JP5392395B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an e-mail transmission control process.

  In recent years, electronic mail has been widely used as a means for transmitting and receiving information. In order to reduce the risk of information leakage, companies are prohibited from sending e-mail outside the company according to the content and destination of the e-mail when sending e-mail outside the company. It has become necessary to take.

  Therefore, in order to prevent erroneous transmission of e-mails and intentional outflow of information, a company or the like may provide a server device for performing e-mail transmission control. In the server device, a combination of a plurality of conditions for the items such as the destination of the email and the combination thereof, the number of destinations, keywords included in the subject and body of the email, the content of the attached file, etc. Thus, a rule for performing e-mail transmission control is set, and e-mail transmission control is performed according to the rule.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention related to e-mail transmission control using domain information of e-mail, and Patent Document 2 discloses an invention that performs e-mail transmission control based on organization information in a company. Yes.

JP 2007-102334 A JP 2010-171523 A

You may send the e-mail to some of the destinations set in the e-mail, but if you should not send to the remaining destinations, the remaining destinations are set. As a result, the transmission of e-mails is also prohibited for some of the destinations. When different transmission control can be performed for each transmission destination set for one electronic mail, the following must also be considered.
As a result of performing transmission control processing for an electronic mail (referred to as electronic mail X) in which a plurality of transmission destinations (transmission destination A, transmission destination B, transmission destination C) are set, for transmission destination A and transmission destination B, When the electronic mail X is transmitted, but transmission is suspended to the transmission destination C, an electronic mail Y that is a reply mail of the electronic mail X is transmitted from the transmission destination A. At that time, as the transmission destination of the email Y, the transmission destination B, the transmission destination C, and the sender of the email X are set. At that time, when it is determined that the transmission is performed for all the transmission destinations as a result of performing the transmission control process for the electronic mail Y, the electronic mail Y is sent before the electronic mail X that should originally arrive at the transmission destination C. May occur.
Further, it may be considered that the transmission of the electronic mail X to the transmission destination C is prohibited in the audit for the electronic mail X. In that case, there is also a problem that there is a possibility that the e-mail Y, which is a reply mail of the e-mail X, will reach the destination C where the e-mail X should not be transmitted.

In view of this, the present invention relates to a case where transmission of the e-mail to a part of destinations set for one e-mail is suspended or prohibited, and an e-mail related to the e-mail is sent to the part of destinations. An object is to enable transmission control so that transmission is not performed .

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control of electronic mail data, and performs reception control for receiving electronic mail data and transmission control of electronic mail data. A transmission control unit, a first determination unit that determines whether the email data received by the reception unit is reply email data that is a reply to other email data, and a reply by the first determination unit When it is determined that it is e-mail data, it is determined whether the reply source e-mail data that is the e-mail data that is the reply source of the reply e-mail is transmitted to the destination set in the return e-mail data A second determination unit, wherein the transmission control unit sets the return source email data as the return email data in the second determination unit. If it is determined that the reply email data has not been sent, the reply email data is sent to the destinations to which the reply email data is not sent among the destinations set in the reply email data. It is characterized by not transmitting immediately .

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control of electronic mail data, and includes a reception step of receiving electronic mail data, an electronic mail A transmission control step for performing transmission control of data; a first determination step for determining whether the email data received in the reception step is reply email data that is a reply to other email data; and If it is determined in step 1 that the reply email data is the reply email data, the reply source email data that is the reply source email data of the reply email is transmitted to the destination set in the reply email data A second determination step for determining whether or not the reply source e-mail data is returned in the second determination step. When it is determined that it has not been sent to the destination set in the child mail data, among the destinations set in the reply email data, for the destination to which the reply source email data has not been sent The reply e-mail data is not immediately transmitted .

In order to achieve the above-described object, a computer program according to the present invention includes an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control of email data, a reception unit that receives email data, and a transmission control unit that performs transmission control of email data. The first determination means for determining whether the email data received by the reception means is reply email data that is a reply to other email data, and the reply email data by the first determination means. When it is determined that there is a second determination, it is determined whether or not the reply source email data that is the reply source email data of the reply email is transmitted to the transmission destination set in the reply email data The transmission control means sets the reply source email data to the reply email data in the second determination means. If it is determined that the reply e-mail data has not been sent, the reply e-mail is sent to the destinations to which the reply e-mail data is not sent among the destinations set in the reply e-mail data. It is characterized by not transmitting data immediately .

According to the present invention, when transmission of the e-mail to a part of destinations set for one e-mail is suspended or prohibited, the e-mail related to the e-mail is sent to the part of the destinations. It is possible to perform transmission control so that transmission is not performed.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of the information processing system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus applicable to the proxy server 101 of FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of processing performed by a CPU 201 of a proxy server 101. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the email preservation | save process of step S302 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the email transmission control process of FIG.3 S304. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the pending | holding email audit process of FIG.3 S306. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an electronic mail DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a pending electronic mail DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an e-mail transmission control rule DB (database) stored in an external memory 211 of the proxy server 101. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the pending | holding email list screen 1000. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a pending email detail confirmation screen 1100. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a proxy server 101. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the email transmission control process of FIG.3 S304 (2nd Embodiment). It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the email transmission process of FIG.3 S304 (2nd Embodiment). It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the email transmission control execution process of step S1415 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the pending | holding electronic mail audit process of FIG.3 S306 (2nd Embodiment). It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the pending | holding email transmission control execution process of step S1613 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pending | holding email detailed confirmation screen 1800. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of mail transmission control rule DB (database) 1900 (2nd Embodiment). It is a figure which shows an example of a data structure of electronic mail transmission log | history DB2000. It is a figure which shows an example of a data structure of pending | holding electronic mail DB (database) 2100. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a data structure of temporary stop email DB (database) 2200. FIG. It is an image figure which shows the envelope division | segmentation of an email. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a function structure of the proxy server 101 in 2nd Embodiment.

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

  Further, the mail server 102 and the client device 103 are connected to the external mail servers 106-1 and 106-2 connected to the wide area network 105 via the proxy server 101 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

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

  In addition, the proxy server 101 has a web server function, and in response to a request from a user who operates the client device 103, the proxy server 101 inputs a transmission control rule used for an e-mail transmission control process. It accepts, or as a result of the transmission control process, accepts an input of transmission prohibition or transmission prohibition (audit input) for an electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended.

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

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

  In the figure, a CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller described later connected to a system bus 204. Further, the ROM 203 or the external memory 211 is necessary for the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS) that is a control program of the CPU 201 or the proxy server 101 to execute various processes described later. Various programs and data are stored. The RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 implements various processes to be described later by loading a program or the like necessary for executing the process into the RAM 202 and executing the program. An input controller (input C) 205 controls input from an input device 209 configured with a keyboard, a pointing device, and the like. A video controller (VC) 206 controls display on a display device such as the display device 210. The display device 210 is composed of, for example, a CRT display or a liquid crystal display.

  A memory controller (MC) 207 is a hard disk (HD), floppy disk (registered trademark FD) or PCMCIA card slot for storing boot programs, 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 compact flash memory connected 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 display device 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 202, for example. Further, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the display device 210. The above is the description of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus applicable to the proxy server 101. However, the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. Needless to say, it doesn't matter.

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

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

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

If it is determined that there is an e-mail for determining whether or not e-mail can be transmitted (YES in step S303), an e-mail transmission control process is performed (step S304). Details of the e-mail transmission control process will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If an audit request for a pending email is accepted (YES in step S305), a pending email audit process is performed (step S306). The details of the pending email audit process will be described later with reference to FIG. The above is an outline of the processing performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101.

Next, the details of the e-mail storage process in step S302 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In this process, when an e-mail is transmitted, if the size increases, the e-mail is divided into predetermined sizes (hereinafter referred to as size-divided e- mail), or the mail server 102 or client Depending on the mail client software installed in the apparatus 103, an envelope for each destination is created, and an e-mail is transmitted to each destination (hereinafter referred to as envelope-divided e-mail). Therefore, processing performed to combine these divided e-mails into one original mail (hereinafter, the combined e-mail is referred to as a combined e-mail) and to perform transmission control based on the original mail. It is.

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

  When it is determined YES in the determination process in step S401, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S402 and stores the e-mail in the size division e-mail storage unit. Then, it is determined whether or not all the size-divided electronic mails are prepared (step S403). In this determination, since the number (total) divided into the Content-type of the mail header and the number of the divided mail (number) is set, all the size divisions are performed according to this information. It will be determined whether the e-mail is ready. If it is determined that all the size-divided emails have been prepared (YES in step S403), the size-divided emails are combined to create a combined email that is an email before being size-divided (step S404), and thereafter Then, the process proceeds to step S405. When it is determined NO, this process is terminated.

If NO is determined in step S401 or after the processing in step S404 is completed, the CPU 201 stores an e-mail having the same mail ID as the received e-mail in the e-mail DB 700 stored in the external memory 211. (Step S405). Mail This ID, it refers to the information set in the messege-id of the mail header.

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

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

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

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

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

  A text 706 is a data item in which text information of an electronic mail is registered. An attachment 707 is a data item in which attached file information attached to an e-mail is registered.

  A combination 708 is a data item in which information indicating whether the mail data is a combination of size-divided electronic mail is registered. For example, “◯” is registered in the case of combined email of size-divided email, and “x” is registered in other cases. The registration method is not limited to this method. The divided size 709 is a data item in which the maximum size information of the size-divided e-mail that is the source of the e-mail is registered when the e-mail is a combined e-mail of the size-divided e-mail.

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

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

  Normally, when envelopes are created individually, not all transmission destinations of electronic mail are set in the envelope. Since TO and CC are also set in the header information of the electronic mail, it is possible to use the information, but there is a problem that BCC is not included in the mail header information.

  In addition, if both the envelope and header information are checked to specify the transmission destination, the processing efficiency is poor. Therefore, in the present invention, in the case of an e-mail system or the like in which an envelope is set for each destination, the same e-mail is specified based on the mail ID, and the destinations set in those envelopes are combined. Thus, an envelope similar to the envelope created in the electronic mail system in which the envelope is not created individually is generated. As a result, when the transmission destination condition is set in the transmission control rule, it is possible to acquire information about the transmission destination of the electronic mail used for determining whether or not the condition is met from only the envelope. In addition, when envelope division is performed and a plurality of transmission destinations are set to BCC, when a condition that a plurality of transmission destinations are set simultaneously is set in the transmission control rule, Appropriate transmission control may not be performed. By performing envelope combination in this way, even in such a case, it is possible to appropriately perform the transmission control process in a form in accordance with the transmission destination condition of the transmission control rule.

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

  By performing such processing, in the present invention, it is possible to divide the transmission destinations that are generated by e-mail size-divided by mail client software operating on the client device 103, mail server application operating on the mail server 102, or the like. It becomes possible to restore the original e-mail to the original e-mail and perform transmission control based on the original e-mail.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  The sender condition 905-1 is a data item in which the sender condition of the e-mail is registered. For example, “*@example.co.jp”, “* other than @ example.co.jp” (* indicates A condition such as a wild card is registered.

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

  The subject / body condition 905-3 is a data item in which a condition related to a character string set in the subject or body of an e-mail is registered. For example, “subject is not input”, “subject or body A condition such as “Contains any of confidential, confidential, confidential, or confidential” is registered.

  The attached file condition 905-4 is a data item in which a condition related to an attached file attached to an e-mail is registered. A MIME type condition 905-41, a keyword condition 905-42, and a size condition 905-43 are set. Yes.

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

  The keyword condition 905-42 is a data item in which a condition related to the character string included in the attached file is registered. For example, “Contains any one of“ confidential, confidential, confidential ”and“ confidential ”. The condition will be registered.

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

Of course, it is not necessary to set all of the sender condition 905-1, the destination condition 905-2, the subject / text condition 905-3, and the attached file condition 905-4 in one transmission control rule. Further, when a plurality of conditions are registered among the sender condition 905-1, the destination condition 905-2, the subject / text condition 905-3, and the attached file condition 905-4, an electronic device including all these conditions is registered. The mail matches the conditions of the transmission control rule, and is an electronic mail that performs transmission control processing according to the operation 906 of the transmission control rule.

The operation 906 is a data item in which processing to be executed for the e-mail data matching the condition 905 is registered, and any one of “transmission”, “transmission prohibited”, and “hold” is registered. If “send” is set, the e-mail is sent to the designated destination. When “transmission prohibition” is set, transmission of electronic mail is prohibited. When “hold” is set, transmission of electronic mail is suspended, and transmission control is performed in accordance with an instruction of “transmission” or “transmission prohibited” received from the administrator.

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

  Returning to the description of FIG. In step S <b> 502, the CPU 201 sets the transmission control rule condition 905 acquired according to the priority information registered in the priority 902 of each transmission control rule in the transmission control rule DB 900 as the transmission control target e-mail. It is determined whether they match (step S503).

  If it is determined in the determination process in step S503 that the condition 905 set in the transmission control rule is satisfied (YES), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S504 and is set in the operation 906 of the transmission control rule. Decide to perform the action. At this time, if conditions regarding the transmission destination (TO, CC, BCC) are set in the transmission control rule, the information regarding the transmission destination set in the envelope is checked against the transmission destination condition, and the transmission destination rule matches the transmission destination condition. It will be judged whether it has done.

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

  In step S506, the CPU 201 determines whether the process determined to be executed for the email in step S504 or step S505 is “transmission”, “hold”, or “transmission prohibited”.

  If it is determined in step S506 that it is “send”, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S507, and determines whether the e-mail to be transmitted is a combined e-mail combined with a size-divided e-mail. judge. If it is determined that the email is a combined email (YES), the process advances to step S508, and the email is processed based on the email size of the divided email before the registration registered in the email division size 709. Perform size division processing. Then, the electronic mail is transmitted to the designated transmission destination (step S509).

  If it is determined in the determination process in step S506 that it is “pending”, the process proceeds to step S510, and the information on the e-mail is registered in the hold e-mail DB 800 shown in FIG.

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

  The mail ID 801 is a data item in which identification information for uniquely identifying an electronic mail is registered. By using the information registered in the mail ID 801, information on the electronic mail registered in the electronic mail DB 700 is acquired.

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

  The hold date and time 804 is a data item in which the date and time information on which the e-mail is put on hold is registered. Of course, the e-mail may be transmitted or the e-mail may be prohibited from being transmitted even if there is no instruction from the auditor when the e-mail has been held for a certain period of time.

  The above is an example of the data configuration of the pending email DB 800.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After adding information related to the e-mail determined to be held in step S510 to the hold e-mail DB 800, the sender is notified that the e-mail has been held (step S511). In addition, the user who is set as an auditor of the suspended email is notified that the email is suspended (step S512).

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

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

  In the present invention, transmission control processing using a transmission control rule is executed after combining envelopes with respect to an electronic mail in which the envelope of one electronic mail is divided. If you take a method that performs transmission control processing without performing envelope combination, if the email is suspended or prohibited, the number of notifications that the email is suspended is the number of envelope divisions. May be done by auditors or senders. However, in the present invention, since the transmission control process is performed after the original single e-mail is made, there is an effect that a plurality of notifications are not given.

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

  The CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 performs a process for identifying the user who operates the client device 103 that has requested access (step S601). For example, when an input of a user ID and a password is accepted and the information is registered in a user management DB (not shown), the user specified by the user ID is specified as the user who audits the email. .

  Then, after the user is specified in step S601, the CPU 201 determines whether or not a pending email to be audited by the user is stored in the pending email DB 800 (step S602).

  If it is determined in step S602 that there is no pending email to be audited by the user (NO), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S603 to notify that there is no pending email to be audited. .

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

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

  As shown in FIG. 10, a hold email list display unit 1001, a send button 1002, and a send prohibit button 1003 are set on the hold email list display screen 1000.

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

  The audit target mail selection check box 1001-1 is a check box for selecting an electronic mail to be subjected to the summary audit. When an instruction to press the send button 1002 is received in a state where the audit target mail selection check box 1001-1 is checked, the transmission processing for the checked hold email is performed by pressing the send prohibit button 1003. When the instruction is accepted, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 executes the transmission prohibition process.

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

The attached file presence / absence display unit 1001-5 is a display unit that displays the presence / absence of an attached file of the pending electronic mail. A detail button 1001-6 is a button used for making a request for detailed data of a pending email to the proxy server 101. The above is an example of the on- hold email list display screen 1000 in FIG.

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

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

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

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

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

  The audit input field 1108 is an input field for receiving an input of audit information (“transmission” or “transmission prohibited”) for the pending electronic mail. The decision button 1109 is a button used to execute the process specified in the audit input field 1108 for the pending email. The above is an example of the hold email detail confirmation screen 1100 in FIG.

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

  After the process of step S612 or S613 is completed, a notification is sent to the sender of the pending email that processing has been performed on the pending email. At this time, the notification is made in such a way that it can be seen whether the pending electronic mail is transmitted or transmission is prohibited. Thereafter, the control result 710 of the data in the email DB 700 corresponding to the pending email is updated according to the audit result (step S615). When a transmission audit result is input, the information of the data item is changed to “hold → transmission”, and when a transmission prohibition audit result is input, the information of the data item is changed. Moreover, the record regarding the said hold | maintenance email is deleted from hold email DB800.

  The above processing is performed until it is determined in step S616 that the present processing is to be ended (YES). The above is the detailed description of the pending email audit process in step S306 in FIG.

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

  As shown in FIG. 12, the proxy server 101 includes a transmission control rule storage unit 1201, an email acquisition unit 1202, an email storage unit 1203, a pending email storage unit 1204, an email combining unit 1205, an email splitting unit 1206, The same e-mail presence / absence determining unit 1207, a condition match determining unit 1208, an e-mail transmission control process executing unit 1209, an audit receiving unit 1210, and the like are provided.

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

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

  The same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 1207 is a functional unit that determines whether an e-mail having the same e-mail ID as the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 1202 is stored in the e-mail DB 700. The condition match determination unit 1208 is a functional unit that determines whether or not an e-mail subject to transmission control processing meets the conditions of the transmission control rule. The e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 1209 is a functional unit that performs e-mail transmission control in accordance with the operation set in the transmission control rule determined by the condition match determination unit 1208 to match the condition.

  The audit acceptance unit 1210 is a functional unit that accepts input of audit information (transmission and transmission prohibition) for the pending email stored in the pending email DB 800. The above is an example of the functional configuration of the proxy server 101.

  By adopting the configuration as described above, it is possible to perform e-mail transmission control according to the originally set destination information, even if the e-mail has envelope information divided for each destination. . In particular, it is effective when transmission control is performed for a true transmission destination condition such as a BCC that does not exist in the header information of the e-mail.

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

  As described above, the reason for performing different transmission control for a plurality of destinations set in one e-mail is to send the e-mail to some of the destinations set in the e-mail. However, if it should not be transmitted to the remaining transmission destination, the remaining transmission destination is set in the e-mail transmission control process in the first embodiment. The transmission of e-mail is also prohibited for the transmission destination of the copy.

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

  As a result of performing transmission control processing for an electronic mail (referred to as electronic mail X) in which a plurality of transmission destinations (transmission destination A, transmission destination B, transmission destination C) are set, for transmission destination A and transmission destination B, When the electronic mail X is transmitted, but transmission is suspended to the transmission destination C, an electronic mail Y that is a reply mail of the electronic mail X is transmitted from the transmission destination A. At that time, as the transmission destination of the email Y, the transmission destination B, the transmission destination C, and the sender of the email X are set.

  At that time, when it is determined that the transmission is performed for all the transmission destinations as a result of performing the transmission control process for the electronic mail Y, the electronic mail Y is sent before the electronic mail X that should originally arrive at the transmission destination C. May occur.

  Further, it may be considered that the transmission of the electronic mail X to the transmission destination C is prohibited in the audit for the electronic mail X. In that case, there is also a problem that there is a possibility that the e-mail Y, which is a reply mail of the e-mail X, will reach the destination C where the e-mail X should not be transmitted.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, in consideration of the above-described problems, when transmission of the e-mail to a part of destinations set in one e-mail is suspended or prohibited, A description will be given of e-mail transmission control by the proxy server 101 that enables transmission control so that an e-mail related to the e-mail (such as a reply e-mail) is not transmitted to the partial destination.

  Also in the second embodiment, the outline of the processing performed by the proxy server 101 (the processing shown in FIG. 3) is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted. In the following, only the point of difference in processing from the first embodiment will be described, and description of other processing will be omitted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  When the division evaluation 1905 sets a transmission control rule for each transmission destination, the proxy server 101 applies the transmission control rule for each transmission destination included in the e-mail. . As a result, a transmission control process using the transmission control rule is performed on a part of transmission destinations set in one electronic mail, and the transmission control process of the electronic mail to the other transmission destinations is transmitted to another transmission destination. Cases that occur according to control rules may occur.

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

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

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

  The subject / body condition 1906-3 is a data item in which a condition related to a character string set in the subject or body of an e-mail is registered. For example, “subject is not input”, “subject or body” A condition such as “Contains any of“ confidential, confidential ”,“ secret ”, or“ confidential ”may be registered.

  The attached file condition 1906-4 is a data item in which a condition related to an attached file attached to an e-mail is registered. A MIME type condition 1906-41, a keyword condition 1906-42, and a size condition 1906-43 are set. Yes.

  The MIME type condition 1906-41 is a data item in which information related to the file type is registered. For example, when registering the condition “include JPEG file in attached file”, when registering the condition “include image / jpeg” or “attached file is not a text file”, register “text / Information other than “plain” is registered.

  The keyword condition 1906-42 is a data item in which a condition related to the character string included in the attached file is registered. For example, “Contains any one of“ confidential, confidential, confidential ”and“ confidential ”. Conditions can be registered.

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

  Of course, it is not necessary to set all of the sender condition 1906-1, the destination condition 1906-2, the subject / text condition 1906-3, and the attached file condition 1906-4 in one transmission control rule. Further, when a plurality of conditions are registered among the sender condition 1906-1, the destination condition 1906-2, the subject / body condition 1906-3, and the attached file condition 1906-4, an electronic device including all these conditions is registered. The mail is an electronic mail to which the transmission control rule is applied.

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

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

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

  The inspector 1908 is a data item in which an inspector (administrator) who inputs an instruction of “transmission” or “transmission prohibition” for an e-mail that has been put on hold and meets the conditions is registered. . The above is the description of the data configuration of the transmission control rule DB 1900 in the second embodiment.

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

  If the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 is a divisional evaluation transmission control rule, as described above, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the transmission control rule matches each transmission destination set in the e-mail. The e-mail transmission control process set in the operation 1907-2 of one of the operation settings 1907 of the transmission control rule is performed only for the transmission destination that matches the condition.

  If the CPU 201 determines that the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 is not a divisional evaluation transmission control rule (NO in step S1303), the process proceeds to step S1304, and the e-mail to be transmitted is processed in step S1302. It is determined whether or not the various conditions of the transmission control rule condition 1906 acquired in step 1 are met.

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

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1304 that the CPU 201 determines that the email subject to transmission control processing does not match the various conditions set in the transmission control rule condition 1906 acquired in step S1302 (NO), Advances to step S1301.

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

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

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

  This completes the explanation of the envelope division of the email.

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

  In step 1307, the CPU 201 acquires an envelope-divided email for an undetermined destination. Then, it is determined whether or not the envelope-divided email acquired in step S1307 matches the condition 1906 set in the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302 (step S1308). If it is determined that the two match in the determination process in step S1308 (YES), the CPU 201 follows the operation set in the transmission control rule acquired in step S1302, and the envelope-divided email acquired in step S1307. The operation for is determined (step S1309). At this time, when a plurality of operation settings 1907 are set for each transmission destination in the transmission control rule, the operation is determined according to the transmission destination. In the process of step S1308, it is individually determined whether each envelope division e-mail matches the transmission control rule. If it matches, the operation of the envelope division e-mail set in the transmission control rule is determined. For envelope-divided mail that does not match the transmission control rule, the operation is not determined by the transmission control rule.

  Then, for the envelope divided e-mails for all transmission destinations, it is determined whether there is an envelope divided e-mail whose operation has not been determined after the processing of step S1307 to step S1309 is completed (step S1310). If YES is determined in this determination process, the envelopes of the envelope-divided emails for destinations whose operations are not determined are combined to create one email (step S1311). In order to combine envelopes and create one e-mail, the reverse process of envelope division is performed. If there is one envelope-divided electronic mail whose operation has not been determined, the electronic mail combining process is not performed.

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

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

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

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

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

  In the above case, when X that receives the email A creates an email B that is a reply email of the email A to all, the destination (TO, CC) includes P, Y and Z are set. It is conceivable that the result of the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 performing the transmission control process using the transmission control rule for the electronic mail B permits transmission to all transmission destinations.

  If it becomes as mentioned above, the email B will arrive at the transmission destination Y in the state where the email A which should have arrived first is not transmitted to the transmission destination Y. The auditor may determine that the e-mail A should not be sent to the destination Y, so that the e-mail A can be sent to the destination Y in a state where whether or not the e-mail A can be sent to the destination Y is not determined. There is a problem in sending the mail B to the destination Y.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, particularly when the e-mail targeted for the transmission control process in FIG. 13 is a reply e-mail of another e-mail (in the future, such other e-mail will be referred to as “reply source”). The electronic mail transmission control method is finalized by confirming the transmission control result of the reply source electronic mail.

  First, in step S1401, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 determines whether it is a reply email of another email based on the header information of the email that is the target of the transmission control process.

  If it is determined in step S1401 that the CPU 201 is not a reply mail (NO), the process proceeds to step S1402, and the process shown in FIG. The operation of the e-mail for each destination is set as the operation for the e-mail. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S1412.

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

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

  In step S <b> 1405, the CPU 201 obtains the transmission history information of the reply source email of the email subject to transmission control from the email transmission history DB 2000.

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

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

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

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

Returning to the description of FIG. In step S1405, the CPU 201 uses the information set in In-reply-to in the email header of the email subject to transmission control ( the email ID of the reply source email ) and the destination information acquired in step S1403. The electronic mail transmission history DB 2000 is searched, and records matching those are searched to acquire the transmission history information of the reply source electronic mail. Then, after acquiring the transmission history information of the reply source e-mail to the transmission destination acquired in step S1403, it is determined whether the transmission control result of the reply source e-mail to the transmission destination is prohibited from transmission (step S1406). . If the CPU 201 determines that transmission is prohibited (including hold → transmission prohibited) (YES) in this determination process, the process proceeds to step S1407. On the other hand, if it is determined that transmission is not prohibited (NO), the process proceeds to step S1408. If there is a record that matches the mail ID 2001 but does not match any of the transmission destinations 2002, the transmission destination is the transmission source of the reply source email or a newly added transmission destination. It is. In this case, since the reply source electronic mail is not put on hold for the transmission destination, the same processing as the transmission destination to which the reply source electronic mail has already been transmitted is performed.

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

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

  Note that the email whose transmission control processing has been suspended is registered in the suspension email DB 2200 shown in FIG. 22 in the processing of step S1412 described later.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 22, the data structure of the suspension electronic mail DB 2200 will be described. As shown in FIG. 22, the suspended email DB 2200 includes a mail ID 2201, a transmission destination 2202, a transmission control result 2203, an inspector 2204, a reply source email ID 2205, and the like.

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

  In the transmission destination 2202, a transmission destination (TO, CC, BCC) set in the electronic mail specified by the mail ID 2201 is registered. When the email transmission control process is paused for a plurality of destinations set for one email, a record is created in the pause email DB 2200 for each destination. It will be.

  In the transmission control result 2203, an operation determined as a result of the transmission control process using the transmission control rule for the electronic mail whose transmission control is suspended is registered. When the operation registered in the transmission control result 2203 is “pending”, the auditor 2204 registers information of an auditor who performs an audit on the held e-mail.

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

  The above is an explanation of an example of the data configuration of the suspension email DB 2200.

  Returning to the description of FIG. If it is determined in step S1408 that the reply source e-mail is not on hold, the CPU 201 determines that the information (reply source electronic) is set to In-reply-to in the mail header of the e-mail to be transmitted. By using the mail ID) and the destination information acquired in step S1403, the suspended email DB 2200 is searched, and the transmission control of the reply source email is suspended depending on whether or not a record matching them can be obtained. Is determined (step S1410). If it is determined YES in this determination processing, the process proceeds to step S1409, and it is determined that transmission control for the electronic mail is performed after the transmission control processing for the electronic mail is temporarily stopped.

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

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

  Here, with reference to FIG. 15, the details of the e-mail transmission control execution process in step S1412 of FIG. 14 will be described. This process is a process performed by the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101, and a program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute this process is stored in the external memory 211 or the like. The program is loaded into the RAM 202, and the processing shown in this figure is executed according to the control of the loaded program.

  First, as a result of executing the e-mail transmission control process shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the CPU 201 performs the processes of steps S <b> 1501 to S <b> 1504 for the transmission destination determined to suspend the e-mail transmission control process.

  In step S <b> 1501, the CPU 201 acquires a transmission destination that has not been subjected to the processing subsequent to step S <b> 1502 among the transmission destinations that are determined to temporarily stop the email transmission control process.

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

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

  After that, the CPU 201 performs the processing from step S1505 to step S1508 on the destination determined to suspend transmission of the email as a result of executing the email transmission control processing shown in FIGS.

  In step S <b> 1505, the CPU 201 acquires a transmission destination that has not been subjected to the processing in step S <b> 1506 from among transmission destinations that are determined to suspend transmission of an e-mail.

  After that, the CPU 201 determines whether there is a transmission destination determined to prohibit the transmission of the e-mail among the other transmission destinations for which the e-mail is set (step S1506). If the CPU 201 determines YES in this determination processing, the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1507, and deletes the transmission destination for which transmission of the electronic mail is prohibited from the mail header of the electronic mail.

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

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

  Note that the mail ID 2101, the sender 2102, the auditor 2103, and the hold date 2105 correspond to the mail ID 801, the sender 802, the auditor 803, and the hold date 804 of the hold email DB 800 in the first embodiment, respectively. Since it is a thing, detailed description here is omitted.

  The transmission destination 2104 is a data item for registering the transmission destination of the electronic mail. The purpose of providing such data items is that in the second embodiment, the transmission control processing of the e-mail for each transmission destination set for one e-mail may be different. The transmission of the electronic mail is put on hold in order to specify which transmission destination it is.

  The above is the description of the data configuration of the pending electronic mail DB 2100 in the second embodiment.

  Returning to the description of FIG. Next, the CPU 201 performs the processing of steps S1509 to S1516 for the destination determined to transmit the email as a result of the email transmission control processing shown in FIGS.

  In step S1509, the CPU 201 acquires a transmission destination that has not been subjected to the processing from step S1510 onward among the transmission destinations determined to transmit the e-mail. Then, the CPU 201 determines whether the transmission destination set for the electronic mail includes the transmission destination determined to hold the email and the transmission destination determined to pause the transmission control process (step S1510).

  If it is determined in step S1510 that there is a destination determined to hold the email and a destination determined to pause the transmission control process (YES), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1511 and proceeds to step S1511. A notification that there is a destination to which the electronic mail has not yet been transmitted is added to the body of the mail. At this time, a notification capable of recognizing the transmission destination is added.

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

  Needless to say, the processes in steps S1512 and S1513 may be performed before the processes in steps S1510 and S1511.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether the electronic mail is a combined electronic mail whose size is combined in step S404 in FIG. 4 (step S1514). If YES is determined in this determination process, the process proceeds to step S1515, and the electronic mail is divided in size based on the mail size before combining (combined electronic mail size dividing process). Thereafter, a process of transmitting the size-divided email to the transmission destination selected in step S1509 is performed (step S1516).

  After completing the above process, the CPU 201 registers the transmission control result of the e-mail for the transmission destination for which the transmission control process is not temporarily suspended in the e-mail transmission history DB 2000. The above is the description of the e-mail transmission control execution process in step S1412 of FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After the e-mail transmission control execution process in step S1412 ends, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1413, and among the transmission destinations set in the e-mail that is the target of the transmission control process, the e-mail transmission is suspended. Determine if there is a destination. If it is determined YES in this determination process, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S <b> 1414 to notify the sender and the auditor of the e-mail that there is a reserved transmission destination.

  In step S <b> 1415, the CPU 201 determines whether there is a transmission destination for which transmission of electronic mail is prohibited among the transmission destinations set for the electronic mail that is the target of transmission control processing. If it is determined in this determination process that there is a transmission-prohibited transmission destination (YES), the process proceeds to step S1416, and the CPU 201 notifies the sender that there is a transmission-prohibited transmission destination. It will be. If there are both a transmission destination whose transmission of email is suspended and a transmission destination whose transmission is prohibited, a single notification email notifies the sender of the email. Of course, it does not matter if the processing of step S1414 and the processing of S1416 are performed at once.

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

  Next, with reference to FIG. 16, the pending email auditing process (step S306 in FIG. 3) in the second embodiment will be described. A program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute this process is stored in the external memory 211 or the like, and when executing this process, the CPU 201 loads the program into the RAM 202 and performs the main program according to control by the loaded program. Processing will be executed.

  First, the CPU 201 acquires an ID, a password, and the like used for user authentication from the client device 103 and collates with user information registered in a user table (not shown) to identify a user who has made an audit request. (User identification process: step S1601).

  After identifying the user who has made the audit request by the user identifying process in step S1601, the CPU 201 determines whether there is an email to be audited by the user (step S1602). The CPU 201 makes this determination based on whether there is a record in the hold email DB 2100 in which the user information of the user specified in step S1601 is registered in the inspector 2103. If it is determined in step S1602 that the user specified in step S1601 has no email to be audited (NO), the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1603, and the user is informed about the audit target. A notification that there is no e-mail is made, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process in step S1602 that there is an email to be audited by the user (YES), the process proceeds to step S1604, and the user's audit target (the user concerned) is checked from the pending email DB 2100. Get hold email). At this time, the hold email indicated by the record in which the user information of the user is registered in the auditor 2103 is acquired as the email to be audited by the user. Then, the CPU 201 generates screen information including the acquired pending email list (step S1605), and transmits the screen information to the client device 103 used by the user who has made the audit request (step S1606). On the display device of the client device 103, the pending email list screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed according to the screen information.

  Thereafter, the CPU 201 accepts a pressing instruction for any of the detail buttons 1001-6 on the hold email list screen displayed on the display device of the client device 103, and thereby the detailed data of the hold email issued by the client device 103. If it is determined that the request has been accepted (YES in step S1607), the process proceeds to step S1608, and screen information including detailed data of the designated hold email is generated. When generating the screen information, the CPU 201 searches the email transmission history DB 2000 based on the email ID of the pending email, and sends a history of transmissions to other destinations of the same email as the audited pending email. Information is acquired, and screen information including such information is generated.

  After creating the screen information in step S1608, the screen information is transmitted to the client apparatus 103 that has requested the detailed data (step S1609). On the display device of the client device 103, the hold email detail confirmation screen 1800 shown in FIG. 18 is displayed according to the screen information transmitted in step S1609.

  Here, referring to FIG. 18, a screen for confirming the details of the pending email in the second embodiment 1800 displayed on the display device of the client device 103 that has received the screen information transmitted in step S1609 in FIG. An example of the configuration will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the pending email detail confirmation screen 1800 includes a sender (FROM) information display column 1801, a TO information display column 1802, a CC information display column 1803, a BCC information display column 1804, a subject display column 1805, A text information display field 1806, an attached file information display field 1807, a transmission destination display field 1808, a transmission prohibition transmission destination display field 1809, an audit input field 1810, and a decision button 1815 are set.

  The audit input field 1810 includes an audit target (all transmission destination / individual) designation field 1811, an all transmission destination audit input field 1812, an individual transmission destination audit input field 1813, and an audit input field 1814 for an individual audit non-input destination. Is set.

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

  The subject information display column 1805 is a display column for displaying the subject of the suspended electronic mail, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the subject 705 of the electronic mail DB 700. The text information display column 1806 is a display column for displaying the text of the pending email, and is a display column for displaying information registered in the text 706 of the email DB 700. The attached file information display field 1807 is a display field for displaying an icon according to the file format when an attached file is set for the pending email, and is registered in the attached 707 of the email DB 700. This is a display field for displaying information. When the double-click process is performed on the icon displayed in the attached file information display field 1807, the contents of the file can be confirmed.

  The transmission destination display field 1808 is a display field for displaying a transmission destination that has already been subjected to the transmission process of the electronic mail among the transmission destinations set for the electronic mail. In this figure, TO is set to zzz @ asdf. co. For jp, it means that the e-mail displayed on this screen has already been transmitted.

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

  The audit input field 1810 is a reception field that accepts input of audit information (“transmission” or “transmission prohibited”) for each transmission destination for which transmission of the e-mail is suspended.

  In the audit target (all destinations / individual) designation field 1811, whether audit input is performed collectively for all pending destinations (all destinations) or whether audit input is performed for each individual destination ( This is a reception field for accepting an input of “individual”.

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

  The individual transmission destination audit input field 1813 is an input field used to accept an audit input for each transmission destination whose transmission of the electronic mail is suspended. This individual transmission destination audit input field 1813 becomes effective when “individual” is designated in the audit target (all transmission destinations / individual) designation field 1811, and it is possible to accept input of audit information for each transmission destination. It is. By doing in this way, it is possible to input different audit information to the transmission destination set in one electronic mail.

  The audit input field 1814 of the individual audit non-input destination is for receiving an audit input for a destination whose audit information is not input in the individual destination audit input field among the destinations whose transmission of the electronic mail is suspended. This is an input field used for. This individual audit non-input destination audit input field 1814 is also effective when “individual” is designated in the audit target (all destination / individual) designation field 1811. By providing such an input field, even when performing an individual audit input, an audit is input in the individual transmission destination audit input field 1813 only for a transmission destination for which an exceptional audit is performed, and other transmissions are performed. For the destination, it is possible to perform an audit input to the audit input field 1814 of the individual audit non-input destination. Therefore, when audit input is performed for each individual destination, the processing efficiency is improved. Is possible.

  The decision button 1815 is a button used to confirm the audit information input via the pending email detail confirmation screen 1800. Note that the electronic mail for the transmission destination for which the audit input has not been performed is kept in the hold state.

  The above is an example of the configuration of the pending email detail confirmation screen 1800 in FIG.

  Returning to the description of FIG. After transmitting the screen information in step S1609, the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 transmits each of the transmissions input via the hold email details confirmation screen 1800 displayed on the display device of the client device 103 based on the transmitted screen information. An audit input for the destination is accepted from the client apparatus 103 (step S1610).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process in step S1607 that a request for sending a hold email is not received from the client device 103 (NO), the process proceeds to step S1611 and the audit target of the hold email list screen 1000 is checked. An audit input is accepted by specifying an email to be audited based on whether or not the mail selection check box 1001-1 is checked and an instruction to press the send button 1002 or the send prohibit button 1003 (steps S1611, S1612). ). When an audit is input via this screen, the same audit input is made to the transmission destination where all transmissions set in the hold email are held. .

  When the input of audit information is accepted in step S1610 and step S1612, the CPU 201 shifts the process to step S1613 and executes the pending email transmission control execution process. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  Then, the processing from step S1606 to step S1613 is performed until it is determined that the audit processing is to be ended (YES in step S1614). The CPU 201 determines that the audit process is to be terminated when the user receives an audit input for all the pending emails to be audited or when the display of the pending email list display screen is finished.

  The above is the description of the pending email audit process (step S306 in FIG. 3) in the second embodiment.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 17, the details of the pending email transmission control execution process in step S1613 of FIG. 16 will be described. A program for causing the CPU 201 of the proxy server 101 to execute this processing is stored in the external memory 211 or the like, and when executing the processing shown in this figure, the CPU 201 loads the program into the RAM 202 and depends on the loaded program. The processing shown in the figure is performed according to the control.

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

  First, the CPU 201 acquires an e-mail that has not been subjected to the processing shown in the drawing from among the e-mails that have received the audit input (step S1701). And the process of step S1702-S1714 is performed about the transmission destination which received the audit input among the transmission destinations set to the acquired email.

  In step S <b> 1702, the CPU 201 acquires a transmission destination that is set in the e-mail that has been selected in step S <b> 1701 and that has not finished this processing among the transmission destinations that have received the input of the audit. . Then, it is determined whether the audit input (operation input) of the e-mail to the transmission destination acquired in step S1702 is “transmission” or “transmission prohibited” (step S1703).

  If it is determined in step S1703 that the received audit input is “send”, the process proceeds to step S1704, and the e-mail acquired in step S1701 is sent to the transmission destination selected in step S1702. Send (e-mail sending process). At this time, if the destination set for the e-mail includes a destination for which transmission of the e-mail is prohibited (including hold → transmission prohibited), the destination for which transmission is prohibited is set to e-mail. Delete from the mail header. In addition, if there are destinations that are still on hold or destinations for which transmission control has been suspended, the notification is added to the body of the email. Will do.

  Thereafter, the suspended email DB 2200 is searched to determine whether there is a suspended email corresponding to the email ID and destination of the email for which transmission processing has been executed in step S1704 (step S1705). The CPU 201 converts the e-mail ID of the e-mail that has been transmitted in S1704, the e-mail indicated by the record registered in the e-mail ID 2205 and the transmission destination 2202 to the e-mail that has been transmitted in S1704 This is a pause email corresponding to the ID and the destination.

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

  The CPU 201 deletes the pause email from the pause email DB 2200 after the email transmission control execution process (step S1706) for the pause email is completed (step S1707).

  If the CPU 201 determines that the audit input received in the determination process in step S1703 is “transmission prohibited”, the CPU 201 advances the process to step S1708, and a pending email having the same mail ID as the email that has received the audit input is received. It is determined whether it is in the pending email DB 2100.

  If it is determined in the determination processing in step S1708 that there is a pending email having the same mail ID as the email that has received the audit input in the pending email DB 2100 (YES), the process proceeds to step S1709, and the pending electronic Delete the destination that received the auditing prohibition input from the mail header of the mail.

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

  If it is determined in step S1710 that there is a pause email as described above (YES), the CPU 201 advances the processing to step S1711 and sets the pause email as a transmission-prohibited email. (Pause e-mail transmission prohibition process). At that time, the transmission history information of the suspended email is created in the email transmission history DB 2000, and the transmission control result 2003 sets transmission prohibition. After the process of step S1711 is completed, the pause email is deleted from the pause email DB 2200 (step S1712).

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

  The CPU 201 executes the processes in steps S1701 to S1714 described above for all pending emails that have received audit inputs. If it is determined that the processing for all the pending emails has been completed, the processing shown in FIG.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 24, the functional configuration of the proxy server 101 in the second embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the proxy server 101 includes a transmission control rule storage unit 2401, an e-mail acquisition unit 2402, an e-mail storage unit 2403, a hold e-mail storage unit 2404, an e-mail combining unit 2405, an e-mail dividing unit 2406, Same email existence determination unit 2407, condition match determination unit 2408, email transmission control processing execution unit 2409, audit reception unit 2410, suspension email storage unit 2411, transmission control result storage unit 2412, related email presence determination unit 2413 Etc. are provided.

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

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

  When the e-mail combining unit 2405 determines that an e-mail having the same mail ID exists in the e-mail DB 700 by the same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2407, which will be described later, It is a functional unit that combines and forms one electronic mail, or combines the size-divided electronic mail into one electronic mail. The e-mail dividing unit 2406 redivides the combined e-mail combined by the e-mail combining unit 2405 on the basis of the size before combining the combined e-mail, or converts an e-mail having a plurality of transmission destinations. It is a functional part that divides the envelope.

  The same e-mail presence / absence determination unit 2407 is a functional unit that determines whether an e-mail having the same mail ID as the e-mail acquired by the e-mail acquisition unit 2402 is stored in the e-mail DB 700. The condition match determination unit 2408 is a functional unit that determines whether or not an e-mail subject to transmission control processing matches a condition set in a transmission control rule. The e-mail transmission control processing execution unit 2409 is a functional unit that performs e-mail transmission control in accordance with the operation set in the transmission control rule that is determined to match the condition set by the condition match determination unit 2408.

  The audit accepting unit 2410 is a functional unit that accepts input of audit information (transmission and transmission prohibition) for the pending email stored in the pending email DB 2100.

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

  The related email presence / absence determination unit 2413 includes, in the suspended email DB 2200 and the pending email DB 2100, emails related to emails subject to transmission control and emails related to emails that have received an audit input. It is a function part which determines.

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

  By adopting the configuration as described above, it is possible to vary the transmission control of the electronic mail for each of a plurality of transmission destinations set for one electronic mail.

  In addition, even if the transmission control of the e-mail for each of a plurality of destinations set in one e-mail is made different, the e-mail is sent before the e-mail whose transmission to some of the destinations is suspended. The problem that the reply mail of the email arrives first at the part of the destination, or the reply mail of the email is sent to the destination that is prohibited from sending the email. It becomes possible not to generate.

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

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

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

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, program code corresponding to the flowchart described above is stored in the recording medium.

101 Proxy server 102 Mail server 103-1 to 103-3 Client device 104 LAN
105 Wide area networks 106-1 and 106-2 External mail server 201 CPU
202 RAM
203 ROM
204 System Bus 205 Input Controller 206 Video Controller 207 Memory Controller 208 Communication I / F (Interface) Controller 209 Input Device 210 Display Device 211 External Memory

Claims (12)

An information processing apparatus that controls transmission of e-mail data,
Receiving means for receiving e-mail data;
Transmission control means for performing transmission control of e-mail data;
First determination means for determining whether the email data received by the reception means is reply email data that is a reply to other email data;
When the first determination means determines that the reply email data is the reply email data, the reply source email data that is the reply source email data of the reply email is the destination set in the reply email data Second determination means for determining whether or not the message is transmitted to
With
The transmission control unit is set in the reply email data when the second judgment unit determines that the reply source email data is not transmitted to the transmission destination set in the reply email data Do not immediately send the reply e-mail data to a destination that does not send the reply source e-mail data.
An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. The transmission control unit is configured to transmit the reply electronic mail to a transmission destination to which the reply source electronic mail data is not transmitted because transmission of the reply original electronic mail data is prohibited among transmission destinations set in the reply electronic mail data. Prohibit sending mail data
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The transmission control unit is configured to send the reply source email data to the destination to which the reply source email data is not transmitted because the transmission of the reply source email data is suspended among the destinations set in the reply email data. Defer sending reply email data
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A transmission control rule used for transmission control of the email data, wherein a transmission control rule in which processing to be executed on email data that matches the condition and the condition of email data to which the transmission control rule is applied is set First storage means for storing;
Third determining means for determining whether the e-mail data received by the receiving means matches a condition set in the transmission control rule;
Determining means for determining, as a process to be executed on the e-mail data, a process set in a transmission control rule determined by the third determining means to determine that the e-mail data meets a condition;
Further comprising
The transmission control means performs transmission control of the e-mail by executing the process determined by the determining means on the e-mail.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The operation set in the transmission control rule can be set differently for each destination.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. A first receiving means for receiving an audit input indicating transmission permission / non-transmission permission for the e-mail data whose transmission is suspended by the transmission control means;
When the execution means accepts the transmission permission audit input by the first accepting means, the execution means sends the pending e-mail data permitted to be sent.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5. The first accepting means accepts an audit input indicating transmission permission / non-transmission permission for each transmission destination set in the e-mail;
The execution means transmits the pending email data to the transmission destination that has received the transmission permission audit input by the first reception means.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 6. The execution unit performs transmission control based on the process determined by the determination unit for reply e-mail data that is the reply mail for the reply source mail data after executing the transmission process for the reply source mail.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: When the first accepting unit accepts an audit input indicating that transmission is not permitted for the e-mail data whose transmission has been suspended, the execution unit prohibits the transmission of the e-mail data and is determined by the determining unit. Regardless of the processing performed, the sending of reply e-mail data that is a reply to the e-mail data prohibited to be sent to the destination where the e-mail data is prohibited from being sent is prohibited.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8. A second storage means for storing a transmission control result executed by the execution means for the e-mail data;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus that performs transmission control of e-mail data,
A receiving process for receiving e-mail data;
A transmission control process for performing transmission control of email data;
A first determination step of determining whether the email data received in the reception step is reply email data that is a reply to other email data;
When it is determined in the first determination step that the reply email data is the reply email data, the reply source email data that is the reply source email data of the reply email is the destination set in the reply email data A second determination step of determining whether or not the data is transmitted to
With
The transmission control step is set in the reply email data when it is determined in the second determination step that the reply source email data is not transmitted to the destination set in the reply email data Do not immediately send the reply e-mail data to a destination that does not send the reply source e-mail data.
An information processing method characterized by the above. An information processing device that controls transmission of e-mail data
Receiving means for receiving e-mail data;
Transmission control means for performing transmission control of e-mail data;
First determination means for determining whether the email data received by the reception means is reply email data that is a reply to other email data;
When the first determination means determines that the reply email data is the reply email data, the reply source email data that is the reply source email data of the reply email is the destination set in the reply email data Second determination means for determining whether the message is transmitted to
Function as
The transmission control unit is set in the reply email data when the second judgment unit determines that the reply source email data is not transmitted to the transmission destination set in the reply email data Do not immediately send the reply e-mail data to a destination that does not send the reply source e-mail data.
A computer program characterized by the above.

Images