JP4765781B2 - E-mail device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for automatically updating destination information such as electronic mail.

  Some multifunction peripherals having an Internet fax function and a scanner function have a function of transmitting received image data or image data generated by scanning a document by e-mail. In such a multi-function device, the user needs to register an e-mail address as a destination of e-mail in the multi-function device. However, many multi-function devices generally have poor operability, and registration of e-mail addresses. The work is often cumbersome for the user of the multifunction machine.

In order to reduce the burden on the user regarding the registration of e-mail addresses, a system has been proposed that reduces the burden on the user by analyzing the header when receiving mail and extracting the e-mail address and registering it in the address book. (See Patent Document 1). Patent Document 2 proposes an e-mail system that can automatically reflect the result of address change in the address book by transmitting and receiving address change information, thereby reducing the burden on the user.
On the other hand, a system has been proposed in which e-mail addresses used in a plurality of multifunction peripherals are collectively managed by a server (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In such a system, even if the e-mail address is changed, the server device collectively manages the e-mail address, so that it is not necessary for the user of the multifunction device to change the e-mail address.
JP-A-11-122416 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-139164 JP 2002-158692 A

However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, only when an e-mail is received is registered in the address book. In order to change the e-mail address registered in the address book, the user operates an operation panel or the like. It must be changed at any time using the part, and the work becomes complicated for the user. In the system described in Patent Document 2, although the e-mail address can be changed by receiving the address change information, for example, the address change information cannot be transmitted or the address change information can be received due to a network failure or the like. If not, the address change information cannot be received if the power of the multi-function peripheral is off until just before use, and in such a case, the e-mail address cannot be changed.
Further, in the system described in Patent Literature 3, when the e-mail address is changed, it cannot be determined whether the e-mail address before the change and the e-mail address after the change belong to the same user. In such a case, two types of data with the same user name will be created, and the user may be confused.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background, and automatically updates destination information such as an e-mail address and uses the latest destination information without receiving an e-mail or address change information. An object is to provide a technique capable of transmitting an e-mail.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transmits an input receiving means for receiving an input of an e-mail address , and the e-mail address input to the input receiving means to an external search device connected via a communication network. And a DN (Distinguished Name) that uniquely identifies the user is received from the external search device via the communication network as response information of the e-mail address transmitted by the e-mail address transmitting unit. DN receiving means, storage control means for storing destination information including the e-mail address input to the input means and DN received by the DN receiving means in storage means, and the destination stored by the storage control means and the storage means for storing a plurality of information, the plurality stored in said storage means Selecting means for selecting one or more of the destination information from the previous information, and DN transmitting means for transmitting the DN contained in the destination information selected by the selection unit to the external search device, and transmitted by the DN transmitting means DN the destination information transmitted from the external search device as response information, and the destination information receiving means for receiving via said communication network, selected by the selecting means to a destination information stored in the storage unit destination It determines whether the destination information received by the information and the destination information receiving unit matches, if they do not match, and updating means for updating the destination information received destination information the selected, the update the selected destination information is determined to match the unit, and an e-mail address contained in the updated destination information by said updating means as the destination To provide an electronic mail device and having an electronic mail sending means for sending the e-mail.
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail apparatus, the destination information includes a public key corresponding to the electronic mail address in addition to the DN and the electronic mail address, and the updating means includes the storage means Whether the public key included in the destination information stored in the destination information and the public key included in the destination information selected by the selecting unit matches the public key included in the destination information received by the receiving unit If it does not match, the public key included in the selected destination information is updated with the public key included in the received destination information, and the e-mail transmission unit matches with the update unit. the e-mail is encrypted with a public key included in the public key, and destination information updated by said updating means is included in the determined the selected destination information, the addressed And transmits the e-mail the e-mail address included in the information as the destination.
In a further preferred aspect of the present invention, in the electronic mail device, the storage means stores information indicating whether or not to perform a search by the external search device, and the information indicates that the search is not performed. It is characterized in that it comprises a transmission control means for controlling the DN transmitting means so as not to perform the transmission of the DN in the DN transmitting means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically update destination information such as an e-mail address and transmit an e-mail using the latest destination information without receiving an e-mail or address change information.

<A: First Embodiment>
<A-1: Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This system is configured by connecting an electronic mail device 10, an electronic mail server 20, and an external search device 30 via a communication network 40. The e-mail device 10 is a device having a scanner function and an Internet fax function. Image data generated by reading a document or image data received from another device such as a personal computer via the communication network 40 is sent by e-mail. It has a function to transmit. The email server 20 is a device that communicates with the email device 10 by email. The external search device 30 is a server device that stores a public key certificate based on an X.509 public key infrastructure managed by a certificate authority. The external search device 30 is a directory server, and holds a public key as the latest destination information. In this embodiment, the X.509 public key infrastructure is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other public key infrastructure such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is used. It doesn't matter.
Although a plurality of electronic mail devices are actually connected to this system, only one electronic mail device 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in order to prevent the figure from becoming complicated.

  In FIG. 1, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 controls the electronic mail apparatus 10 according to a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13. The address / data bus 12 is connected to each part to be controlled by the CPU 11 to perform data communication. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 14 serves as a work memory during program execution and a communication buffer memory for sending and receiving e-mails. The ROM 13 stores various programs related to control of the electronic mail device 10, transmission / reception of electronic mail, and encryption / decryption of electronic mail. The storage unit 15 is a storage means such as a hard disk and has an address book storage area 100.

  The operation display unit 16 includes a liquid crystal display that functions as a touch panel, and a user of the electronic mail apparatus 10 can perform various operations by touching the liquid crystal display. The operation display unit 16 displays the status of the electronic mail device 10, registers destination information in the address book storage area 100, references or specifies destination information registered in the address book storage area 100, and encrypts the email. The user selects whether or not to make the electronic mail apparatus automatically determine, sets which of the selection defaults, and sends an electronic mail. The scanner 17 includes an optical system member (not shown) configured by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or the like, and optically reads and reads an image of a document placed on a document placement table (not shown). Image data representing an image is generated. The network I / F 18 is an interface for communicating with the electronic mail server 20 connected on the communication network 40 and transmitting / receiving electronic mail.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of address book data stored in the address book storage area 100 of the storage unit 15. In this address book storage area 100, as shown in the figure, a plurality of pieces of destination information configured by associating items of “mail address”, “user name”, “DN”, and “public key” are stored. ing. Among these items, the “mail address” item stores an email address that is the destination of the user's email. In the “user name” item, text data indicating a user name (name, department name, etc.) is stored. In the item “DN”, a DN whose format is defined in RFC 2253 is stored. This DN is identification information for uniquely identifying a user. The item “public key” stores the public key of the user.

  The external search device 30 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a bus, a network I / F, and a storage unit. The CPU of the external search device 30 stores a computer program stored in the ROM. By reading and loading into the RAM and executing this, each part of the external search device 30 is controlled via the bus.

  The storage unit of the external search device 30 has an address book storage area. The configuration of the address book stored in the address book storage area is the same as that stored in the storage unit 15 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 described above, and the description thereof is omitted here. The address book stored in the electronic mail device 10 stores a plurality of pieces of destination information registered by the destination information registration operation described later, that is, the destination information used in the electronic mail device 10. The address book storage area of the search device 30 stores not only destination information used by the electronic mail device 10 but also destination information used by the entire system, that is, a plurality of electronic mail devices. The external search device 30 is a server that manages user destination information of the entire system, and always stores the latest destination information.

<B: Operation>
A process for registering destination information in the electronic mail apparatus 10 based on the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. A process in the case where a transmission destination is designated by the electronic mail apparatus 10 and an electronic mail is encrypted and transmitted will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, reference numerals not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 refer to FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified.
<B-1: Destination information registration operation>
First, the user registers the destination information in the electronic mail apparatus. The steps will be described below.
The user of the electronic mail apparatus 10 operates the operation display unit 16 to register the user name, electronic mail address, and public key (hereinafter referred to as “destination information (A)”) of the user who wants to use. For this registration, for example, the CPU 11 of the electronic mail device 10 may display a list of destination information acquired from the external search device 30 on the liquid crystal display of the operation display unit 16 and the user may select from this list. Alternatively, the user may input each information using a numeric keypad of the operation display unit 16 or the like. When the operation display unit 16 is operated by the user, the operation display unit 16 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 inputs a signal corresponding to the operation content to the CPU 11, and the CPU 11 receives the signal from the operation display unit 16. The user name, e-mail address, and public key (destination information (A)) are input (step S1).

  When receiving the input of the user name, the e-mail address, and the public key, the CPU 11 of the e-mail device 10 searches the destination information for the request including the input e-mail address using the input e-mail address as a key. The request is transmitted to the external search device 30 connected via the communication network 40 via the network I / F 18. That is, the destination information is searched in the external search device 30 using the input e-mail address as a search key (step S2).

  When detecting that the request has been received, the external search device 30 searches for the destination information from the address book using the e-mail address included in the received request as a search key. If the destination information is searched, the DN included in the searched destination information (hereinafter referred to as “destination information (B)”) is transmitted as response information to the electronic mail apparatus 10. On the other hand, if the destination information is not found, Then, a response indicating that is transmitted to the electronic mail apparatus 10 as response information.

  The CPU 11 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 determines response information received from the external search apparatus 30 and determines whether the search is successful. When it is determined that the search is successful (step S3; YES), the CPU 11 uses the input user name, e-mail address, DN transmitted from the external search device as response information of the transmitted e-mail address, It is stored in the address book storage area 100 of the storage unit 15 in association with the public key. That is, the DN of the destination information (B) is set in the destination information (A) (step S4). On the other hand, if it is determined that the search has failed (step S3; NO), the CPU 11 ends the process as it is.

  Here, since DN is an identifier that uniquely represents a user, the latest destination information can be acquired using this DN even if the e-mail address or public key is changed thereafter.

<B-2: E-mail transmission operation>
Next, the process of encrypting and transmitting an e-mail will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, the user of the electronic mail apparatus 10 sets a document on the scanner 17, operates the operation display unit 16, selects destination information as a transmission destination from the address book stored in the storage unit 15, and sends an electronic mail. Instruct to send encrypted. In this process, for example, a list of e-mail addresses and user names stored in the address book storage area 100 of the storage unit 15 is displayed on the operation display unit 16, and the user operates the operation display unit 16 from the displayed list. And then select it.

  When the operation display unit 16 is operated, the operation display unit 16 supplies a signal corresponding to the operation content to the CPU 11, and the CPU 11 determines the signal from the operation display unit 16 to store it in the address book storage area 100. One or more pieces of destination information are selected from the stored destination information (step S5).

  The CPU 11 displays the selected destination information (hereinafter referred to as “destination information (A)”) on the operation display unit 16, and subsequently the CPU 11 reads out the DN included in the selected destination information from the storage unit 15, The read DN is transmitted to the external search device 30 connected via the communication network 40 via the network I / F 18, thereby causing the external search device 30 to search for destination information using the DN as a search key (step S6). .

  When the external search device 30 detects that the DN has been received, the external search device 30 searches the destination information stored in the address book storage area of the storage unit using the received DN as a search key. “Destination information (B)”) is transmitted to the electronic mail apparatus 10 via the communication network.

  The CPU 11 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 determines whether or not the received destination information (hereinafter “destination information (B)”) includes a public key (step S7). When it is determined that the received destination information includes the public key (step S7; YES), the CPU 11 compares the public key of the destination information (A) with the public key of the destination information (B). (Step S8), it is determined whether or not they match (Step S9). If it is determined that they do not match (step S9; NO), the CPU 11 updates the public key of the destination information (A) to the public key of the destination information (B). That is, it is updated to the latest public key (step S10). The case where they do not match is the case where the public key of the destination information (B) has been changed to the latest one, or the public key is not included in the destination information (A). On the other hand, if it is determined that they match (step S9; YES), the process proceeds to step S11 without performing the process of step S10.

  The CPU 11 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 encrypts the electronic mail using the public key included in the destination information (step S11), and transmits the electronic mail to the electronic mail address (step S12). If it is determined in step S7 that the public information is not included in the destination information (step S7; NO), the CPU 11 sends the e-mail addressed to the e-mail address without performing the encryption process. Is transmitted (step S12).

  The public key may expire after a predetermined period, and in the conventional electronic mail apparatus, when it expires, the public key is encrypted using an invalid public key and the electronic mail is transmitted. There was a problem. On the other hand, in this embodiment, each time an e-mail is sent, the public key can be updated to the latest one. Therefore, the e-mail is illegally sent using an invalid public key. Nothing will happen.

In the operation illustrated in FIG. 4, the operation for updating the public key to the latest one has been described. However, the information to be updated is not limited to the public key, and may be an e-mail address.
In the conventional electronic mail apparatus, when the information of the address book destination is outdated, it is necessary to manually update the information. In such a device, there is a case where an e-mail cannot be correctly transmitted because of forgetting to update. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the DN that uniquely indicates the destination is held as the destination information, and the destination information is searched from the external search device 30 using this DN as a search key. It becomes possible to update to a thing.

<C: Modification>
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement with another various form. An example is shown below.
(1) In the embodiment described above, a combination of “mail address”, “user name”, “DN”, and “public key” is used as the destination information. The configuration of the destination information is not limited to these. For example, the destination information may include information indicating a FAX transmission destination, or may not include a public key. The point is that the destination information includes a DN that uniquely identifies the user and an e-mail address of the user.

(2) In the embodiment described above, it may be possible to select whether or not to perform a search by the external search device 30. Specifically, for example, information (flag) for setting whether or not to perform a search is stored in the storage unit of the e-mail device, and the CPU of the e-mail device refers to this flag and searches. Whether or not to perform is selected. In this case, when it is selected not to perform the search, the CPU 11 does not perform the processing from step S6 to step S10 in FIG. That is, the e-mail transmission process is performed using the selected destination information as it is without transmitting the DN included in the selected destination information to the external search device.
By making it possible to select whether or not to perform the search in this way, it is possible to perform the search only when necessary, for example, when it is troublesome to make an inquiry to the external search device every time.

(3) The program executed by the CPU 11 of the electronic mail apparatus 10 in each embodiment described above is a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, a CD (Compact Disk) -ROM, It can be provided in a state stored in a recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or RAM. It is also possible to download the electronic mail apparatus 10 via a network such as the Internet.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of an address book. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the destination information registration process which CPU of an electronic mail apparatus performs. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the email transmission process which CPU of an electronic mail apparatus performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... E-mail apparatus, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Address and data bus, 13 ... ROM, 15 ... Memory | storage part, 16 ... Operation display part, 17 ... Scanner, 18 ... Network I / F, 20 ... E-mail server, 30 ... external search device, 40 ... communication network, 100 ... address book storage area.

Claims (3)

Input accepting means for accepting input of an e-mail address;
An e-mail address transmitting means for transmitting the e-mail address input to the input receiving means to an external search device connected via a communication network;
DN receiving means for receiving a DN (Distinguished Name) uniquely identifying a user from the external search device via the communication network as response information of the email address transmitted by the email address transmitting means;
Storage control means for storing destination information including the e-mail address input to the input means and the DN received by the DN receiving means in storage means;
And the storage means for storing a plurality of the destination information stored by said storage control unit,
Selecting means for selecting one or more pieces of the destination information from a plurality of the destination information stored in the storage means;
And DN transmitting means for transmitting the DN contained in the destination information selected by the selection unit to the external search device,
The destination information transmitted from the external search device as response information DN that sent by the DN transmitting means, and the destination information receiving means for receiving via said communication network,
And determining whether the said selection means destination information selected by a destination information stored in the storage means and said destination information received by the destination information receiving unit matches, if they do not match, the Updating means for updating the selected destination information with the received destination information;
E-mail sending means for sending an e-mail with the selected destination information determined to be matched by the updating means and the e-mail address included in the destination information updated by the updating means as a destination. E-mail device featuring. The electronic mail device according to claim 1, wherein
The destination information, in addition to the DN with the electronic-mail address, and a public key corresponding to the electronic mail address,
The updating means is a public key included in the destination information stored in the storage means, and is included in the public key included in the destination information selected by the selection means and the destination information received by the receiving means. The public key included in the selected destination information is updated with the public key included in the received destination information, if not,
The e-mail transmitting means encrypts the e-mail with a public key included in the selected destination information determined to be matched by the updating means and a public key included in the destination information updated by the updating means; An e-mail device, wherein the e-mail is transmitted with an e- mail address included in the destination information as a destination. The electronic mail apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The storage means stores information indicating whether or not to perform a search by the external search device;
An electronic mail apparatus comprising: a transmission control unit that controls the DN transmission unit so that the DN transmission unit does not transmit the DN when the information indicates that the search is not performed .

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