JPH0567095B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a message transmission system for transmitting and receiving various types of information within a limited area.

(b) Prior art Limited area communication systems are being put into practical use under the name LAN. Figure 4 shows the specific configuration of this LAN. In the figure, 1, 1... are workstations installed in a limited area, for example, each room in the same building, where various types of information such as correspondence can be entered, information read out, and transmission can be performed. It is composed of input sections 2, 2, . . . for giving commands, and output sections 3, 3, . . . for displaying received information, etc. Reference numeral 4 denotes a signal line connecting these workstations, which is made up of a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, or the like. 5 is a file server connected to this signal line 4, which provides information services to each workstation 1, 1...
Specifically, it stores the information input from the input units 2, 2... of the workstations 1, 1..., and
It performs functions such as outputting stored information in response to requests from the workstations 1, 1, . . . Such a system is shown, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-97733.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In the above configuration, when a message is sent to a certain workstation 1 from other workstations 1, 1, etc., conventionally, the message is sent to the workstation 1. In order to receive the message, the user of workstation 1 calls the mail service mode, checks the arrival information of the message, and if the latest message addressed to the user is found, the contents are read out. I was picking. For this reason, the user of Workstation 1 is often required to take the trouble of calling up the mail service mode and confirming the arrival information of the message addressed to the user, and the sender must quickly send the contents to the Workstation 1 user, such as when sending an emergency email. There was also a risk that the transmission of messages that were intended to be read would be delayed if the user of workstation 1 neglected to check the message arrival information.

(d) Means for solving the problems The present invention provides solutions for each workstation 1, 1,
By inputting the destination and message information to be sent from ... in the mail service mode, the workstation 1,
In a message transmission system that transmits and receives message information between workstations 1, . . .
1, . . . are second receiving buffers 1 that store message arrival information sent from the file server 5.
6, a message arrival information memory 21 that stores past message arrival information sent from the second reception buffer 16, and a display section 1 that displays message information, etc.
5, the message arrival information memory 21 and the second
A comparator 2 that compares the contents with the receiving buffer 16 of
0, the comparator 20 compares the message arrival information between the message arrival information memory 21 and the second reception buffer 16, and if there is a change in the information, the comparator 20 The present invention is characterized in that message arrival information from the second reception buffer 16 is displayed on the display section 15 regardless of whether the workstation is in the mail service mode or not.

(e) Effect: According to the above means, the comparator compares the message arrival information between the message arrival information memory and the second receiving buffer, and when the information is compared, the receiver's workstation The message arrival information of the second reception buffer is displayed on the display section regardless of whether or not it is in the mail service mode.

(F) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a workstation 1 used in the transmission system of the present invention. Reference numeral 6 indicates a communication line connected to the file server 5, and reference numeral 7 indicates a first receiving buffer for receiving message data sent from the file server 5 via the communication line 6. Therefore, reception is controlled. Reference numeral 9 indicates a first transmission buffer connected to the communication line 6 and controlled by a first transmission controller 10. Reference numeral 11 indicates a data memory connected to the first receiving buffer 7 and the first transmitting buffer 9, and the data stored in this data memory is passed through the display image generator 14 to the first transmitting buffer 9.
It is displayed on the display section 5. Reference numeral 12 denotes an input section for inputting data to the data memory, and is input-controlled by an input controller 13. A second receiving buffer 16 receives message arrival information transmitted from the file server 5 via the communication line 6, and is controlled by a second receiving controller 17. A second transmission buffer 18 is controlled by a second transmission controller 19 for sending a command requesting transmission of message arrival information to the file server 5 via the communication line 6. 22 is a message monitoring device for monitoring the arrival of a message, and requests the file server 5 to transmit message arrival information through the second sending controller 19 and second sending buffer 18, and The latest correspondence information is received from the file server 5 through the reception controller 17 and the second reception buffer 16. 21 is a message arrival information memory connected to the second receiving buffer 16, and a comparator 20 is used to transfer the message arrival information to the second receiving buffer 1.
6 and the contents of the memory, and if they are different, the contents of the second reception buffer 16 are regarded as the latest message arrival information and received in the memory.

In such a transmission system, in order to input a message from a certain workstation 1, input section 1 is used.
2, specify the symbol of the destination workstation and input the document. These are data memory 11
and is displayed on the display unit 15 via the display image generator 14. Further, a document input by instructing transmission through the input unit 12 is sent as a message to the file server 5 via the first transmission buffer 9 and the communication line 6, and is stored therein. As a result, the file server 5 creates and stores message arrival information consisting of the sending place, date, time, addressee, etc. in correspondence with the symbol of the destination workstation.

On the other hand, in each workstation 1, the message monitoring device 22 periodically requests message arrival information from the file server 5. As a result, message arrival information addressed to the workstation 1 is periodically sent to the second receiving buffer 16. In this way, the new message arrival information sent into the second reception buffer 16 is compared with the one in the message arrival information memory 21 by the comparator 20, and if they do not match, the new message arrival information sent into the second reception buffer 16 is The message arrival information is regarded as the latest message arrival information and is transferred to the message arrival information memory 21. At the same time, the message monitoring device 22 is informed by the comparator 20 that the latest message has arrived, and checks the status of the input controller 13. If it is confirmed that no input has been made to the input unit 12 for a certain period of time, it is assumed that the workstation 1 is not in use, and the message monitoring device 22 instructs the display image generator 14 to switch the display data, so that the display image The latest message arrival information transferred to the message arrival information memory 21 through the generator 14 is displayed on the display section 15.

FIG. 2 shows message arrival information displayed on the workstation 1 by the transmission system. This information shows the past arrival information of multiple messages from the latest message sent to workstation 1, including the message type, heading, addressee, sender, arrival date, and arrival time. The user can find a message addressed to him or her from this information and read its contents. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining the operation of the workstation used in the transmission system of the present invention.

Note that if there is a large number of such message arrival information, it may not fit within the display frame of the display section 15.
In order to cope with such a case, when the number of message arrival information sent from the file server 5 exceeds a predetermined number, a predetermined number of messages are displayed starting from the newest one, and the message "Continue" is displayed on the display section 15. , when the number of messages is within a predetermined number, it may be possible to display the message "End" to inform the user of the status of accumulated messages in the file server.

(g) Effects of the Invention As described above, when there is a change in the message arrival information in the second reception buffer with the above configuration, regardless of whether the workstation on the receiving side is in the mail service mode or not. Since the message arrival information of the second reception buffer is automatically displayed on the display section without any delay, the workstation user does not have to call up the mail service mode frequently to confirm the arrival of the message. Furthermore, the risk of overlooking an urgent message is reduced, the burden on the user is reduced, and messages can be transmitted quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a workstation used in the message transmission system of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the display form of message arrival information displayed on the upper display of the workstation, and Figure 3 is a FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the workstation utilized in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a LAN using the message transmission system of the present invention. 1, 1...workstation, 5...file server, 6...communication line, 7,16...receiving buffer, 9,18...transmitting buffer, 11...
Data memory, 12... Input unit, 13... Input controller, 14... Display image generator, 15...
Display unit, 20... Comparator, 21... Communication arrival information memory, 22... Communication monitoring device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A communication message that transmits and receives message information between workstations via a file server by inputting a destination and message information to be sent from each workstation in a mail service mode. In the transmission system, the workstation includes a second receiving buffer that stores message arrival information sent from the file server, and a second receiving buffer that stores past message arrival information sent from the second receiving buffer. a message arrival information memory to store; a display section for displaying message information; the message arrival information memory;
a comparator that compares the contents of the message arrival information memory with the second reception buffer; the comparator compares the message arrival information of the message arrival information memory with the second reception buffer;
When the information changes, the message arrival information of the second reception buffer is displayed on the display section, regardless of whether the workstation on the receiving side is in the mail service mode or not. Characteristic message transmission system.