JP3564377B2 - E-mail incoming notification system and method, and terminal adapter - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an e-mail receiving method and method, and more particularly to an e-mail receiving method and method for notifying an ISDN terminal adapter of incoming e-mail from a provider.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When an individual tries to send and receive e-mail using the Internet, the provider makes a dial-up IP connection to the provider to send and receive e-mail.
In this case, even if the received mail is on the mail server of the provider (Internet service provider, which provides Internet services), the user makes a dial-up IP connection, and if the user does not communicate with the mail server of the provider, the received mail is not sent. I don't know. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, an electronic mail reception display method and a mail server automatic transmission method have been disclosed.
[0003]
That is, when an electronic mail arrives at a provider's mail server as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-5-207055 and JP-A-11-341047, an incoming electronic mail is displayed. The terminal adapter notifies the terminal adapter that the call has been made, and the terminal adapter displays an incoming call on the display unit. The terminal adapter notifies the user of an incoming e-mail by displaying that an e-mail has been received on a display unit.
[0004]
As an automatic mail server transmission method, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-252199, when an e-mail is received by a mail server, a mail is sent to a telephone number preset in the mail server. The server automatically makes outgoing calls and announces incoming e-mails.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of the e-mail incoming display method, since it is displayed on the display of the terminal adapter, it is possible to confirm the incoming mail when the user is near the terminal adapter. In such a case, there is a problem that the arrival of the e-mail cannot be known, and a problem that the confirmation of the e-mail is delayed when an urgent mail is received.
[0006]
Also, in the case of the mail server automatic transmission method, since the telephone is notified of the incoming of the e-mail, there is a problem that a telephone charge is incurred every time the e-mail incoming notification is sent to the telephone. In addition, since information of a telephone number for notifying of an incoming electronic mail is required in the mail server, when the telephone number is changed, the setting must be changed by accessing the mail server. For this reason, there is a problem in that, when electronic mail is used in the dial-up IP connection, the mail server must be accessed by the dial-up IP connection every time the setting is changed.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to notify a terminal adapter that an e-mail has been received immediately without incurring a call charge even if the provider does not have an e-mail arrival notification at home. It is in.
[0008]
It is another object of the present invention to allow a terminal adapter to notify an e-mail address of a source of an e-mail even when not at home.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail arrival notification system, wherein a terminal adapter is connected to an Internet service provider having a mail server via an ISDN network, and the mail server is connected to an electronic mail from the Internet. In the e-mail receiving method of storing the e-mail when receiving the e-mail and notifying the terminal adapter of the e-mail reception using the D-channel packet communication, the mail server receives the e-mail from the Internet and receives the e-mail. When sending the received e-mail arrival notification to the terminal adapter, the e-mail destination e-mail address and the source e-mail address are set in an area in the first call setting message, and the set e-mail address is set. 1 call setup message Has a first notification hand stage performing mail arrival notification by transmitting the addressed number, the terminal adapter, the go telephone number e-mail address of the user and corresponding to the e-mail address to use the terminal adapter Storage means for storing a table in which the information is stored, switching means for performing a switch indicating whether the user is out of the office or at home, and when the mail arrival notification is received from the mail server, the switching means is out of the office. Detecting means for searching the table based on the destination e-mail address described in the call setting message to detect the outgoing telephone number; and addressing the outgoing telephone number detected by the detecting means. And a second notification means for performing the mail arrival notification.
[0010]
Further, in the above-described electronic mail arrival notification system, the second notifying means sets a specific subaddress indicating the mail arrival notification in an area within a second call setting message, and sets the set second call setting message. A message is transmitted to the outside telephone number.
[0011]
Further, in the above-described electronic mail arrival notification system, when the telephone having the outside telephone number receives the second call setup message, the telephone analyzes the second call setup message and analyzes the second call setup message. It is characterized by having display means for displaying the transmission source telephone number to which the specific subaddress described in the message is added.
[0012]
Further, in the above-described electronic mail arrival notification method, the second notification means may be configured to output the first call setting message when the switching means is at home when the mail arrival notification is received from the mail server. And a means for displaying that an e-mail has been received and the source e-mail address set in the first call setup message.
[0013]
Further, in the above-mentioned electronic mail arrival notification system, the terminal adapter transmits an electronic mail from the source electronic mail address by a voice message when the telephone having the outside telephone number responds to the second call setting message. is characterized by having a voice notification means to notify that incoming had the.
[0014]
Also, in the electronic mail arrival notification method of the present invention, the terminal adapter is connected to an Internet service provider having a mail server through an ISDN network, and the electronic mail is stored when the mail server receives an electronic mail from the Internet. A method of receiving an e-mail to the terminal adapter using D-channel packet communication together with the e-mail, wherein the mail server sets a destination e-mail address and a source e-mail address of the e-mail to a first e-mail address. Set in a call setup message and send the set first call message to the terminal adapter, wherein the terminal adapter, when receiving the first call setup message , sets the switch to go out or at home Confirm that the switch is out Wherein comparing the e-mail address registered in advance with the destination e-mail address if the matching the incoming e-mail to the telephone number addressed which is previously registered in correspondence with the that are registered e-mail address The feature is that notification is performed.
[0015]
Further, in the above e-mail arrival notification method, the e-mail arrival notification is performed by setting a specific subaddress indicating the arrival notification in a second call setup message, and setting the second call setup message. Is transmitted to the telephone number.
[0016]
Further, in the above-described electronic mail arrival notification method, the terminal adapter sets the transmission source electronic mail address in a voice message registered in advance when a response to the electronic mail arrival notification is received from the telephone number. The combined voice message is transmitted to the telephone number, thereby notifying that an electronic mail has been received from the source electronic mail address.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present invention includes an ISDN network 3, a general telephone line 4 (public line), the Internet 7, a data terminal 1, and a terminal adapter 2 connected to the data terminal 1. , A provider 6 for providing services of the Internet 7 connected to the terminal adapter 2 via the ISDN network 3, and a telephone 5 connected via the ISDN network 3 and the general telephone line 4. In FIG. 1, there are a plurality of terminal adapters 2 (including the data terminal 1) and a plurality of telephones 5, but one is provided for convenience of explanation.
[0018]
The user A and the user B have e-mail addresses (for example, user A: AAA, user B: BBB), and are assumed to be users who can transmit and receive e-mail with the provider 6 using the data terminal 1. Further, the user A and the user B register the e-mail arrival notification in the terminal adapter 2 so that the e-mail arrival notification is received from the provider 6 to the terminal adapter 2 so that the e-mail arrival notification is transmitted to the transfer destination telephone. User.
[0019]
The data terminal 1 is an information processing device such as a personal computer that operates under program control, and sends and receives e-mail via a provider 6 through a dial-up IP connection using a terminal adapter 2.
[0020]
The terminal adapter 2 can be connected to the provider 6 by making a dial-up IP connection via the ISDN network 3 when receiving a request from the data terminal 1, and receives mail incoming information from the provider 6.
[0021]
The provider 6 has a mail server, and the mail server has a mailbox (for example, a mailbox is secured in an area on a magnetic disk) for storing an e-mail of a user who has a contract for an Internet service. And send and receive e-mails. Further, in this mailbox, the telephone number of the user's contact information and a notification mode indicating whether or not notification of an e-mail has been registered are registered at the time of contract with the user. When an e-mail arrives from the Internet 7 to the mail server of the provider 6, the mail server checks the notification mode in the mailbox corresponding to the e-mail address. Notify incoming calls to a phone number. In the example, the user A and the user B are set to the notification mode in advance, and when the destination of the e-mail received from the Internet 7 is the user A (or the user B), the mail server of the provider 6 uses the terminal adapter 2 The terminal adapter 2 is notified of the arrival of the e-mail and the destination e-mail address (AAA) (e-mail address (BBB) for the user B). In this case, the mail server of the provider 6 performs an incoming e-mail notification using the area of the user information of the D channel of the ISDN.
[0022]
The telephone 5 is a device connected to the general telephone network 4 and capable of receiving a call from the terminal adapter 2, and has a telephone number of a transfer destination of the user A. In addition, the telephone 5 has a display function of displaying a caller number on a display unit and a call history function of accumulating a call history of the caller number in a memory.
[0023]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of the terminal adapter 2 shown in FIG. 1. The terminal adapter 2 operates under program control by a processor (not shown), and receives a request from the processor 21. A display unit 22 for displaying the received data, a line control unit 23 for controlling connection with the ISDN 3, a storage unit 24, and a data terminal interface unit 25 for controlling communication with the data terminal 1. , A switch 26 for switching ON / OFF, and a bus 27. The exchange of data between these blocks (reference numerals 21 to 26 in FIG. 2) is performed via a bus 27.
[0024]
The storage unit 24 is a non-volatile memory (for example, a flash memory) that is readable and writable (the contents do not disappear even when the power is turned off), and stores an area storing a control program 241 executed by the processor unit 21; An area in which the transfer destination table 242 is stored, an area in which the voice announcement 243 is stored, and an area which is a work area 244 for temporarily recording the notified e-mail address are secured. The information of the e-mail address and the telephone number of the destination in the transfer destination table 242 of the storage unit 24 can be rewritten using the data terminal 1.
[0025]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of the transfer destination table 242. In the transfer table 242, the telephone numbers of the destinations corresponding to the e-mail addresses of the users who use the terminal adapter 2 are one-to-one. Is registered in advance from the data terminal 1 in association with
[0026]
The switch 26 switches between ON and OFF each time the user switches, and indicates the setting of going out (ON) or staying at home (OFF). For example, the switch 27 is a toggle switch, and is displayed as “out of home” (ON side) and “at home” (OFF side) so that it can be determined to which side the switch 27 is tilted from the outside.
[0027]
2 shows functional blocks when a processor (not shown) reads and executes a control program in the storage unit 24. The processor unit 21 controls the entire terminal adapter 2 itself. Control unit 211 and information (user's e-mail address, user's e-mail address, etc.) in the user-user information area of the ISDN D-channel used by the provider 6 as a notification means when the e-mail arrives at the provider 6. ), A user-user-information control unit 212 that extracts the information, a location monitoring unit 213 that monitors the setting of whether the switch 28 is out of the user or is at home, and notifies the control unit 211 of the information, and notifies an incoming e-mail. A voice notification unit 214 for transmitting a voice announcement to the partner telephone set 5 via the line control unit 23
[0028]
When there is a mail arrival notification from the mail server of the provider 6 and the switch 28 is out of the office, the control unit 211 changes the electronic mail address of the transmission destination set in the user information in the call setting message. Based on this, a function of searching the transfer destination table 242 and detecting a transfer destination (outgoing) telephone number corresponding to the electronic mail address of the transmission destination, and an incoming mail notification in the user user information area of the call setting message are provided. A call setting message in which the specified sub address is set is created, and the created call setting message is transmitted to the transfer destination telephone number via the line control unit 23 to notify that the e-mail has arrived. It has the function to do. Further, when a mail arrival notification is received from the mail server of the provider 6 and the switch 28 is at home, the control unit 211 analyzes the received call setting message to indicate that an e-mail has been received. The display unit 22 has a function of displaying on the display unit 22 a display and an e-mail address of a transmission source set in the user information area of the call setting message. Further, when receiving a response from the telephone 5 which is the transfer destination telephone number, the control unit 211 transmits the voice data obtained by synthesizing the electronic mail address of the transmission source to the voice announcement 243 of the storage unit 24 so that the voice notification unit It has a function of giving an instruction to the 214.
[0029]
Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG.
When the e-mail addressed to the user A reaches the mail server of the provider 6, the provider 6 notifies the terminal adapter 2 that the e-mail has been received by transmitting a call setting message. That is, the mail server transmits the call setup message using the ISDN D channel, but the identifier indicating the arrival of the e-mail, the e-mail address (AAA) of the destination user A, and the e-mail of the sender are sent. The e-mail address is set in the user information area in the call setup message on the ISDN D channel, and transmitted.
[0030]
When receiving the call setup message via the line control unit 23, the control unit 221 of the terminal adapter 2 passes control to the user user information control unit 212. The user / user information control unit 212 analyzes the call setting message and extracts e-mail arrival information [identifier indicating the e-mail arrival, e-mail address of the sender, and e-mail address (AAA) of user A], The incoming e-mail information (each e-mail address) is stored in the work area 244 of the storage unit 24. When confirming the e-mail incoming information, the user information control unit 212 notifies the control unit 211 that an e-mail has been received.
[0031]
The control unit 211 that has received the notification of the arrival of the e-mail requests the location monitoring unit 213 to confirm the location setting of the user, and also requests the line control unit 23 to return a release message.
[0032]
Upon receiving the request for transmission of the release message, the line control unit 23 releases the connection between the mail server of the provider 6 and the terminal adapter 2 by transmitting the release message to the ISDN network (using the D channel of ISDN). Is done. Therefore, in this case, since the exchange between the mail server of the provider 6 and the terminal adapter 2 uses only the D channel of the ISDN, no call charge is generated.
[0033]
On the other hand, in the terminal adapter 2, the location monitoring unit 213, which has received the location confirmation request from the control unit 211, confirms whether the setting of the switch 26 is "out of home" or "at home", and compares the result with the control unit. Notify 211.
[0034]
When the information from the location monitoring unit 213 is at home (when the switch 26 is “at home”), the control unit 211 having received the notification of the result has received an e-mail on the display unit 22 of the terminal adapter 2. Show that. In this case, the control unit 211 reads the electronic mail address of the transmission source from the work area 244 of the storage unit 24, and also displays the read electronic mail address of the transmission source.
[0035]
When the information from the location monitoring unit 213 is out of the office (the switch 26 is “out of office”), the control unit 211 having received the notification of the result notifies the user A of the user A extracted by the user user information control unit 212. Based on the mail address "AAA", the telephone number of the destination is searched from the transfer destination table 242 of the storage unit 24, and the telephone number "aaa" is detected. When the search for “aaa”, which is the telephone number of the destination, is completed, the control unit 211 sets the call setting in which a specific subaddress (for example, 01: indicates an incoming e-mail) is set in a predetermined area in the call setting message. Create a message (the outgoing telephone number is set in a predetermined area in the call setting message) and instruct the line control unit 23 to make a call to the detected outgoing telephone number (aaa). I do. The setting of the sub-address utilizes the sub-address additional service in the ISDN additional service, and the sub-address information is transmitted using this.
[0036]
When a call setting message is transmitted by the line control unit 23, an incoming call is received by the telephone 5 via the ISDN network 3 and the general telephone line 4 according to the call setting message. The telephone set 5 that has received the incoming call (call setting message) reads out the caller number and sub-address set in the call setting message, and displays the number with the specific sub-address (01) added as the caller number on the display unit of the telephone set 5. And a caller number to which a subaddress is added is recorded (stored) in a memory (for example, a flash memory) in the telephone 5 as an incoming call history. The user A knows that a mail has arrived by checking the calling number displayed on the display unit of the telephone 5. Further, since the telephone 5 also has a function of storing the incoming call history, even if the user A cannot confirm the display of the telephone 5 at the time of the incoming call, the incoming call number with the specific subaddress (01) added remains in the incoming call history. This confirms that there was an e-mail notification.
[0037]
When the user A responds to the incoming e-mail notification by the telephone 5, a communication path (using the ISDN B channel in the ISDN network 3) is established between the terminal adapter 2 and the telephone 4, and the terminal adapter The control unit 221, which has received the response message via the second line control unit 23, notifies the voice notification unit 214 to play a voice announcement notifying the arrival of the e-mail when determining the response. Upon receiving the notification, the voice announcement unit 214 reads the voice announcement 243 stored in the storage unit 24 in advance and the e-mail address of the transmission source stored in the work area 244 of the storage unit 24, and transmits the voice announcement 243. The original e-mail address is synthesized into one voice message, and the synthesized voice message is transmitted to the telephone 5 via the line control unit 23. Then, a voice announcement (for example, an e-mail has arrived at home from the e-mail address mmm@ppp.ab....) From the receiver of the telephone 5 is heard, and the incoming of the e-mail is known.
[0038]
Similarly, when the e-mail addressed to the user B arrives at the provider 6, the terminal adapter 2 goes out of the transfer destination table 242 of the storage unit 24 based on the e-mail address (BBB) of the user B according to the above procedure. To the telephone number (bbb).
[0039]
In the above description, when there is an incoming call with a specific subaddress added to the caller number from the terminal adapter 2 to the telephone 5, the telephone 5 rejects the incoming call (returns release) and changes the specific subaddress. The added caller number may be simply displayed on the display unit. In this case, it is possible to prevent the user from responding to the telephone 5 by mistake (answering the telephone). That is, it is possible to prevent an extra call charge due to an error.
[0040]
In the above description, the general telephone line 4 is described as a public line, but the general telephone line 4 may be a mobile telephone line. That is, it goes without saying that the present invention is included in the present invention even if the telephone 5 is a mobile phone.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when an e-mail incoming notification is sent to a terminal adapter while a user is out of the office, an e-mail incoming notification is automatically sent from the terminal adapter to an outgoing telephone, so that an e-mail can be received. There is an effect that it is possible to confirm that there is an incoming mail notification even when going out.
[0042]
In addition, the present invention provides a method in which a terminal adapter receives a call to an outgoing telephone registered for each user based on the destination e-mail address of the user of the received e-mail, thereby allowing each user to send an e-mail at the destination. There is an effect that the arrival of mail can be confirmed.
[0043]
Further, according to the present invention, it is not easy to change the setting of the mail server, especially the mail server of the provider when changing the telephone number of the notification destination of the e-mail. Since the destination table is stored in the storage unit in the terminal adapter, there is an effect that the telephone number of the destination can be easily changed by changing locally from the data end.
[0044]
Further, the present invention has an effect that the generation of a call charge can be suppressed as much as possible by transmitting an e-mail notification to the telephone only when the user is out of the terminal adapter.
[0045]
Also, according to the present invention, a specific sub-address is added to the caller ID when an e-mail arrival notification is sent to a telephone outside the office. This has the effect of distinguishing incoming call notifications.
[0046]
Further, according to the present invention, when an e-mail is notified to the transfer destination telephone, the user responds to the telephone, and the terminal adapter transfers the voice data to which the e-mail address of the e-mail transmission source is added. Since the e-mail is sent to the destination telephone number, the sender of the e-mail can be surely identified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the terminal adapter of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in a transfer destination table of FIG. 2;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 data terminal 2 terminal adapter 3 ISDN network 4 general telephone line 5 telephone 6 provider 21 processor unit 22 display unit 23 line control unit 24 storage unit 25 data terminal interface unit 26 switch 27 bus 211 control unit 212 user user information control unit 213 Monitoring unit 214 Voice notification unit 241 Control program 242 Transfer destination table

Claims (11)

A terminal adapter is connected via an ISDN network to an Internet service provider having a mail server. When the mail server receives an e-mail from the Internet, it stores the e-mail and uses the D-channel packet communication to receive the incoming mail. In the electronic mail receiving method for notifying the terminal adapter,
The mail server, when receiving the e-mail from the Internet and sending an incoming notification of the received e-mail to the terminal adapter, the destination e-mail address of the e-mail and the source e-mail address has a first notification hand stage performing mail arrival notification by sending a first call setup message set and its set to 1 in the area of the call setup message addressed to the destination telephone number,
The terminal adapter, a storage unit that stores a table that records an e-mail address of a user who uses the terminal adapter and an outgoing telephone number corresponding to the e-mail address,
Switching means for performing a switch indicating whether the user is out or at home;
If the switching means is out of the office when the mail arrival notification is received from the mail server, the table is searched based on the destination electronic mail address described in the call setting message, and the outgoing destination is searched. Detecting means for detecting a telephone number;
A second notifying unit for notifying the incoming mail to a destination telephone number detected by the detecting unit. The second notification means sets a specific subaddress indicating the mail arrival notification in an area within a second call setup message, and transmits the set second call setup message to the outside telephone number. 2. The electronic mail arrival notification system according to claim 1, wherein: Upon receiving the second call setup message, the telephone having the outside telephone number analyzes the second call setup message and adds the specific subaddress described in the second call setup message. 3. The electronic mail arrival notification system according to claim 2, further comprising display means for displaying the source telephone number. The second notifying means analyzes the first call setting message when the switching means is at home when the mail server notifies the mail arrival notification from the mail server, and that the e-mail is received. 2. The electronic mail arrival notification system according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying the transmission source electronic mail address set in the first call setting message. The terminal adapter further includes a voice notification unit for notifying that an electronic mail has been received from the source electronic mail address by a voice message when a telephone having the outside telephone number responds to the second call setup message. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a step . A terminal adapter is connected via an ISDN network to an Internet service provider having a mail server. When the mail server receives an e-mail from the Internet, it stores the e-mail and uses the D-channel packet communication to receive the incoming mail. An email receiving method for notifying the terminal adapter,
The mail server sets a destination email address and a source email address of the email in a first call setup message,
Sending the set first call message to the terminal adapter;
The terminal adapter, when receiving the first call setup message , performs a check whether the setting of the switch is out or at home,
If the setting of the switch is out of the office, compare the destination e-mail address with a pre-registered e-mail address,
Matching the e-mail reception process which is characterized in that the incoming notification e-mail to the telephone number addressed which is previously registered in correspondence with the that are registered e-mail address. The notification of the arrival of the e-mail is performed by setting a specific sub-address indicating the notification of the arrival in the second call setup message, and transmitting the set second call setup message to the telephone number. 7. The electronic mail arrival notification method according to claim 6, wherein: The terminal adapter combines the source e-mail address with a voice message registered in advance when a response to the incoming notification of the e-mail is received from the telephone number, and combines the synthesized voice message with the telephone number. 7. The electronic mail arrival notification method according to claim 6, wherein the electronic mail is transmitted to the electronic mail address to notify that an electronic mail has been received from the source electronic mail address. A terminal adapter connected to an Internet service provider having a mail server via an ISDN network, and receiving a mail arrival notification from the mail server using D-channel packet communication,
A storage unit that stores a table that records an e-mail address of a user who uses the terminal adapter and an outgoing telephone number corresponding to the e-mail address,
Switching means for performing a switch indicating whether the user is out or at home;
If the switching means is out of the office when the mail arrival notification is received from the mail server, the table is searched based on the destination electronic mail address described in the call setting message, and the outgoing destination is searched. Detecting means for detecting a telephone number;
A terminal unit for notifying the mail arrival to a destination telephone number detected by the detection unit. The notifying unit analyzes the call setting message when the switching unit is at home when the mail server notifies the mail incoming notification from the mail server. 10. The terminal adapter according to claim 9, further comprising means for displaying the set source e-mail address. Voice response means for notifying that an e-mail has been received from the source e-mail address by a voice message when a response to the e-mail arrival notification has been received from the telephone number. Item 9. The terminal adapter according to Item 9.

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