JP5526753B2 - Mail server, portable information terminal, and communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail server, a portable information terminal, and a communication system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mail server for a communication system for transmitting electronic mail, a portable information terminal suitable for use with such a mail server, and these. The present invention relates to a communication system including:

  In recent years, in communication systems that provide mobile phone services, use of service forms for transmitting electronic mail has been increasing in addition to conventional voice calls. In the mobile phone, notification to the user at the time of mail reception or voice reception is performed on the same screen and the same ringtone set by the user without depending on the location where the other party exists.

  By the way, the number of models equipped with a position detection function such as a GPS device is increasing in recent mobile phones, and it is possible to notify the other party of his / her whereabouts by providing position information. In this case, it is possible to make the other party feel close. However, since the location of the sender is extremely private information, the range of use of the position detection function is limited when sending e-mail, such as being used only by a specific partner such as a close friend.

JP 2004-364222 A

  Here, if the rank of the information is lowered to the direction information rather than the position information of the own, and the individual can not be specified but the direction of the self can be determined, the communication partner side It is possible to have a sense of connection between humans.

  Patent Document 1 describes a portable information terminal that displays the direction and distance of a communication partner on a display device when waiting. If only the other party's direction is displayed in this technique, it becomes possible to give the humans a sense of connection without much loss of privacy. However, in the technology of this patent document, the distance and direction between the two devices are calculated from the position information of the own device acquired by using a position detection function such as a GPS device and the position information of the other device acquired from the communication partner. Is calculated. For this reason, a large processing time is required for calculating the azimuth, and the CPU load of the portable information terminal is increased.

  In view of the above, the present invention can increase the sense of connection with the other party by displaying the direction of the mail transmission side on the display device when receiving and displaying the email received by the portable information terminal, and At that time, a mail server capable of delivering an e-mail without significantly increasing the processing time and CPU load in the portable information terminal, a portable information terminal suitable for use with such a mail server, and a communication system including them The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a communication between a base station that has received an e-mail from a source portable information terminal and a base station that transmits the e-mail to the e-mail destination portable information terminal. There is provided a mail server comprising: an azimuth calculating unit for calculating an azimuth; and an azimuth information attaching unit for attaching azimuth information indicating the azimuth calculated by the azimuth calculating unit to the electronic mail.

Further, the present invention includes a compass for detecting the azimuth facing the housing, receives the electronic mail, the portable information terminal of the e-mail address and the base station receiving the e-mail from a sender of the portable information terminal It is determined whether or not azimuth information indicating the azimuth with the base station that transmitted the e-mail is attached to the e-mail, and is attached when it is determined that the azimuth information is attached. There is provided a portable information terminal comprising: an azimuth information reading unit that reads out azimuth information; and a display unit that displays the azimuth indicated by the azimuth information attached to the e-mail in association with the azimuth detected by the azimuth compass.

  Further, the present invention provides an azimuth calculation for calculating an azimuth between a base station that has received an e-mail from a source portable information terminal and a base station that transmits the e-mail to the portable information terminal that is the destination of the e-mail. , A mail server having an orientation information attachment unit for attaching the orientation information calculated by the orientation computation unit to the electronic mail, an orientation compass for acquiring the orientation of the housing, and the orientation information When receiving an e-mail attached to the e-mail, an azimuth information reading unit that reads out the azimuth information, a display unit that displays the azimuth of the azimuth information attached to the e-mail in association with the azimuth obtained by the azimuth compass, A communication system comprising a portable information terminal having

  In the mail server, portable information terminal, and communication system of the present invention, it is possible to receive and display an email that can provide a good sense of connection with the communication partner without significantly increasing the processing time and CPU load of the portable information terminal. is there.

1 is a block diagram of a communication system including a mail server and a portable information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram of the portable information terminal of FIG. The flowchart which shows the process of the communication system of FIG. The block diagram which shows the process of the 1st aspect in the portable information terminal of FIG. The block diagram which shows the process of the 2nd aspect in the portable information terminal of FIG. The block diagram which shows the process of the 3rd aspect in the portable information terminal of FIG.

  Before describing embodiments of the present invention, an outline of the present invention will be described. The mail server of the present invention is, in its minimum configuration, between a base station that has received an e-mail from a source portable information terminal and a base station that transmits the e-mail to the e-mail destination portable information terminal. An azimuth calculating unit that calculates an azimuth and an azimuth information attaching unit that attaches azimuth information indicating the azimuth calculated by the azimuth calculating unit to the e-mail.

  Further, the portable information terminal of the present invention, in its minimum configuration, upon receiving an azimuth compass for acquiring the azimuth of the housing, and an e-mail attached with the azimuth information, the azimuth information reading unit that reads the azimuth information, A display unit for displaying the direction of the direction information attached to the e-mail in association with the direction acquired by the direction compass.

  Furthermore, the communication system according to the present invention includes, in its minimum configuration, a base station that has received an e-mail from a source portable information terminal and a base station that transmits the e-mail to the e-mail destination portable information terminal. A mail server having an azimuth calculation unit for calculating the azimuth between and an azimuth information attachment unit for attaching the azimuth information indicating the azimuth calculated by the azimuth calculation unit to the e-mail, and obtaining the azimuth of the housing When receiving an e-mail with the azimuth information attached and the azimuth information attached, the azimuth information reading unit for reading out the azimuth information and the azimuth information attached to the e-mail in association with the azimuth obtained by the azimuth compass A portable information terminal having a display unit for displaying the orientation of the portable information terminal.

  In the mail server, portable information terminal, and communication system of the present invention, the direction of the portable information terminal on the transmission side of the e-mail is changed to the display device of the portable information terminal on the reception side without increasing the processing time and CPU load of the portable information terminal. Since it is displayed above, the user of the mobile information terminal on the receiving side can have a good sense of connection with the communication partner.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system including a mail server and a portable information terminal (mobile phone) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication system includes a mail server 500, a plurality of base stations 300 and 400 connected to the mail server 500 via the Internet network, and a plurality of portable information connected to the base stations 300 and 400 via wireless communication lines. And terminals (hereinafter referred to as terminal devices) 100 and 200. The mail server 500 includes an orientation calculation unit 510, an orientation information attachment unit 520, and a mail delivery unit 530.

  The azimuth calculation unit 510 of the mail server 500 receives the position information (GPS information) from the base stations 300 and 400 in advance, and stores a list of the position information of the related base stations as a whole. Upon receiving the e-mail, the azimuth calculation unit 510 first recognizes the e-mail transmission source base station 300, then searches for the e-mail transmission destination terminal device 200, and the base station to which the terminal device 200 is connected. Select 400. Next, the azimuth calculation unit 510 calculates the azimuth from the base station 300 to the base station 400 based on the GPS information of both base stations. The azimuth information attachment unit 520 attaches the azimuth information calculated by the azimuth calculation unit 510 as a azimuth tag to the header of the received e-mail. The mail distribution unit 530 distributes the electronic mail to the terminal device 200 via the base station 400 via the Internet. Here, the direction information is, for example, in increments of 45 degrees such as north, northeast, east, southeast, and south.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the terminal device 200. In the figure, elements that are not directly related to the present invention are excluded. The terminal device 200 includes an orientation compass (electronic compass) 210, a mail transmission / reception unit 220, a mailer 230, a control unit 240, and a display device 250. The direction compass 210 is, for example, a three-axis magnetic sensor, and detects in real time the direction in which the casing of the terminal device 200 is facing. The mail transmission / reception unit 220 receives an electronic mail from the base station 400 via a wireless communication line, and transmits the electronic mail to the base station 400 via the wireless communication line. The mailer 230 includes an orientation information reading unit 231 that reads orientation information from the received email and an email operation unit 232 that performs other processing related to email. When the control unit 240 receives a signal indicating that an e-mail has been received from the mailer 230, the control unit 240 displays that the e-mail has been received on the display device 250 and displays the direction attached to the e-mail in association with the direction of the housing. To do. In addition, the control unit 240 performs control to display the electronic mail received by the mailer 230 or the created electronic mail on the display device 250. The terminal device 100 has the same configuration as the terminal device 200.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing in the communication system. First, the user transmits an e-mail using the terminal device 100 (step A1). The base station 300 transfers the e-mail as it is and ends the process. First, the mail server 500 recognizes the transferred base station 300, recognizes the base station 400 to which the terminal device 200 of the transmission destination is connected, and calculates the direction from the base station 300 to the base station 400 (step A2). ). The mail server 500 attaches the calculated direction to the header of the email (step A3), distributes the email via the Internet (step A4), and ends the process. The base station 400 transfers the electronic mail distributed from the mail server 500 to the terminal device, and ends the process.

  When receiving the electronic mail (step A5), the terminal device 200 determines the presence / absence of the orientation tag (step A6), and performs normal reception display if the orientation tag is not detected (step A10). When an orientation tag is detected in step A6, the current orientation of the terminal device is measured using the orientation compass 210 (step A7). Next, the terminal device 200 calculates the difference between the orientation of the orientation information attached to the email and the orientation of the case of the device itself (step A8), and based on the difference, the email reception information with the orientation information added. Is displayed on the display device 250 and the user of the terminal device 200 is notified of the mail reception (step A9). The terminal device 200 stores the attached direction information together with the received electronic mail. This azimuth information is displayed simultaneously with the display for specifying the e-mail when the e-mail history is displayed. It is also displayed in the phone number and address display of the phone book.

  4 to 6 each show a mode in which the display device 250 of the terminal device 200 of the above embodiment displays an e-mail icon together with direction information. In the mode shown in FIG. 4, the icon 201 indicating the north direction (reference direction) is displayed facing the upper direction of the housing of the display device 250, and an arrow indicating the direction of the sender of the email is displayed on the received email. Display toward icon 202. In the aspect shown in FIG. 5, the arrow added to the received email icon 202 is displayed in the vertical direction of the display device 250, and the north-direction icon 201 is displayed accordingly. In this example, when the casing of the terminal device 200 is directed in the direction in which the e-mail comes, the north direction icon 201 is directed in an oblique direction of the casing. FIG. 6 shows a display mode of the mobile terminal device 200 when the user of the terminal device 200 displaying the mode shown in FIG. 4 replies to an e-mail. When the reply mail is transmitted, an arrow pointing in the direction in which the reply mail is transmitted is attached to and displayed on the icon 203 indicating the reply mail.

  In a mobile phone, the general notification method for notifying the user of mail reception can change the display mode and ringtone depending on the sender, but it depends on the location where the sender exists. The notification mode was almost uniform. In the above embodiment, even when mail is exchanged with the same partner, the display mode can be changed depending on the orientation of the position where the partner exists.

  By notifying the communication partner's direction instead of the exact location of the communication partner as described above, the presence of the communication partner can be sensed and the sense of connection with the partner can be increased. In addition, it is difficult to specify the user's whereabouts by displaying not the position information but the direction. Therefore, from the viewpoint of information security protection, since there is little resistance to the use of the direction, the use is facilitated.

  When position information is used, the processing time for positioning the current location becomes longer, the processing of the terminal device is delayed, or the CPU load increases. The positioning process is also affected by the positioning environment. However, the processing time by the azimuth sensor for detecting the azimuth is short, and the influence from the environment when detecting the azimuth is often negligible.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking a mobile phone as an example. However, the information terminal device of the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be applied to an information terminal having a communication function. .

  Although the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to illustrative embodiments, the invention is not limited to these embodiments and variations thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

100, 200: portable information terminal (terminal device)
201: Direction north icon 202: E-mail icon 203: Reply mail icon 210: Direction compass 220: Mail transmission / reception unit 230: Mailer 231: Direction information reading unit 232: E-mail operation unit 240: Control unit 250: Display device (Display section)
300, 400: Base station 500: Mail server 510: Direction calculation unit 520: Direction information attachment unit 530: Mail distribution unit

Claims (9)

An azimuth calculation unit that calculates the azimuth between the base station that has received the e-mail from the mobile information terminal of the transmission source and the base station that transmits the e-mail to the mobile information terminal that is the destination of the e-mail;
A mail server comprising: an azimuth information attachment unit for attaching azimuth information indicating the azimuth calculated by the azimuth calculation unit to the electronic mail.   The mail server according to claim 1, wherein the azimuth calculation unit stores base station position information as a list. A compass for detecting the azimuth facing the housing,
Upon receiving the electronic mail, the orientation information indicating an orientation between a source of the portable information with the base station that has received the electronic mail from the terminal the e-mail destination of the mobile information terminal to the electronic mail transmission base stations Is attached to the e-mail, and when it is determined that the azimuth information is attached, an azimuth information reading unit that reads the attached azimuth information;
A portable information terminal comprising: a display unit that displays a direction indicated by the direction information attached to the e-mail in association with the direction detected by the direction compass. The portable information terminal according to claim 3, wherein the display unit changes a screen display direction depending on a direction detected by the direction compass. The portable information terminal according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays a azimuth detected by the azimuth compass on a screen with a reference azimuth up. The portable information terminal according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the display unit displays an azimuth of a portable information terminal to which a reply mail is addressed based on an azimuth indicated by the azimuth information.   The portable information terminal according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the direction information attached to the e-mail is stored in at least one of a telephone number, an address display, and a communication history of a corresponding phone book. . The portable information terminal according to claim 7 , wherein the display unit displays the stored orientation information when displaying a newly created e-mail.   An azimuth calculation unit for calculating an azimuth between a base station that has received an e-mail from a source portable information terminal and a base station that transmits the e-mail to the portable information terminal that is the destination of the e-mail; A mail server having a direction information attachment unit for attaching direction information indicating the direction calculated by the unit to the e-mail, a direction compass for acquiring the direction of the case, and an e-mail attached with the direction information A portable information terminal having a direction information reading unit that reads the direction information and a display unit that displays the direction of the direction information attached to the e-mail in association with the direction acquired by the direction compass. A communication system provided.

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