JP5067904B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an e-mail transmission control technique, and more particularly to transmission control of an e-mail received from a terminal.

  In general, in an e-mail transmission / reception system, even if the sender sends an e-mail and notices an error in the destination address, forgetting to attach an attached file, or attaching an attached file, the e-mail is sent. There is no means to cancel. In addition, in the electronic mail, the sender and the receiver exchange electronic messages end to end, and there is no means for a third party to confirm the transmission contents on the way.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for holding an electronic mail in a transmission mail holding device arranged between a mail transmission / reception terminal and a mail delivery device. More specifically, when an e-mail having a transmission destination address set to be held is received, the transmission e-mail holding device transmits the received e-mail to the sender to confirm the contents. When the sender determines that the electronic mail is erroneously sent, it proposes to cancel the transmission of the electronic mail to the outside by sending the electronic mail to a specific address.

JP 2005-277976 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the outgoing mail hold device can determine whether or not hold is possible only in units of received messages. Therefore, for e-mails with multiple destinations, if even one destination with the possibility of erroneous transmission is included, the email transmission to other destinations will be suspended or canceled. Will be. In addition, management operations such as confirmation and deletion of an email that may be erroneously transmitted are limited to the sender of the email. Furthermore, even if it is determined that there is no need to correct the mail after checking the suspended mail, the mail cannot be sent until the set transmission delay time elapses.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can reduce an erroneous transmission of an electronic mail by a user and efficiently transmit an electronic mail by performing an electronic mail transmission control according to a destination. The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve one or more problems described above, an information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control on email data transmitted from a terminal, wherein the transmission control rule is used for transmission control of email data, and the condition of the email data to which the transmission control rule is applied A storage unit that stores a transmission control rule in which a transmission control content indicating processing to be executed on the email data that matches the condition is defined; an acquisition unit that acquires the email data transmitted from the terminal; Of the transmission control rules stored in the storage unit, a selection unit that selects a transmission control rule used for transmission control of the email data acquired by the acquisition unit, and the email data acquired by the acquisition unit are First determination means for determining whether or not a condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means is satisfied; and the first Transmission control for performing transmission control on the e-mail data according to the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule when the determination unit determines that the e-mail data matches the condition set in the transmission control rule And the transmission control rule further includes a division evaluation setting indicating whether or not to apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data. A second part for determining whether or not the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data; The determination means and the second determination means apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination in which the division evaluation setting is set in the e-mail data. And a first creation unit that creates divided email data in which a destination included in the email data is individually set from the email data obtained by the obtaining unit when it is determined to be The first determination means further matches the condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means for each of the divided email data created by the first creation means. The transmission control means further determines the transmission control rule for the divided email data determined by the first determination means to meet the conditions set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control according to the set transmission control content is performed.

Information processing how the present invention to solve one or more problems described above comprises the following steps. That is, an information processing method executed by an information processing device that performs transmission control on email data transmitted from a terminal, wherein the information processing device is a transmission control rule used for transmission control of email data, Storage means for storing a transmission control rule in which a condition of the email data to which the transmission control rule is applied and a transmission control content indicating a process to be executed on the email data that matches the condition is defined; The information processing method includes: an acquisition step in which the acquisition unit acquires email data transmitted from the terminal; and an electronic component acquired in the acquisition step among the transmission control rules stored in the storage unit by the selection unit. The selection step of selecting a transmission control rule used for the transmission control of the mail data, and the first determination means include the email data acquired in the acquisition step. A first determination step for determining whether or not the data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step, and a transmission control means, wherein the e-mail data is determined in the first determination step. A transmission control step of performing transmission control on the e-mail data in accordance with the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule when it is determined that the condition matches the condition set in the transmission control rule, The transmission control rule further includes a division evaluation setting indicating whether to apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data. The information processing method includes the second determination unit, Whether or not the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data. When it is determined in the second determination step to be determined and the second determination step that the division evaluation setting indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data A first creation step of creating, from the email data obtained in the obtaining step, split email data in which destinations included in the email data are individually set, In the determination step, for each of the divided email data created in the first creation step, whether or not the divided email data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step. The transmission control step further determines the transmission control rule for the divided e-mail data determined to meet the conditions set in the transmission control rule in the first determination step. The transmission control is performed according to the transmission control content set in the process.
In order to solve one or more problems described above, the program of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a computer program that is a transmission control rule used for transmission control of e-mail data, and that is executed for e-mail data that matches the condition of e-mail data to which the transmission control rule is applied An information processing apparatus that includes a storage unit that stores a transmission control rule in which a transmission control content indicating processing is defined, and that performs transmission control on electronic mail data transmitted from a terminal. Acquisition means for acquiring, selection means for selecting a transmission control rule used for transmission control of e-mail data acquired by the acquiring means among the transmission control rules stored in the storage means, and e-mail acquired by the acquiring means It is determined whether or not the data meets a condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means. When it is determined by the first determination means and the first determination means that the e-mail data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule, the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule A division evaluation setting that indicates whether or not the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data; and functions as a transmission control unit that performs transmission control on the e-mail data. The information processing apparatus indicates that the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected by the selection unit applies the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data. A second determination unit that determines whether or not the transmission control rule is set for each transmission destination in which the division evaluation setting is set in the e-mail data. And creating divided e-mail data in which a destination included in the e-mail data is individually set from the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition unit when it is determined that the e-mail is to be applied. The first determination means further transmits the divided email data selected by the selection means for each of the divided email data created by the first creation means. It is determined whether or not the condition set in the control rule is met, and the transmission control means further determines the divided e-mail data determined by the first determination means to match the condition set in the transmission control rule. On the other hand, transmission control according to the transmission control contents set in the transmission control rule is performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to reduce the erroneous transmission of the electronic mail by a user, an electronic mail can be efficiently transmitted by performing transmission control of the electronic mail according to a destination.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an e-mail transmission system according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a mail transmission / reception terminal and a mail relay apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the mail relay apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the rule application process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a control rule table. It is a figure which shows an example of a rule setting screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a rule list screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the notification mail to a sender | caller and an administrator. It is a figure which shows an example of the mail transmitted to a broadcast recipient. It is a figure which shows an example of the management screen of a pending mail. It is a flowchart which shows an example in case the transmitted email is suspended and deleted. It is a figure which shows a mode that an email is divided | segmented for every envelope recipient. It is a figure which shows an example of the information stored in an action application entry buffer. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the action execution process which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below by taking a mail relay apparatus as an example.

<Overall system configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an e-mail transmission system including a mail relay device according to the first embodiment.

  The mail system includes a mail transmitting / receiving terminal (terminal device) 110, a mail relay device 150, and a mail delivery device 190. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110, the mail relay device 150, and the mail delivery device 190 are connected to each other via a network so that they can communicate with each other.

  An e-mail transmitted from the e-mail transmission / reception terminal 110 is sent to another e-mail (not shown) as the destination via the e-mail relay device 150 and the e-mail delivery device 190 according to the e-mail address set as the e-mail destination. Sent to the terminal.

  A mail transmission / reception terminal 110 that transmits and receives electronic mail is an information processing apparatus in which a user gives various operation instructions. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110 can transmit / receive data to / from the mail relay apparatus 150 via the network. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110 includes a mail transmission / reception unit 111 and a management operation unit 112.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 111 has a function of transmitting an electronic mail to the mail relay apparatus 150 and a function of receiving an electronic mail from the mail relay apparatus 150.

  The management operation unit 112 has a function of instructing the control rule setting unit 154 of the mail relay apparatus 150 to perform an operation instruction such as a change to the control rule stored in the storage unit of the mail relay apparatus 150. The control rule will be described later with reference to FIG. In other words, the management operation unit 112 is set as to whether to temporarily hold an e-mail transmitted (transmitted) from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 without being immediately transmitted, or to relay (send immediately to the destination). A function of instructing the control rule setting unit 154 to register, edit, delete, view, etc. the control rule.

  In addition, the management operation unit 112 sends operation instructions such as browsing, deletion, and transmission (relay) of the email held in the storage unit (holding mail storage unit 158) of the mail relay device 150 to the holding mail management processing unit 155. It has a function to execute.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 111 is a functional unit corresponding to a mail client (mail user agent: MUA) compatible with generally known protocols such as SMTP, POP, and IMAP. In addition, the management operation unit 112 is realized by using, for example, a Web browser function corresponding to HTTP or HTTPS.

  The mail relay device 150 determines whether to relay the electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 to the mail distribution device or temporarily hold it, and transfers the mail to the mail delivery device 190 based on the determination result. The mail relay device 150 includes a mail reception processing unit 151, a rule application processing unit 152, a mail transmission processing unit 153, a control rule setting unit 154, and a pending mail management processing unit 155.

  The mail relay apparatus 150 includes storage areas such as a control rule storage unit 156, a user account database 157, and a pending mail storage unit 158 in storage means such as the external memory 211.

  The mail reception processing unit 151 has a function of acquiring an electronic mail transmitted by the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110.

  The rule application processing unit 152 determines whether or not the email acquired by the mail reception processing unit 151 matches the various conditions indicated in the control rule stored in the control rule storage unit 156, and the matching control rule is When it is determined that there is a function, a function of applying an action (relay or hold of the e-mail) set in the control rule to the e-mail is provided.

  The mail transmission processing unit 153 has a function of transmitting an electronic mail to the mail delivery device 190. That is, it is a functional unit that transmits an e-mail that is determined to be relayed by the rule application processing unit 152 or a hold e-mail that has passed a predetermined hold time.

  The control rule setting unit 154 receives from the management operation unit 112 of the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 a function for receiving operation instructions such as registration, editing, deletion, and browsing of the control rules stored in the control rule storage unit 156, and in accordance with the operation instructions And a function for executing processing such as registration, editing, deletion, and browsing of the control rules stored in the control rule storage unit 156. In addition, the control rule setting unit 154 is realized by using a function of a Web server corresponding to HTTP or HTTPS, for example.

  In addition, the control rule setting unit 154 transmits and receives mail using user information (a user identifier (for example, a user name of the user) and a password) that identifies the user (user) and a password stored in the user account database 157. A function of authenticating a user who operates the terminal 110 is provided.

  The hold mail management processing unit 155 has a function of sending, deleting, or extending a hold of an e-mail held in the hold mail storage unit 158 in accordance with an instruction received from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110.

  The control rule storage unit 156 is a storage area in which control rules used by the rule application processing unit 152 are stored. The user account database 157 is stored in storage means such as the external memory 211, and includes a user identifier (for example, a user name of the user) for identifying the user (user), a password, and an e-mail address of the user. And are stored in association with each other. The hold mail storage unit 158 is a storage area for holding the electronic mail determined to be held by the rule application processing unit 152.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 200 that operates as the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 and the mail relay apparatus 150.

  The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. Further, the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 is necessary to realize a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS) that is a control program of the CPU 201 and a function executed by each server or each PC. Various programs to be described later are stored. The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing into the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  An input controller (input C) 205 controls input from a pointing device such as a keyboard 209 or a mouse (not shown). A video controller (VC) 206 controls display on a display device such as a CRT display (CRT) 210. The display device may be a liquid crystal display as well as a CRT. These are used by the administrator as needed. The memory controller (MC) 207 is a hard disk (HD), floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD), or PCMCIA that stores a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. Controls access to an external memory 211 such as a CompactFlash (registered trademark) memory connected to the card slot via an adapter.

  A communication I / F controller (communication I / FC) 208 is connected to and communicates with an external device via a network, and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP is possible.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the CRT 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example. In addition, the CPU 201 displays various operation screens, a mouse cursor, and the like (not shown) on the CRT 210 to enable a user instruction.

  Note that a program for realizing each process to be described later is recorded in, for example, the external memory 211 and is executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Furthermore, the control rule storage unit 156, the user account database 157, the pending mail storage unit 158, and the various information tables 214 are configured to be stored in the external memory 211, for example.

<Operation of mail relay device>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an e-mail transmission control process executed by the CPU 201 of the mail relay apparatus 150. Note that the following steps are realized by the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 executing various control programs.

  In step S301, the mail reception processing unit 151 of the mail relay device 150 receives the electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110. The mail reception processing unit 151 passes the received e-mail to the rule application processing unit 152, and the rule application processing unit 152 executes the processing after step S302.

  In step S302, the rule application processing unit 152 reads all the control rules (control rule list) stored in the control rule storage unit 156 into a memory such as a RAM. After the list of all control rules is read into the memory, the action application entry buffer is initialized.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list of control rules. Here, the rule is information of one record including “ID”, “user ID”, “condition definition unit”, “division evaluation”, “action definition unit”, and “manager”.

  The control rules read here are stored and held in a list format sorted in descending order using “ID” as a key, as shown in FIG. The number set in this “ID” indicates the order of the control rules used when executing the “rule application process executed in S303 to S306” described later. That is, “ID” in the control rule indicates the priority (order) to which the control rule is applied in the rule application process (S303 to S306).

  “User ID” is the user identifier of the user who registered the control rule including the user ID.

  The “condition definition unit” is composed of “sender (source)”, “receiver (destination)”, and “other conditions”. In the “sender (sender)”, an email address (sender information) of a sender of the email acquired from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 is set. In the “recipient (destination)”, an e-mail address (recipient information) of an e-mail destination (To, Cc, Bcc) acquired from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 is set. In “other conditions”, conditions (information) for specifying an email other than the email address obtained from the email acquired from the email transmission / reception terminal 110 are set. For example, in “other conditions”, it is assumed that information used for specifying an e-mail in a system for filtering transmission / reception of normal e-mail can be set. Specifically, the presence / absence of an attached file, the file name of the attached file, the file type (file extension, etc.), the file size, and the data size of the entire e-mail can be set.

  In addition, multiple email addresses can be set for each of “sender (source)” and “receiver (destination)”, and any character string can be set by using meta characters (wildcards) such as asterisks. Can also be expressed.

  In “division evaluation”, a truth value (True, False) indicating whether or not to generate an e-mail addressed to each of a plurality of addresses set in the e-mail acquired from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 Is set. That is, a condition is set for determining whether the process of step S402 described later is executed or the process of step S403 is executed.

  The “action definition part” (transmission control information) is composed of “action” and “delay time”. In “Action”, information (transmission control content) indicating processing for an e-mail that matches each condition set in the condition definition section is set. In the example of FIG. 5, when “relay” is set, the e-mail is immediately relayed (sent), but when “hold” is set, the e-mail is held. In “delay time”, “hold” is set in “action”, and a hold limit time (contents of transmission control) when transmission of an e-mail is put on hold is set. For example, the e-mail acquired from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 satisfies the condition set in the condition definition part of the control rule, and the “action” corresponding to the condition is controlled to “hold” and the “delay time” is controlled to “10 m”. If the rule is set, the electronic mail is not sent immediately, but the electronic mail is stored in the pending mail storage unit 158 for 10 minutes. That is, the electronic mail is transmitted with a delay of 10 minutes.

  That is, the transmission of the electronic mail is suspended for the time set in the “delay time”. When the “Action” field is “Relay”, the value set in “Delay time” is invalid. If the “Action” field is “Pending” and no value is set for “Delay time”, the e-mail is put on hold indefinitely. In this case, the electronic mail is put on hold until a sending instruction is issued from an external device (such as another mail transmitting / receiving terminal).

  “Administrator” has a notification destination (notification recipient) that notifies that the e-mail is held when the e-mail matches the condition definition part of the control rule and the e-mail is put on hold. Information) and authority information of the user of the notification destination. Further, a broadcaster identifier indicating whether or not “information on hold control” to be described later is inserted into the e-mail addressed to the broadcaster set as the destination of the e-mail received from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 is set. Yes. In the example of FIG. 5, the broadcaster identifier is indicated by <rcpt>. When the broadcaster identifier is set, this indicates that “information on hold control” is inserted into the e-mail addressed to the broadcaster.

  Here, an administrator identifier (user identifier), a caller identifier, or the like can be set as the notification destination. The administrator identifier (administrator user identifier) is an administrator name (administrator user name) that identifies the administrator. Further, the caller identifier is information indicating a transmission source (sender) that has sent a suspended electronic mail. In the example of FIG. 5, the caller identifier is indicated by <from>.

  Next, the authority information is three values (true / false values (1 or 0)) set to the right of the notification destination in the “administrator” column shown in FIG. , Deletion authority, hold time change (extension) authority. A value “1” indicates that there is an authority, and a value “0” indicates that there is no authority.

  For example, in the control rule with “ID” of 1 in FIG. 5, “Admin: 111” is set in the “Manager” column. This indicates that “Admin (system administrator)” is set as the notification destination, and the authority of the system administrator is set as authority information “111”. This authority information “111” indicates that “having transmission authority” (1), “having deletion authority” (1), and “having authority to change (extend) holding time” (1), respectively. That is, the system administrator who is the notification destination has the transmission authority, the deletion authority, and the suspension time change (extension) authority for the electronic mail suspended by the control rule having the ID of 1.

  In the control rule with “ID” of 4 in FIG. 5, “nakamura: 001” is set in the “manager” column. This indicates that “nakamura” is set as the notification destination, and the authority of the notification destination (nakamura) is set as the authority information “001”. This authority information “001” indicates that “no transmission authority” (0), “no deletion authority” (0), and “with hold time change (extension) authority” (1). That is, “nakamura” as the notification destination has only the hold time change (extension) authority for the e-mail put on hold by the control rule whose ID is 4.

  In step S303, the rule application processing unit 152 selects one control rule (one record) having the highest priority (ie, the smallest ID value) from the control rule list.

  In step S304, the rule application processing unit 152 executes the application process of the control rule selected in step S303 for the email acquired in step S301. Details of the process in step S304 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S305, the rule application processing unit 152 determines whether or not there is unapplied mail. If it is determined that there is unapplied mail (step S305: NO), the process returns to step S303, and the control rule applied last time. The control rule with the next highest priority (the value next higher than the ID of the control rule applied last time) is selected, and the process of step S304 is similarly executed. Then, when the rule application processing unit 152 executes the process of step S304 for all the control rules, the process proceeds to step S307. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S305 that there is no unapplied mail (step S305: YES), the rule application processing unit 152 ends the loop process from step S303 to step S306 and proceeds to the action execution process in step S308. To do.

  In step S307, a preset action (relay or hold) is applied to unapplied mail that does not match any of the control rule conditions (conditions shown in the condition definition section). Transition to processing.

  In step S308, mail transmission processing or hold processing is performed based on the information stored in the action application entry buffer. Details of the processing in step S308 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing data stored in the action application entry buffer.

  Specifically, in the action application entry buffer, the e-mail data (mail message (destination)) corresponding to the e-mail data (mail message (destination)) that is the processing unit of the relay (transmission) process or the hold process executed in step S407 or step S408 is stored. And the ID of the control rule that matches the e-mail are stored in association with each other.

  Hereinafter, data stored in the action application entry buffer is referred to as an action application entry list, and data of each record in the action application entry list is referred to as action application entry data. In the mail message (destination) in the action application entry list shown in FIG. 13, as described above, an e-mail that is a processing unit of the relay (immediate transmission) process or the hold process executed in step S407 or step S408 is stored. Yes. Each action application entry data shown in FIG. 13 is stored in step S407 or step S408 of FIG. 4 described later.

<Detailed Operation of Rule Application Process (S304)>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of the e-mail rule application processing in step S304. The following operations are realized by the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 executing various control programs.

  In step S401, the rule application processing unit 152 determines whether “division evaluation” of the control rule selected in step S303 is “true” (true) or “false” (false). That is, by determining whether or not the “division evaluation” of the control rule is “true” (true), whether or not to generate envelopes each having a single destination for each of a plurality of destinations set in the e-mail Determine whether.

  When it is determined that an envelope is generated with each of a plurality of destinations set in the e-mail as a single destination (when “division evaluation” of the control rule is set to “true” (true)) (Step S401: YES), the process proceeds to step S402. On the other hand, when it is determined not to generate an envelope with each of a plurality of destinations set in an e-mail as a single destination (when “division evaluation” of the control rule is set to “false” (false)) ) (Step S401: NO), the process proceeds to step S403.

  In step S402, when “division evaluation” of the control rule is set to “true” (true), the rule application processing unit 152 causes each destination (recipient) included in the envelope of the email acquired in step S301. Each envelope is generated as a single destination.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining generation of an envelope (step S402) with each destination (recipient) of the e-mail as a destination. Reference numeral 1201 denotes the e-mail data acquired in step S301.

  The e-mail data 1201 in FIG. 12 indicates that it is composed of envelope part information (also referred to as an envelope), header part information (also referred to as a header), and text. 1201 shows the information of the envelope part, the information of the header part, and the text, but an attached file may be included.

  The “envelope” is not normally displayed on the mail client of the mail transmission / reception terminal 110, but the sender's (sender) email address and the destination's (recipient) electronic mail used for actual delivery of the email. This information includes email addresses.

  In 1201, “X” is set as an e-mail address of a transmission source (sender) and “A”, “B”, and “C” are set as e-mail addresses of a transmission destination (recipient) in the envelope. ing.

  In step S402, envelope information is generated with each of “A”, “B”, and “C” set as the e-mail address of the transmission destination (recipient) in the envelope as a single destination.

  That is, the envelope information 1202 with the transmission source (sender) “X” and the transmission destination (recipient) “A”, and the transmission source (sender) “X” and the transmission destination (recipient) “B”. Envelope information 1203 and envelope information 1204 having a transmission source (sender) of “X” and a transmission destination (recipient) of “C” are generated.

  As described above, in step S402, when there is a plurality of destination email addresses in the envelope information of one email acquired in step S301, each of the destination email addresses is set as a destination independently. Each envelope is generated, and a set of a plurality of electronic mails (set of envelopes) is generated. Even if there is only one destination email address of the envelope of one email acquired in step S301, in step S402, only one email address (one envelope) is sent. Generate a set of emails (a set of envelopes). When the rule application processing unit 152 generates an envelope in step S402, the process proceeds to step S404.

  In step S403, it is determined that an envelope is not generated with each destination set in the email as a single destination, and a set of emails composed of one email (one envelope) received in step S301. Is generated. That is, the process of step S403 is a process for enabling each subsequent process to be processed in the same manner as the result of step S402.

  In step S404, the rule application processing unit 152 initializes an unapplied mail buffer for accumulating unapplied mail. Then, the rule application processing unit 152 acquires one envelope from the set of envelopes (emails) generated in step S402 or step S403, and proceeds to step S405. Note that the processing from step S404 to step S410 is repeatedly executed for each element of the mail set.

  In step S405, the rule application processing unit 152 collates the condition of the condition definition unit of the control rule selected in step S303 with the email data including the envelope acquired in step S404, and sets the condition in the condition definition unit. Determine if they match. Here, it is determined whether or not all the conditions shown in “sender (source)”, “receiver (destination)”, and “other conditions” set in the “condition definition part” of the control rule are satisfied. .

  When it is determined that the rule application processing unit 152 matches in step S405 (step S405: YES), the rule application processing unit 152 proceeds to step S406, and when it is determined that they do not match (step S405: NO), step S409. The process is transferred to.

  In step S406, the rule application processing unit 152 refers to the control rule, and determines whether the value of “action” corresponding to the condition of the matched condition defining unit is “relay” or “hold”. If it is determined in step S406 that the value of “action” is “relay” (step S406: relay), the process proceeds to step S407, while if the value of “action” is determined to be “hold” (step S406: Hold), the process proceeds to step S408.

  In step S407, the rule application processing unit 152 includes e-mail data (such as a header and body) including the envelope information acquired in step S404, information indicating that the e-mail is scheduled to be sent, and step The control rule ID determined in S405 is stored in the action application entry list in the action application entry buffer.

  Specifically, the e-mail data including the envelope information acquired in step S404 is stored in the “mail message (destination)” in the action application entry list, and the e-mail is stored in the “scheduled sending date / time” in the action application entry list. Is stored (in the example of FIG. 13, “immediate”), and the “application rule ID” of the action application entry list includes the ID of the control rule used in step S405 (FIG. In the example of 13, “3”) is stored.

  In step S408, the rule application processing unit 152 first acquires “delay time” of the control rule for which the value of “action” is determined to be “pending” in step S406 from the control rule list (FIG. 5). Then, the “scheduled transmission time” is calculated from the “reception date” when the e-mail is received in step S301 and the “delay time” acquired here. For example, when the reception date and time is “October 01, 2008 12:40:10” and the delay time is “10 minutes”, the sum is calculated and the “scheduled transmission time” is set to “October 01, 2008”. 12:50:10 ".

  Then, the rule application processing unit 152 sends the email data including the envelope information acquired in step S404, the estimated transmission time calculated here, and the ID of the control rule determined in step S405 to the action application entry buffer. In the action application entry list.

  Specifically, as in the relay process of step S407, the e-mail data including the envelope information acquired in step S404 is stored in the “mail message (destination)” of the action application entry list shown in FIG. The calculated scheduled transmission time (“2008/10/1 12:50:10” in the example of FIG. 13) is stored in “scheduled transmission date and time” of the application entry list, and “application rule ID” is stored in step S405. The determined control rule ID (“21” in the example of FIG. 13) is stored.

  In this case, if no value is set in the “delay time” of the control rule in which the value of “action” is determined to be “hold” in step S406, this indicates that the action is held indefinitely. Stores information indicating that there is no time limit in the “scheduled transmission date and time” of the action application entry list (in the example of FIG. 13, “no time limit” is stored).

  In step S409, the e-mail data including the envelope acquired in step S404 is stored in the unapplied mail buffer initialized in step S404.

  In step S411, the rule application processing unit 152 determines whether there is electronic mail data in the unapplied mail buffer. If it is determined that there is e-mail data in the unapplied mail buffer (step S411: YES), the e-mail addresses of one or more envelope destinations stored in the unapplied mail buffer An email is generated in which all are set as one envelope destination. This corresponds to the reverse process of the process executed in step S402. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no e-mail data in the unapplied mail buffer (step S411: NO), the process proceeds to step S305.

<Detailed Operation of Action Execution Processing (S308)>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of the action execution processing for the electronic mail in step S308. The following operations are realized by the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 executing various control programs.

  In step S1401, the rule application processing unit 152 initializes the message buffer for the broadcaster and clears the stored data.

  In step S1402, the rule application processing unit 152 sorts (rearranges) the action application entry data in the action application entry list in the order of late transmission scheduled date and time. By this sort processing, action application entry data is sent from higher-order records, e-mails with pending actions and delay times not specified (holding indefinitely), e-mails with long delay times (delays longer than the specified time) E-mail with a long time), E-mail with a short delay time (e-mail with a short delay time than a predetermined time), E-mail with action relayed (sending) (e-mail with a scheduled sending date and time) . Until all the action application entry data in the sorted action application entry list is executed, the repetitive processing from step S1403 to step S1412 described later is executed.

  In step S <b> 1404, the rule application processing unit 152 acquires action application entry data from the head of the sorted action application entry list (from action application entry data with a later scheduled transmission date and time).

  In step S1405, the rule application processing unit 152 inserts the data (information on hold control) stored in the broadcast message buffer into the header of the email stored in the mail message of the acquired action application entry data. To do. Then, the electronic mail in which the data (information related to the hold control) is inserted is stored in the mail message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. If the data is not stored in the message buffer for the broadcaster, the data is not inserted into the header of the e-mail.

  Here, “information regarding hold control” means “sender (sender) name of the hold email” or “e-mail address of the sender of the hold email”, and obtains the email in step S301. To the management screen corresponding to the "date and time (reception date and time)", "scheduled transmission date and time", "sending status" indicating who the e-mail was put on hold, the notification destination (destination) or the authority information of the broadcaster Each piece of information such as “link information” indicating a link destination (such as a URL) is indicated. Details of the management screen will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step S1406, the rule application processing unit 152 determines whether or not the scheduled transmission date and time of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404 is “immediate” (relay). That is, it is determined whether or not the acquired action application entry data is an electronic mail to be suspended. If it is determined that the electronic mail is not to be held (step S1406: NO), the mail transmission processing unit 153 inserts data (information on hold control) in the action application entry data stored in step S1405. The sent electronic mail is immediately executed (step S1413). On the other hand, if it is determined that the email is to be suspended (step S1406: YES), the process proceeds to step S1407.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an e-mail that is sent out in step S1413 or saved (stepping off sending) in step S1411 described later. As shown in FIG. 9, data (information related to hold control) stored in the message buffer for the broadcaster is displayed in a part 703 of the e-mail header. That is, the recipient who received this e-mail (a part of the broadcaster) can confirm that there is a broadcaster who has not received the e-mail.

  In step S1407, the same ID (value) as the application rule ID of the acquired action application entry data (the application rule ID corresponds to “ID” in the control rule list (FIG. 5) (is the same value)). The notification destination (administrator identifier or sender identifier) or broadcaster (broadcaster identifier) included in the “manager” column of the control rule is specified. The processing from step S1407 to step S1410 is repeated until it is executed for all the notification destinations and broadcasters specified here.

  In step S1408, the rule application processing unit 152 determines whether or not the broadcaster identifier (RCPT) is specified in step S1407. If it is determined that the broadcaster identifier (RCPT) has been specified (step S1408: YES), the process proceeds to step S1409. On the other hand, if it is determined that the broadcaster identifier (RCPT) has not been specified (step S1408: NO), that is, if the notification destination (administrator identifier or sender identifier (from)) is specified, step The process proceeds to S1414.

  In step S1409, “information regarding hold control” is stored in the message buffer for the broadcaster. A method of acquiring “information related to hold control” stored in the message buffer for the broadcaster will be described later.

  In step S1414, an electronic mail (also referred to as a notification mail) is generated and sent to the specified notification destination. Here, the e-mail address associated with the current processing target notification destination (administrator identifier) identified in step S1407 is acquired from the user account database 157, and a notification mail is generated and transmitted with the acquired e-mail address as the destination. To do.

  If the notification destination currently being processed is a sender identifier (from), the sender (sender) 's electronic mail is determined from the header of the email included in the mail message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. A mail address is acquired, and a notification mail addressed to the e-mail address is generated and sent.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the notification mail. In this case, the e-mail data 702 acquired in step S301 is attached, and the notification that the “information on hold control” (data stored in the message buffer for the broadcaster) of the held e-mail is inserted in the body 701 An example of generating mail is shown.

  More specifically, in the mail text 701, “information about hold control” (sender, reception date / time, reason for hold, transmission status, URL to the management screen (link information)) of the hold email is inserted. The following shows an example of generating an e-mail (notification mail) to which the e-mail data acquired in step S301 is attached.

  It is preferable that a link destination (URL) to the management screen corresponding to the authority information of the notification destination (administrator identifier or sender identifier) is generated and inserted. In that case, the authority information of the notification destination (administrator identifier or sender identifier) determined in step S1408 is acquired from the “manager” column of the control rule. And, in the acquired broadcaster's authority information, one of the authority to send the suspended email, the authority to delete the suspended email, and the authority to change (extend) the suspended email hold time is set If so, link information indicating a link destination to the management screen corresponding to the execution of the set authority is generated. Details of the management screen will be described later with reference to FIG. On the other hand, if there is no authority, link information is not generated and link information is not inserted into the notification mail.

  In addition, in the “information regarding hold control” stored in step S1409, the above-described “sender (sender) name of the suspended email” or “email address of the sender of the suspended email” The management screen corresponding to the “date and time (reception date and time)”, “scheduled transmission date and time” at which the e-mail was acquired in step S301, “transmission status” indicating who the e-mail was put on hold, and authority information of the notification destination Information such as a link destination (URL) is included. Below, the acquisition method of "information regarding hold control" is demonstrated.

  The “sender (sender) name of the suspended email” is the sender (sender) of the email header stored in the email message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. It is obtained by specifying an e-mail address and acquiring a user name (sender name) associated with the specified e-mail address from the user account database. The “sender's email address” is acquired from the header of the email stored in the email message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404.

  Further, the “reception date / time” is acquired as the “reception date / time” as the date / time when the electronic mail is received in step S301. The “scheduled transmission date / time” is acquired from the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. The destination user name indicated in the “transmission status” is acquired from the user name included in the destination address part (destination) of the header part of the email included in the mail message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. Is done. Alternatively, the destination user name indicated in the “transmission status” is the email included in the destination address portion (destination) of the header portion of the email included in the email message (destination) of the action application entry data acquired in step S1404. The user name associated with the address is acquired from the user account database 157.

  The “link destination” is generated based on, for example, the authority information of the broadcaster determined in step S1408 from the “manager” field of the control rule, and the acquired authority information of the broadcaster. In other words, when any of the authority to send a suspended electronic mail, the authority to delete, and the authority to change (extend) the holding time is set, a screen that can execute the set authority (for example, FIG. 10). Link information indicating the link destination is generated and stored in step S1409. Note that link information for each authority may be stored and held in advance. On the other hand, link information is not stored when there is no authority.

  In step S1411, when the above processing is executed for all the notification destinations and / or broadcasters specified in step S1407, the action application entry data stored in step S1405 is stored in the pending mail storage unit 158.

  In step S1412, if unprocessed action application entry data exists in the action application entry list, the process proceeds to step S1404, and the next action application entry data of the action application entry data acquired in the previous step S1404 is acquired. To do. On the other hand, when the process is completed for all action application entry data in the action application entry list, the process ends.

  Note that the destination e-mail address set in the envelope of the e-mail included in the action application entry data acquired in step S1404 is set in the field of TO or Cc (carbon copy, carbon copy). If this is the case, the subsequent processing from step S1405 to step S1410 is executed, but if it is set in the Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy) field, that is, the e-mail address is set in the To or Cc field. If not, the process from step S1405 to step S1410 thereafter may not be executed, and the process may proceed to step S1411.

  With this configuration, when the destination e-mail address is set to Bcc, an e-mail (ordinary e-mail) that does not include the “information on hold control” and the e-mail data acquired in step S301 Will be sent. That is, it is possible to maintain security (intention using Bcc) by preventing all email addresses of envelope destinations from being displayed in the header of the email to be transmitted.

<Various changes (sending, deleting, extending) processing>
FIG. 10 is displayed on the display unit of the mail transmission / reception terminal used by a user (notification destination or broadcaster) who has all the authority of sending the suspended e-mail, deleting the authority, and changing (holding) the hold time. It is a figure which shows an example of a management screen. This screen is displayed by accessing the link destination (URL) to the management screen described in the e-mail received by the user (notification destination or broadcaster) by the Web browser operating on the mail transmitting / receiving terminal. In the first embodiment, the link destination (URL) server is the mail relay device 150.

  In the example of the management screen in FIG. 10, data about a suspended electronic mail (e-mail address of the transmission source, e-mail address of the transmission destination, mail text, reception date / time, scheduled transmission date / time, operation history, etc.) 1001 is displayed. Has been. In addition, the hold mail management processing unit 155 in the mail relay device 150 has a send button 1002 for instructing immediate sending of the hold e-mail, a delete button 1003 for instructing deletion, and a hold extension button 1005 for instructing hold extension. Is displayed. Further, a setting unit 1004 for designating the hold extension time is also displayed.

  That is, when the send button 1002 is pressed by the user or broadcaster to be notified, a send instruction for the suspended email can be issued. In addition, when the delete button 1003 is pressed by the user or broadcaster who is notified, an instruction to delete the suspended electronic mail can be issued. In addition, the user or broadcaster of the notification destination inputs the hold extension time to the setting unit 1004 and presses the hold extension button 1005, thereby giving an instruction to set the hold extension time of the held e-mail.

  The setting unit 1004 can input a time for extending the holding time, but may input a time for shortening the holding time. For example, if a “positive number” is input to the setting unit 1004, an instruction to extend the holding time can be given, and if a “negative number” is input to the setting unit 1004, an instruction to shorten the holding time can be issued. . In this way, it is possible to change the hold time of the hold email according to the value input to the setting unit 1004.

  When the send button 1002 is pressed by a notification destination user or broadcaster, the CPU of the mail transmission / reception terminal transmits an instruction for sending the displayed electronic mail to the mail relay device 150. Upon receiving the instruction, the CPU of the mail relay device 150 refers to the action application entry list, and sets the “scheduled transmission date and time” of the action application entry data of “message mail (destination)” including the electronic mail to “immediately”. change.

  When the delete button 1003 is pressed by the user or the broadcaster who is notified, the CPU of the mail transmitting / receiving terminal transmits an instruction for deleting the displayed electronic mail to the mail relay device 150. Upon receiving the instruction, the CPU of the mail relay device 150 refers to the action application entry list and deletes the action application entry data of “message mail (destination)” including the electronic mail.

  In addition, when the notification destination user or the broadcaster inputs the hold extension time to the setting unit 1004 and the hold extension button 1005 is pressed, the CPU of the mail transmission / reception terminal displays the message on the mail relay device 150. Holds the e-mail for a hold extension time and gives a hold extension instruction to hold the e-mail. The CPU of the mail relay device 150 that has received the hold extension instruction refers to the action application entry list and holds the “scheduled transmission date and time” of the action application entry data of “message mail (destination)” including the electronic mail. The time is changed to the sum of the hold extension time specified for extension.

  Note that in the case where the authority information held by the notification destination or the broadcaster is only the e-mail transmission authority on hold, only the e-mail data 1001 and the transmission button 1002 are displayed. Further, when the authority information held by the notification destination is only the deletion authority for the email that is suspended, only the email data 1001 and the deletion button 1003 are displayed.

  As described above, by changing the link information inserted in step S1405 according to the notification destination or the broadcaster's authority information, various changes (sending, deleting, extending) processing for the suspended email can be performed in a predetermined manner. It becomes possible to limit to authorized users. Therefore, it is possible to improve the security related to the transmission control of the suspended electronic mail.

<Processing flow for suspended emails>
Here, the transmission process of the electronic mail (the electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended) in the action application entry data stored in the suspended mail storage unit 158 in step S1411 will be described.

  The rule application processing unit 152 periodically retrieves the action application entry data stored in the hold mail storage unit one by one (one record), compares the scheduled transmission date and time of the action application entry data with the current date and time, and plans the transmission If the date and time exceeds the current date and time, the e-mail included in the action application entry is sent to the mail transmission processing unit 153 and sent to the mail delivery device 190. Then, the action application entry data including the electronic mail sent to the mail delivery device 190 is deleted from the pending mail storage unit 158.

  In addition, the process of sending the action application entry data e-mail with the scheduled sending date and time set to “no expiration” to the mail delivery device 190 shown here is not executed. Also, the processing shown here for sending to the mail delivery device 190 is executed at intervals (1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.) suitable for the length of the holding time.

<Control rule registration process flow>
Next, a process in which a user or an administrator registers an e-mail control rule will be described. This registration process is generally executed prior to the mail relay apparatus process described with reference to FIG. However, it can also be executed when a control rule is changed (addition / deletion, etc.) during operation.

  The management operation unit 112 of the user's mail transmission / reception terminal 110 accesses the control rule setting unit 154 of the mail relay apparatus 150 using a Web browser or the like.

  Then, the management operation unit 112 transmits user information (user name, password) input via a screen (not shown) to the control rule setting unit 154 of the mail relay device 150. Then, the control rule setting unit 154 authenticates the user using the user information in the user account database 157 in the mail relay device 150.

  If authenticated, the control rule setting unit 154 of the mail relay device 150 receives data for displaying a list screen of control rules for which the user has management authority on the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 of the user. Send. On the other hand, if the authentication is not successful, a response indicating that the mail relay device 150 cannot be accessed is sent.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the rule list screen, in which each item of the control rule for which the authenticated user has authority is displayed.

  The priority (priority) of the control rules (corresponding to “ID” shown in FIG. 5) is changed by pressing an arrow as shown in the “Operation” column of the rule list screen 700. Can do. For example, when the arrow button 705a “↑” is pressed, the priority of applying the control rule for the pressed record increases, and when the arrow button 705b “↓” is pressed, the control rule for the pressed record is applied. The priority to be reduced.

  The priority needs to be unique for all control rules registered in the control rule storage unit, but the system administrator sets the range of priority values that can be used for each user in the user account database 157, for example. It is possible to control the application order of the entire control rule.

  FIG. 6 shows a rule setting screen displayed when a new control rule is created. The rule setting screen 600 is displayed, for example, by pressing a new creation button 710 shown in FIG.

  On the rule setting screen, information corresponding to one line of the control rule list shown in FIG. 5 can be input and registered. Here, the user identifier of the user who registered the control rule is recorded in the user ID column of the control rule list in FIG. At this time, the sender condition column of the control rule registered by a general user is fixed to the user's own e-mail address. However, if the user has the authority to manage other users' e-mails, the e-mail address of the sender within the scope of the management authority can be set.

<Operation scenario>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart exemplarily showing an actual operation scenario of the mail relay apparatus 150 for an electronic mail. Here, after the e-mail sent from the user is held by the mail relay device 150, the broadcaster extends the hold time of the held e-mail, and then the sender deletes the hold mail. A scenario for canceling transmission of an e-mail for a specific destination is shown.

  In step S <b> 901, an e-mail with a sender address of A and receiving addresses of B and C is transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110.

  In step S902, the mail relay device 150 receives an e-mail.

  In step S903, a rule application process is executed. Here, it is compared with the control rules in the control rule storage unit 156 in order of priority, “The sender condition is A, the receiver condition is B, the split evaluation is true, the action is on hold, the delay time is 5 minutes, the administrator It is assumed that the control rule Z is set as “sender identifier, broadcaster identifier”. All the control rules are not applied to the mail addressed to the recipient C, and a predetermined initial setting operation (default operation) is performed. Here, a relay operation (immediate transmission) is performed. Here, the predetermined initial setting operation means a processing operation for mail that does not apply to any of the control rule lists in FIG.

  In the mail application processing step S304 of the control rule Z, first, in step S402, the emails whose envelope recipient addresses are B and C are divided into the emails of the envelope recipient B and the emails of the envelope recipient C. Next, the e-mail of envelope recipient B is first checked against the condition definition unit in step S405, and the process proceeds to step S408 to match. In step S408, an action application entry buffer N is created, which includes the target e-mail message, the mail reception time, the scheduled transmission date and time set in the control rule Z, and the control rule Z ID, and the action application entry buffer. Is saved.

  Next, since the divided e-mails addressed to the recipient C do not match the condition definition part of the control rule Z, the process proceeds to step S409. Since there are no more divided mails, the process proceeds to step S410, step S411, and step S412. Only the electronic mail addressed to the recipient C is regarded as an unapplied mail, and the subsequent control rule application process is performed.

  Since the e-mail addressed to the recipient C does not match the condition definition parts of all the remaining control rules, the default relay operation is applied in the default operation application processing in step S307, the scheduled transmission date and time are immediate, and the control rule ID is not yet set. It is added to the action application entry buffer as a definition action application entry M.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S308, and after the entries in the action application entry buffer are arranged in ascending order of the scheduled transmission date and time, the action application entry N is first extracted. Since the scheduled transmission date and time of the action application entry N indicates a hold, the control rule Z is extracted using the control rule ID, and since the sender identifier is in the manager column, it is shown in FIG. Send a notification email. At this time, since the management authority information of the caller has all the authority of transmission, deletion, and extension of hold, the URL of the hold mail management screen where all these operations can be performed is described in the notification mail. Next, the action application entry N is stored in the pending mail storage unit 158 (S904).

  Since there is a broadcaster identifier in the manager field of control rule Z, the mail addressed to the recipient B is suspended from being sent to the message buffer for the broadcaster until 5 minutes after the reception time. Add a message. At the same time, since the authority to hold extension is set in the management authority information of the broadcaster, the URL of the hold mail management screen on which this mail hold extension can be performed is added to the message buffer for the broadcaster.

  Next, the action application entry M is extracted, and since the scheduled transmission date and time is immediate, the contents of the message buffer for the broadcaster are extracted, and the electronic mail as shown in FIG. 9 is delivered to the mail transmission processing unit 153 and transmitted. (S911).

  In step S912, the mail transmitting / receiving terminal used by the user of the electronic mail address C receives the electronic mail. The user having the electronic mail address C confirms the additional header part (703 in FIG. 9) of the received mail. At this time, for example, it is assumed that the user having the electronic mail address C wants to further extend the delay time of mail transmission addressed to the recipient B to one hour. In that case, the URL described in the e-mail is clicked, and a management screen as illustrated in FIG. 10 is displayed by a Web browser or the like. Then, after one hour is input to the extension time setting unit 1004 of the management screen, the hold extension button 1005 is pressed to send a hold extension request to the mail relay device 150 (step S915).

  In step S916, the relay device 150 extends the scheduled transmission date and time of the action application entry N stored in the hold mail storage unit by one hour.

  In step S906, the mail transmitting / receiving terminal that has sent the e-mail receives the hold notification mail transmitted in step S905. Accordingly, if the e-mail address B is inappropriate as the destination of the e-mail transmitted in S901, the user of the e-mail address A clicks the URL of the management screen described in the hold notification mail (S907). . Then, a management screen as illustrated in FIG. 10 is displayed by a Web browser or the like (S908). The user confirms the contents and clicks the delete button on the management screen (step S909).

  In step S910, the mail relay device 150 receives the request for deleting the electronic mail suspended in S904, and deletes the action application entry N from the retained mail storage unit.

  As described above in detail, according to the e-mail transmission system including the mail relay device 150 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce erroneous transmission of e-mail by the user and to be applied to various usage situations. An e-mail transmission system can be provided. In particular, various changes (sending, deleting, extending) processing can be performed on a suspended mail by a user having a preset authority.

(Other embodiments)
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or may be applied to an apparatus constituted by one device.

  The present invention can also be achieved by supplying a program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. The Accordingly, the program code itself installed in the computer in order to realize the functional processing of the present invention by the computer is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk (CD, DVD), a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, and a ROM.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

  Further, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Mail transmission / reception terminal 150 Mail relay apparatus 111 Mail transmission / reception part 112 Management operation part 151 Mail reception process part 152 Rule application process part 153 Mail transmission process part 154 Control rule setting part 155 Hold mail management process part 156 Control rule storage part 157 User account Database 158 Hold mail storage

Claims (10)

  An information processing apparatus that performs transmission control on e-mail data transmitted from a terminal,
  A transmission control rule used for transmission control of email data, which is defined by a condition of email data to which the transmission control rule is applied and a transmission control content indicating processing to be executed for email data that matches the condition Storage means for storing transmitted transmission control rules;
  Obtaining means for obtaining e-mail data transmitted from the terminal;
  A selection means for selecting a transmission control rule used for transmission control of the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition means among the transmission control rules stored in the storage means;
  First determination means for determining whether or not the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition means matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means;
  When the first determination unit determines that the e-mail data matches the condition set in the transmission control rule, the transmission control for the e-mail data is performed according to the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control means for performing
With
  The transmission control rule further includes a division evaluation setting indicating whether to apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data,
  The information processing apparatus includes:
  A second part for determining whether or not the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data; Determining means,
  When the second determination unit determines that the division evaluation setting indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data, the acquisition unit acquires the acquisition unit. First creation means for creating, from email data, split email data in which destinations included in the email data are individually set;
Further comprising
  The first determination means further matches the condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means for each of the divided email data created by the first creation means. Whether or not
  The transmission control means further follows the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule for the divided email data determined by the first determination means to match the condition set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control
An information processing apparatus characterized by that.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the creation unit creates the divided email data by creating envelope data in which destinations included in an envelope of the email data are individually set. .   Of the divided e-mail data created from the same e-mail data, the divided e-mail data determined by the first determination means as not satisfying the condition set in the transmission control rule is synthesized and synthesized e-mail A second creation means for creating data;
  The selection unit selects an unselected transmission control rule from among the transmission control rules stored in the storage unit as a transmission control rule used for transmission control of the composite email data,
  The first determination unit determines whether or not the composite email data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection unit;
  The transmission control means, when it is determined by the first determination means that the composite email data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule, according to the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule. Perform transmission control for composite email data
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The second determination means indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination in which the division evaluation setting of the unselected transmission control rule selected by the selection means is set in e-mail data. The first creation means creates split email data in which the destinations included in the composite email data are individually set from the composite email data,
  For each of the divided e-mail data created by the first creating means, the first determining means determines whether the divided e-mail data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selecting means Determine whether or not
  The transmission control means further follows the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule for the divided email data determined by the first determination means to match the condition set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.   The said 2nd synthetic | combination means produces | generates the said synthetic | combination email data by producing | generating the envelope containing the transmission destination information contained in the envelope of each said division | segmentation email data. The information processing apparatus described in 1.   The transmission control content can be set to send e-mail and hold the e-mail,
  When other divided e-mail data created from the same e-mail data as the one divided e-mail data sent by the transmission control means is held by the transmission control means, the one e-mail data 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising addition means for adding additional information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the additional information is information used for giving a transmission control instruction to the other divided electronic mail data.   8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the additional information is information indicating that the other divided electronic mail data is suspended.   An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control on electronic mail data transmitted from a terminal, wherein the information processing apparatus is a transmission control rule used for transmission control of electronic mail data, the transmission control Storage means for storing a transmission control rule in which a condition of electronic mail data to which the rule is applied and a transmission control content indicating a process to be executed on the electronic mail data meeting the condition is defined; The method is
  An acquisition unit for acquiring e-mail data transmitted from the terminal; and
  A selection step of selecting a transmission control rule used for transmission control of the e-mail data acquired in the acquisition step from among the transmission control rules stored in the storage unit;
  A first determination step in which a first determination unit determines whether or not the e-mail data acquired in the acquisition step matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step;
  When the transmission control means determines in the first determination step that the e-mail data matches the condition set in the transmission control rule, the electronic mail data is transmitted in accordance with the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule. A transmission control process for performing transmission control on mail data;
Including
  The transmission control rule further includes a division evaluation setting indicating whether to apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data,
  The information processing method includes:
  Whether the second determination means indicates that the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step applies the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data. A second determination step of determining whether or not;
  When it is determined in the second determination step that the division evaluation setting indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data, the acquired in the acquisition step A first creation step of creating split email data in which the destinations included in the email data are individually set from the email data;
Further including
  In the first determination step, for each of the divided email data created in the first creation step, the divided email data matches a condition set in the transmission control rule selected in the selection step. Whether or not
  The transmission control step further follows the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule for the divided email data determined to meet the conditions set in the transmission control rule in the first determination step. Transmission control
An information processing method characterized by the above.   A transmission control rule used for transmission control of email data, which is defined by a condition of email data to which the transmission control rule is applied and a transmission control content indicating processing to be executed for email data that matches the condition An information processing apparatus that includes storage means for storing the transmission control rules that are performed, and performs transmission control on the e-mail data transmitted from the terminal;
  Obtaining means for obtaining e-mail data transmitted from the terminal;
  A selection means for selecting a transmission control rule used for transmission control of the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition means among the transmission control rules stored in the storage means;
  First determination means for determining whether or not the e-mail data acquired by the acquisition means matches a condition set in a transmission control rule selected by the selection means;
  When the first determination unit determines that the e-mail data matches the condition set in the transmission control rule, the transmission control for the e-mail data is performed according to the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control means for performing
Function as
  The transmission control rule further includes a division evaluation setting indicating whether to apply the transmission control rule for each transmission destination set in the e-mail data,
  The information processing apparatus;
  A second part for determining whether or not the division evaluation setting included in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data; Determining means,
  When the second determination unit determines that the division evaluation setting indicates that the transmission control rule is applied to each transmission destination set in the e-mail data, the acquisition unit acquires the acquisition unit. First creation means for creating, from the email data, split email data in which destinations included in the email data are individually set;
Further function as
  The first determination means further matches the condition set in the transmission control rule selected by the selection means for each of the divided email data created by the first creation means. Whether or not
  The transmission control means further follows the transmission control content set in the transmission control rule for the divided email data determined by the first determination means to match the condition set in the transmission control rule. Transmission control
A computer program characterized by the above.

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