail to be transmitted, from the e-mail transmission history DB2000.

  Here, the data configuration of the e-mail transmission history DB 2000 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 20, the e-mail transmission history DB 2000 includes a mail ID 2001, a transmission destination 2002, a transmission control result 2003, and the like as data items.

  In the mail ID 2001, information for uniquely identifying an electronic mail is registered. For example, the information set in Message-id in the e-mail header is registered.

  In the destination 2002, the destination (TO, CC, BCC) set for the e-mail specified by the mail ID 2001 is registered. If a plurality of destinations are set for one e-mail, a record is created in the e-mail transmission history DB 2000 for each destination.

  In the transmission control result 2003, a transmission control result for the destination set as the destination 2002 of the e-mail identified by the mail ID registered in the mail ID 2001 is registered. Information such as transmission, hold, transmission prohibition, hold → transmission, hold → transmission prohibition, etc. is registered in the transmission control result 2003. The above is an example of the data configuration of the electronic mail transmission history DB 2000 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. In step S1405, the CPU 201 uses the information (reply-source e-mail ID) set to In-reply-to in the mail header of the e-mail to be sent and the destination information acquired in step S1403, to send the e-mail. The transmission history information of the reply source e-mail is obtained by searching the mail transmission history DB 2000 and searching for records that match them. After acquiring the transmission history information of the reply source e-mail to the destination obtained in step S1403, it is determined whether the transmission control result of the reply source e-mail to the destination is transmission prohibited (step S1406). . If the CPU 201 determines in this determination process that transmission is prohibited (including suspension → transmission prohibited) (YES), the process proceeds to step S1407. On the other hand, if it is determined that transmission is not prohibited (NO), the process proceeds to step S1408. If the mail ID 2001 has a matching record but does not match any of the destinations 2002, the destination is the source of the reply e-mail or the newly added destination. It is. In this case, since the reply source e-mail is not held at the transmission destination, the same processing as the transmission destination to which the reply source e-mail has already been transmitted is performed.

  If YES is determined in step S1404, or if YES is determined in step S1406, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1407, and prohibits transmission of the e-mail to be transmitted to the transmission destination acquired in step S1403. To decide.

  In step S1408, the CPU 201 determines whether the reply source e-mail is on hold for the destination acquired in step S1403. If YES is determined in step S1408, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 advances the process to step S1409, and determines that the operation determined by the transmission control rule is performed after temporarily stopping the transmission control process for the e-mail. Note that temporarily suspending the transmission control process means that after the transmission control process for the reply source e-mail is completed, the transmission control process for the e-mail is performed.

  The e-mail for which the transmission control processing has been suspended is registered in the suspended e-mail DB 2200 shown in FIG. 22 in the processing of step S1412 described later.

  Here, the data configuration of the temporary stop e-mail DB 2200 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 22, the pause e-mail DB 2200 includes a mail ID 2201, a transmission destination 2202, a transmission control result 2203, an inspector 2204, a return source e-mail ID 2205, and the like.

  In the mail ID 2201, information for uniquely identifying an electronic mail is registered. For example, the information set in Message-id in the e-mail header is registered.

  The transmission destination (TO, CC, BCC) set for the e-mail specified by the mail ID 2201 is registered in the transmission destination 2202. When the transmission control processing of the e-mail is temporarily stopped for a plurality of transmission destinations set in one e-mail, a record is created in the suspension e-mail DB 2200 for each transmission destination. Will be.

  In the transmission control result 2203, the operation determined as a result of the transmission control process using the transmission control rule for the e-mail for which the transmission control is temporarily stopped is registered. When the operation registered in the transmission control result 2203 is “pending”, information of the inspector who performs an audit on the suspended e-mail is registered in the inspector 2204.

  In the reply source email ID 2205, the mail ID of the reply email of the suspended email is registered. For example, the information set as In-reply-to in the email header of the suspended email is registered.

  The above is an explanation of an example of the data configuration of the suspension e-mail DB 2200.

  Returning to the description of FIG. If it is determined in step S1408 that the reply source e-mail is not on hold, the CPU 201 determines the information (reply source e-mail) set to In-reply-to in the mail header of the transmission control target e-mail. Using the e-mail ID) and the destination information obtained in step S1403, the temporary stop e-mail DB 2200 is searched, and transmission control of the return source e-mail is temporarily stopped depending on whether or not a record matching them has been obtained. Is determined (step S1410). If the determination is YES, the process advances to step S1409 to determine that transmission control for the e-mail is to be performed after the transmission control processing for the e-mail is temporarily stopped.

  On the other hand, if NO is determined in the process of step S1410, the process proceeds to step S1411, and the e-mail is sent to the operation determined by the transmission control process (one of steps S1305, S1309, and S1312 in FIG. 13). (Determined operation).

  After deciding the operation for all the destinations set in the e-mail by any one of the steps S1402, S1407, S1409, and S1411, the CPU 201 performs the e-mail transmission control execution processing (step S1401). S1412). Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  Here, details of the e-mail transmission control execution processing in step S1412 in FIG. 14 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is a process performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101, and a program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute the process is stored in the external memory 211 or the like. The program is loaded into the RAM 202, and the processing shown in the drawing is executed according to the control of the loaded program.

  First, as a result of executing the e-mail transmission control processing shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the CPU 201 performs the processing of steps S1501 to S1504 on the transmission destination determined to suspend the e-mail transmission control processing.

  In step S1501, the CPU 201 acquires a destination for which the processing after step S1502 has not been performed yet among the destinations determined to temporarily stop the transmission control processing of the e-mail.

  After that, the CPU 201 determines whether there is a destination determined to prohibit the transmission of the e-mail among other destinations to which the e-mail is set (step S1502). If the CPU 201 determines YES in this determination process, the process advances to step S1503 to delete the transmission destination for which transmission of the electronic mail is prohibited from the mail header of the electronic mail. The purpose of performing this processing is that, after the e-mail is transmitted to the specified destination, the client device 103 that has received the e-mail creates a reply e-mail for the e-mail (reply source e-mail). This is to prevent the setting of the destination to which the transmission of the reply e-mail is prohibited as the destination of the reply mail. Steps S1507 and S1513 to be described later are also performed for the same purpose.

Then, a record having the transmission destination and the mail ID of the e-mail is additionally registered in the suspension e-mail DB 2200 (step S1504).

  Thereafter, the CPU 201 performs the processing of steps S1505 to S1508 on the transmission destination determined to suspend the transmission of the e-mail as a result of executing the e-mail transmission control processing illustrated in FIGS.

  In step S1505, the CPU 201 obtains a destination for which the processing after step S1506 has not been performed among the destinations determined to suspend the transmission of the e-mail.

  After that, the CPU 201 determines whether or not there is a destination determined to prohibit transmission of the e-mail among other destinations to which the e-mail is set (step S1506). If the CPU 201 determines YES in this determination process, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1507, and deletes the transmission destination of which transmission of the electronic mail is prohibited from the mail header of the electronic mail.

Then, a record having the transmission destination and the mail ID of the e-mail is additionally registered in the pending e-mail DB 2100 (step S1508).

  Here, with reference to FIG. 21, the data configuration of the held e-mail DB 2100 in the second embodiment will be described. The held e-mail DB 2100 in the second embodiment is configured to include data items such as a mail ID 2101, a sender 2102, an auditor 2103, a destination 2104, and a hold date / time 2105 as data items.

  The mail ID 2101, the sender 2102, the inspector 2103, and the hold date and time 2105 correspond to the mail ID 801, the sender 802, the auditor 803, and the hold date and time 804 of the hold electronic mail DB 800 in the first embodiment, respectively. Therefore, detailed description here is omitted.

  The transmission destination 2104 is a data item for registering the transmission destination of the electronic mail. The purpose of providing such a data item is that, in the second embodiment, the transmission control processing of the e-mail for each transmission destination set for one e-mail may be different. The reason why the transmission of the electronic mail is suspended is to identify which transmission destination.

  The above is the description of the data configuration of the held e-mail DB 2100 according to the second embodiment.

  Returning to the description of FIG. Next, as a result of the e-mail transmission control processing shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the CPU 201 performs the processing of steps S1509 to S1516 on the transmission destination determined to transmit the e-mail.

  In step S1509, the CPU 201 obtains, from the destinations determined to transmit the e-mail, the destinations for which the processing after step S1510 has not been performed. Then, the CPU 201 determines whether the destination set in the electronic mail includes a destination determined to hold the electronic mail and a destination determined to suspend the transmission control process (step S1510).

  If it is determined in step S1510 that there is a destination determined to hold the e-mail and a destination determined to temporarily suspend the transmission control process (YES), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1511 and proceeds to step S1511. A notification is added to the body of the mail that there is a destination to which the e-mail has not been sent yet. At this time, a notice capable of recognizing those transmission destinations is added.

  Further, the CPU 201 determines whether the e-mail has a transmission destination determined to be prohibited from being transmitted (step S1512). If it is determined in this determination process that there is a transmission destination determined to be prohibited (YES), the process proceeds to step S1513, and the transmission destination is deleted from the mail header of the electronic mail.

  It is needless to say that the processes of steps S1512 and S1513 may be performed before the processes of steps S1510 and S1511.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether the e-mail is a combined e-mail whose size has been combined in step S404 in FIG. 4 (step S1514). If the determination is YES, the process advances to step S1515 to divide the size of the e-mail based on the mail size before combination (combined e-mail size division). Thereafter, a process of transmitting the size-divided e-mail to the destination selected in step S1509 is performed (step S1516).

  After finishing the above processing, the CPU 201 registers the transmission control result of the electronic mail to the destination for which the transmission control processing is not temporarily stopped, in the electronic mail transmission history DB2000. The above is the description of the e-mail transmission control execution processing in step S1412 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After the e-mail transmission control execution processing in step S1412 ends, the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1413, and among the transmission destinations set for the e-mail to be subjected to the transmission control processing, transmission of which e-mail transmission is suspended Determine if there is a destination. If the determination is YES in this determination process, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1414, and notifies the sender and the auditor of the electronic mail that there is a suspended destination.

  Also, in step S1415, the CPU 201 determines whether there is a destination for which transmission of the electronic mail is prohibited among the destinations set for the electronic mail to be subjected to the transmission control process. If it is determined in this determination process that there is a transmission-prohibited destination (YES), the process proceeds to step S1416, and the CPU 201 notifies the sender that there is a transmission-prohibited destination. Will be. When there are both a transmission destination for which transmission of an e-mail is suspended and a transmission destination for which transmission is prohibited, the sender of the e-mail is notified by a single notification e-mail. Of course, there is no problem if the processing in step S1414 and the processing in S1416 are performed at the same time.

  The above is the description of the e-mail transmission control processing performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 16, a description will be given of a held e-mail audit process (step S306 in FIG. 3) according to the second embodiment. A program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute this processing is stored in the external memory 211 or the like. When executing this processing, the CPU 201 loads the program into the RAM 202, and executes the processing according to the control of the loaded program. Processing will be executed.

  First, the CPU 201 obtains an ID, a password, and the like used for user authentication from the client device 103, and identifies the user who has issued the audit request by checking the user information registered in a user table (not shown). (User identification processing: step S1601).

  After identifying the user who made the audit request by the user identification process in step S1601, the CPU 201 determines whether there is an e-mail to be audited by the user (step S1602). The CPU 201 makes this determination based on whether or not the held e-mail DB 2100 has a record in which the user information of the user specified in step S1601 is registered in the auditor 2103. If the user identified in step S1601 determines that there is no e-mail to be audited (NO) in the determination process in step S1602, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1603, and notifies the user of an audit target. A notification that there is no e-mail is sent, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of step S1602 that there is an e-mail to be audited by the user (YES), the process proceeds to step S1604, and the user's audit target (the user Obtain pending emails that should be audited). At this time, the hold electronic mail indicated by the record in which the user information of the user is registered in the auditor 2103 is acquired as the electronic mail to be audited by the user. Then, the CPU 201 generates screen information including the acquired list of held e-mails (step S1605), and transmits the screen information to the client device 103 used by the user who has issued the audit request (step S1606). On the display device of the client device 103, a suspended electronic mail list screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed according to this screen information.

  Thereafter, the CPU 201 accepts an instruction to press any of the detail buttons 1001-6 on the hold e-mail list screen displayed on the display device of the client device 103, and thereby receives the detailed data of the hold e-mail issued by the client device 103. If it is determined that the request has been received (YES in step S1607), the process advances to step S1608 to generate screen information including the detailed data of the designated held e-mail. When generating the screen information, the CPU 201 searches the e-mail transmission history DB 2000 based on the e-mail ID of the on-hold e-mail, and transmits the e-mail transmission history to the other transmission destination of the same e-mail as the on-target e-mail to be audited. Information is acquired, and screen information including the information is generated.

  After creating the screen information in step S1608, the screen information is transmitted to the client device 103 that has requested the detailed data (step S1609). In accordance with the screen information transmitted in step S1609, the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1800 shown in FIG. 18 is displayed on the display device of the client device 103.

  Here, referring to FIG. 18, the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1800 in the second embodiment, which is displayed on the display device of client device 103 that has received the screen information transmitted in step S1609 in FIG. An example of the configuration will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 18, a sender (FROM) information display column 1801, a TO information display column 1802, a CC information display column 1803, a BCC information display column 1804, a subject display column 1805, A text information display column 1806, an attached file information display column 1807, a transmitted destination display column 1808, a transmission prohibited destination display column 1809, an audit input column 1810, and an enter button 1815 are set.

  The audit input column 1810 includes an audit target (all destinations / individual) designation column 1811, an all destination audit input column 1812, an individual destination audit input column 1813, and an audit input column 1814 of an individual audit uninput destination. Is set.

  The sender (FROM) information display column 1801 is a display column for displaying information of the sender of the held e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the sender (FROM) 703 of the e-mail DB 700. is there. The TO information display column 1802 is a display column for displaying the transmission destination (TO) information of the held e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the TO 704-1 of the e-mail DB 700. The CC information display column 1803 is a display column for displaying the transmission destination (CC) information of the held e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in CC704-2 of the e-mail DB 700. The BCC information display column 1804 is a display column for displaying the transmission destination (BCC) information of the pending e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the BCC 704-3 of the e-mail DB 700.

  The subject information display column 1805 is a display column for displaying the subject of the pending e-mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the subject 705 of the e-mail DB 700. The text information display field 1806 is a display field for displaying the text of the held e-mail, and is a display field for displaying information registered in the text 706 of the e-mail DB 700. The attached file information display column 1807 is a display column for displaying an icon according to the file format when an attached file is set in the held e-mail, and is registered in the attachment 707 of the e-mail DB 700. This is a display column for displaying information. By performing a double-click process on the icon displayed in the attached file information display field 1807, the content of the file can be confirmed.

  The transmitted destination display column 1808 is a display column for displaying, among destinations set for the e-mail, destinations for which transmission processing of the e-mail has already been performed. In the case of this figure, the zzzzz @ asdf. co. jp means that the e-mail displayed on this screen has already been sent.

  The transmission prohibited transmission destination display column 1809 is a display column for displaying, among the transmission destinations set for the electronic mail, transmission destinations for which transmission of the electronic mail has been prohibited. In the case of this figure, it means that there is no transmission destination whose transmission of the e-mail displayed on this screen is prohibited.

  The audit input column 1810 is a reception column for receiving an input of audit information (“transmission” or “transmission prohibition”) for each transmission destination for which transmission of the e-mail is suspended.

  The audit target (all destinations / individual) designation column 1811 indicates whether to perform audit input for all pending destinations at once (all destinations) or for each individual destination ( This is a reception field for receiving an input of (individual) designation.

  The all-destination audit input field 1812 is an input field used to collectively receive an audit input for all destinations for which transmission of the e-mail is suspended. This all-destination audit input column 1812 is enabled when “all destinations” is designated in the audit target (all-destination / individual) designation column 1811, and can receive input of audit information.

  The individual transmission destination audit input column 1813 is an input column used to receive an audit input for each transmission destination for which transmission of the e-mail is suspended. This individual destination audit input column 1813 is enabled when “individual” is designated in the audit target (all destinations / individual) designation column 1811, and can receive input of audit information for each destination. It is. By doing so, it is possible to input different audit information to the transmission destination set in one e-mail.

  The audit input column 1814 of the individual audit non-input destination is used to receive an audit input for a destination whose audit information is not input in the individual destination audit input column among the destinations for which the transmission of the e-mail is suspended. This is an input field used for. The audit input column 1814 of the individual audit uninput destination is also effective when “individual” is designated in the audit target (all destinations / individual) designation column 1811. By providing such an input field, when performing an audit input individually, an audit is input in the individual destination audit input field 1813 only for a destination to be subjected to an exceptional audit, and other transmissions are performed. With respect to the destination, it is possible to perform an audit input in the audit input column 1814 of the individual audit uninput destination, thereby improving the efficiency of processing when performing an audit input for each individual destination. Becomes possible.

  The decision button 1815 is a button used to confirm the audit information input via the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1800. It should be noted that the e-mail to the transmission destination for which the audit input has not been performed is kept in the hold state.

  The above is an example of the configuration of the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1800 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After transmitting the screen information in step S1609, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 transmits the individual transmission information input via the held e-mail details confirmation screen 1800 displayed on the display device of the client device 103 based on the transmitted screen information. The input of the audit for the destination is received from the client device 103 (step S1610).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination processing of step S1607 that the request to send the pending e-mail has not been received from the client device 103 (NO), the process proceeds to step S1611, and the audit target on the pending e-mail list screen 1000 is displayed. The input of the audit is received by designating the e-mail to be audited based on the presence or absence of the check of the mail selection check box 1001-1 and receiving the pressing instruction of the transmission button 1002 or the transmission prohibition button 1003 (steps S1611 and S1612). ). When an audit is input via this screen, the same audit input is performed for all the transmission destinations set in the hold e-mail that are suspended. .

  Upon receiving the input of the audit information in steps S1610 and S1612, the CPU 201 shifts the processing to step S1613, and executes the pending e-mail transmission control execution processing. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  Then, the processing from step S1606 to step S1613 is performed until it is determined that the audit processing is to be ended (YES in step S1614). The CPU 201 determines to end the auditing process when the user receives an audit input for all the pending e-mails to be audited or when the display of the pending e-mail list display screen ends.

  The above is the description of the held e-mail audit processing (Step S306 in FIG. 3) in the second embodiment.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 17, the details of the held e-mail transmission control execution processing in step S1613 of FIG. 16 will be described. A program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute this processing is stored in the external memory 211 or the like. When executing the processing illustrated in this drawing, the CPU 201 loads the program into the RAM 202 and executes the processing based on the loaded program. The processing shown in this figure is performed according to the control.

  The CPU 201 performs the processing of steps S1701 to S1714 for all the transmission destinations that have received the audit input in steps S1610 and S1612 of FIG.

  First, the CPU 201 obtains an e-mail for which the processing shown in this drawing has not been executed from among e-mails for which an audit input has been received (step S1701). Then, among the destinations set in the acquired e-mail, the processes of steps S1702 to S1714 are performed for the destination that has received the audit input.

  In step S1702, the CPU 201 obtains, from the destinations set in the e-mail whose selection has been received in step S1701 and which has received the input of the audit, the destinations for which this processing has not been completed. . Then, it is determined whether the audit input (operation input) of the e-mail to the transmission destination acquired in step S1702 is “transmission” or “transmission prohibited” (step S1703).

  If it is determined in the determination processing of step S1703 that the received audit input is “transmission”, the process proceeds to step S1704, and the e-mail acquired in step S1701 is transmitted to the transmission destination selected in step S1702. Send (e-mail sending process). At this time, if the destination set in the e-mail includes a destination for which transmission of the e-mail is prohibited (including hold → prohibition of transmission), the e-mail Remove from mail header of. Also, if the destination set in the e-mail includes a destination that is still on hold or a destination for which transmission control has been suspended, a notice to that effect is added to the body of the e-mail. Will do.

  After that, the suspended e-mail DB 2200 is searched to determine whether there is a suspended e-mail corresponding to the e-mail ID and the transmission destination of the e-mail subjected to the transmission processing in step S1704 (step S1705). The CPU 201 sends the e-mail ID of the e-mail subjected to the transmission processing in step S1704 and the e-mail indicated by the record registered in the destination registered in the transmission destination 2202 to the e-mail of the e-mail subjected to the transmission processing in step S1704. It will be a pause e-mail corresponding to the ID and the destination.

  If the CPU 201 determines in the determination processing of step S1705 that there is a pause e-mail (YES), the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1706, releases the pause state of the pause e-mail, and responds to the pause e-mail. Then, the electronic mail transmission control execution process shown in FIG. 15 is performed.

  After completing the e-mail transmission control execution process for the suspended e-mail (step S1706), the CPU 201 deletes the suspended e-mail from the suspended e-mail DB 2200 (step S1707).

  If the CPU 201 determines that the audit input received in the determination process of step S1703 is “transmission prohibited”, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1708, and a suspended e-mail having the same mail ID as the e-mail for which the audit input was received is determined. It is determined whether it is in the hold electronic mail DB 2100.

  If it is determined in the determination processing in step S1708 that a pending electronic mail having the same mail ID as the electronic mail for which the audit input has been received is present in the pending electronic mail DB 2100 (YES), the process proceeds to step S1709, and the processing proceeds to step S1709. From the mail header of the mail, delete the destination that received the audit input to prohibit transmission.

  After determining NO in step S1708 and ending the processing in step S1709, the CPU 201 registers the mail ID of the e-mail acquired in step S1701 in the mail ID 2201 and registers the transmission destination selected in step S1702 in the transmission destination 2202 It is determined whether or not the paused e-mail is present in the pause e-mail DB 2200 (a related pause e-mail list exists? Step S1710).

  If it is determined in the determination processing of step S1710 that there is a temporary stop e-mail as described above (YES), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1711, and sets the temporary stop e-mail to a transmission-prohibited e-mail. (Prohibition of transmission of suspended e-mail). In this case, the transmission history information of the temporary stop e-mail is created in the e-mail transmission history DB 2000, and the transmission control result 2003 sets transmission prohibition. After the processing in step S1711 ends, the temporary stop e-mail is deleted from the temporary stop e-mail DB 2200 (step S1712).

  After the processing of step S1707 and step S1712 ends, the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1713, and updates the transmission history information of the e-mail for which the audit input has been received for the destination. Then, the record related to the e-mail in the pending e-mail DB 2100 is deleted (step S1714).

  The CPU 201 executes the processing of the above steps S1701 to S1714 for all the held e-mails that have received the audit input. If it is determined that this processing has been completed for all the pending e-mails, the processing shown in this figure is ended.

  Next, a functional configuration of the proxy server 101 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the proxy server 101 includes a transmission control rule storage unit 2401, an e-mail acquisition unit 2402, an e-mail storage unit 2403, a pending e-mail storage unit 2404, an e-mail combining unit 2405, an e-mail division unit 2406, Same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2407, condition match determination unit 2408, e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 2409, audit reception unit 2410, paused e-mail storage unit 2411, transmission control result storage unit 2412, related e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2413 And the like.

  The transmission control rule storage unit 2401 is a functional unit that stores the transmission control rule DB 1900 shown in FIG. The e-mail acquisition unit 2402 is a functional unit that acquires an e-mail transmitted from the client device 103 or the mail server 102.

  The e-mail storage unit 2403 is a storage unit that stores the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 2402, and stores and manages the e-mail DB 700 illustrated in FIG. The pending e-mail storage unit 2404 is a storage unit that stores e-mails whose transmission has been suspended as a result of transmission control processing by an e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 2409 described below, and stores a pending e-mail DB 2100 shown in FIG. ,to manage.

  The e-mail combining unit 2405 converts the envelope of the e-mail having the same e-mail ID when the same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2407 determines that there is an e-mail having the same e-mail ID in the e-mail DB 700. This is a functional unit that combines the e-mails into one e-mail, and combines the e-mails divided in size into one e-mail. The e-mail dividing unit 2406 re-divides the combined e-mail combined by the e-mail combining unit 2405 based on the size before the combination before transmitting the combined e-mail, or converts the e-mail having a plurality of destinations. This is a functional unit that divides the envelope.

  The same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2407 is a functional unit that determines whether an e-mail having the same mail ID as the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 2402 is stored in the e-mail DB 700. The condition matching determination unit 2408 is a functional unit that determines whether an e-mail to be subjected to transmission control processing matches a condition set in a transmission control rule. The e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 2409 is a functional unit that performs e-mail transmission control according to the operation set in the transmission control rule that has determined that the condition set by the condition match determination unit 2408 has been met.

  The audit receiving unit 2410 is a functional unit that receives an input of audit information (transmission, transmission prohibition) for the held e-mail stored in the held e-mail DB 2100.

  The suspension e-mail storage unit 2411 is a storage unit that stores the suspension e-mail, and stores and manages the suspension e-mail DB 2200. The transmission control result storage unit 2412 is a functional unit that stores the result of the transmission control process for the e-mail, and stores and manages the result of the transmission control process for the e-mail by the e-mail transmission history DB 2000 shown in FIG.

  The related e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2413 determines whether the e-mail related to the e-mail to be transmitted and the e-mail related to the e-mail for which the audit input has been received are included in the suspended e-mail DB 2200 or the pending e-mail DB 2100. Is a functional unit that determines

  The above is an example of the functional configuration of the proxy server 101 according to the second embodiment.

  With the above-described configuration, it is possible to make the transmission control of the e-mail to each of a plurality of transmission destinations set for one e-mail different.

  In addition, even if the transmission control of the e-mail to each of a plurality of destinations set for one e-mail is made different, the e-mail may be transmitted earlier than the e-mail suspended for transmission to some destinations. The problem that the reply mail of the mail arrives at the said part destination first, and the problem that the reply mail of the said e-mail is sent to the destination where the transmission of the e-mail is prohibited. It is possible to prevent it from occurring.

  An object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium (or a storage medium) in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or a CPU or an MPU) of the system or the apparatus. Can be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  When the computer executes the readout program codes, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program codes. It goes without saying that a case where some or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is executed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU included in the expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, the recording medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

101 Proxy server 102 Mail server 103-1 to 103-3 Client device 104 LAN
105 Wide area network 106-1, 106-2 External mail server 201 CPU
202 RAM
203 ROM
204 System bus 205 Input controller 206 Video controller 207 Memory controller 208 Communication I / F (interface) controller 209 Input device 210 Display device 211 External memory

Claims (6)

An information processing device for controlling transmission of electronic mail data,
Storage means for storing a plurality of transmission control rules used for transmission control of the email data,
Acquisition means for acquiring the email data,
First determining means for determining whether another electronic mail having the same identification information as the electronic mail data obtained by the obtaining means has already been obtained,
Coupling means for coupling the envelope of the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition means and the envelope of the other e-mail data when it is determined that the e-mail data is acquired by the first determination means;
A second determining unit that determines whether the condition of the transmission control rule is satisfied by comparing the electronic mail data combined by the combining unit with the transmission control rule;
Executing means for executing the operation defined in the transmission control rule on the e-mail data when the second determination means determines that the condition is satisfied,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second determination unit compares a condition regarding a destination of the condition of the transmission control rule with destination information set in an envelope combined by the combining unit. The combining unit creates an envelope including all of the destination information set in the envelope of the email data acquired by the acquisition unit and the destination information set in the envelope of the other email data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the envelopes are combined. An application priority is set in the transmission control rule,
Determining means for determining a transmission control rule to be compared with the email data in the order of the application priority;
With
The second determining unit determines whether the condition of the transmission control rule is satisfied by comparing the electronic mail data with a transmission control rule determined by the determining unit. Item 3. The information processing device according to item 1 or 2. The e-mail is size-combined e-mail data obtained by combining the size-divided e-mails, and the operation set by the second determination means in the transmission control rule that the e-mail data meets the condition is the In the case of transmission, the apparatus further comprises a dividing unit that divides the size-combined email data based on the size before division and generates re-divided electronic data,
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the execution unit executes a process of transmitting the re-divided e-mail data divided by the division unit to a designated transmission destination. 5. apparatus. An information processing method, comprising: a storage device that stores a plurality of transmission control rules used for transmission control of the e-mail data, and an information processing device that performs relay control of e-mail data using the plurality of transmission control rules. hand,
An acquisition step of acquiring the email data,
A first determination step of determining whether another email having the same identification information as the email data obtained in the obtaining step has already been obtained,
An integration step of integrating the envelope of the e-mail data acquired in the acquisition step and the envelope of the other e-mail data when it is determined that the e-mail data is acquired in the first determination step;
A second determining step of determining whether or not the condition of the relay control rule is satisfied by comparing the electronic mail data integrated in the integrating step with the relay control rule;
And performing an operation defined in the relay control rule on the e-mail data when it is determined that the condition is satisfied in the second determination step,
The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein the second determining step compares a condition regarding a transmission destination of the condition of the relay control rule with transmission destination information set in an envelope. An information processing device comprising a storage device for storing a plurality of transmission control rules used for the transmission control of the e-mail data, and performing relay control of the e-mail data using the plurality of transmission control rules,
Acquisition means for acquiring the email data,
First determining means for determining whether another electronic mail having the same identification information as the electronic mail data obtained by the obtaining means has already been obtained,
Integrating means for integrating the envelope of the e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means and the envelope of the other e-mail data when it is determined that the e-mail data is acquired by the first determining means;
A second determining unit that determines whether the condition of the relay control rule is satisfied by comparing the electronic mail data integrated by the integrating unit with the relay control rule;
When the second determination means determines that the condition is met, the function defined as the execution means for executing the operation defined in the relay control rule on the electronic mail data,
The computer program according to claim 2, wherein in the second determining step, a condition regarding a destination of the condition of the relay control rule is compared with destination information set in an envelope.

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