JPH0964907A - Electronic mail system and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize flexible communication utilized mutually and easily used between an electronic mail and a public line network terminal on a LAN by adding channel information of its own system to an electronic mail header and sending the electronic mail to the LAN in the case of transmission of the electronic mail. SOLUTION: An electronic mail system 1 is connected to both a public channel network 21 and a LAN 22, and one of the electronic mail systems or over is connected to the LAN 22, a mail making person uses a key board 4 at the electronic mail sender side to describe transmission destination address and a text of the electronic mail is generated. When the mail generation is finished, a button of 'transmission after addition of line information' on a GUT displayed on a display device 10 is clicked by a mouse 5. Thus, the line information of its own terminal equipment (electronic mail system 1) having been stored in an external storage device 9 is added to the mail header and the resulting electronic mail is sent to a LAN 22 via a LAN interface 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail system connected to both a public line network and a LAN (Local Area Network) and a control method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic mail system (for example, an electronic mail system operating on a computer) connected to both a public line network and a LAN, effective information on the LAN such as a mail address when sending an electronic mail. Since only information is added, and information about the public line network such as the telephone number of the e-mail sender is not added, when sending such information, a method of adding it as a part of the body of the mail is common.

On the other hand, when an electronic mail is received, the sender's mail address is automatically read and, for example, if a user selects a "Reply to mail" option, the mail is automatically sent to that address. We were able to.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic mail system, when replying to a received electronic mail by telephone, that is, the line number added as a part of the text of the received electronic mail is issued. When making a call, the person who is the recipient had to read the information and make a call manually, which is much more time-consuming than sending an e-mail. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to perform flexible communication that can be easily used mutually between an electronic mail on a LAN and a public network terminal such as a telephone. An object is to provide an electronic mail system and a control method thereof.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic mail system of the present invention comprises a public line network and an LA.
In the electronic mail system connected to both N, line information storage means for storing its own line information on the public line network and the header information of the electronic mail when the electronic mail is transmitted. And a line information adding unit for adding the line information, and an electronic mail transmitting unit for transmitting the electronic mail to which the line information is added to the LAN.

Preferably, the electronic mail receiving means for receiving the electronic mail to which the line information is added, the line information reading means for reading the line information from the received electronic mail, and the read information of the public line network. And a calling means for making a call to the line.

Further, it is preferable that when the line information is read from the received electronic mail, the user has a selection means for selecting whether to make a call to the line of the public line network. The calling means, when the user selects calling, calls the line.

Further, preferably, when a call is made to the public line network, when the callee and the telephone are not connected, a shift means for shifting to a process for transmitting an electronic mail, or the electronic mail It is characterized in that it has a control means for controlling the transmission means to transmit an electronic mail having the content that the telephone cannot be connected.

The control method of the electronic mail system of the present invention is the method of controlling an electronic mail system connected to both a public line network and a LAN, wherein the line information storage means has its own line on the public line network. When storing information and transmitting an electronic mail, the stored line information is added to a header portion of the electronic mail, and the electronic mail to which the line information is added is transmitted to the LAN. .

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the electronic mail system 1 is
Connected to both the public line network 21 and the LAN 22,
At least one electronic mail system (not shown) that receives the electronic mail transmitted by the system 1 and transmits the electronic mail is connected to the AN 22.

The electronic mail system 1 comprises a public line network 21.
A public line network interface (for example, a modem) 2 for connecting with the LAN, and a LAN for connecting with the LAN 22.
An interface 3, a keyboard 4 for mainly inputting character information, a mouse 5 for selecting various operation buttons on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display device 10, image information, table data, etc. A ROM 6 for storing the data, a RAM 7 for temporarily storing various input information and calculation results, a CPU 8 for controlling the entire system 1, and an external storage device 9 for storing a control processing program executed by the CPU 8 and various information. , GUI
It is configured by a display device 10 such as a CRT or LCD that displays various information on the top. The components 2 to 10 are connected to each other via the system bus 11.

The control processing executed by the electronic mail system 1 configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a procedure of control processing on the side of the electronic mail sending side when sending electronic mail among the control processing executed by the electronic mail system 1 of this embodiment, particularly the CPU 8. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing on the electronic mail receiving side when receiving an electronic mail.

The control processing of FIGS. 2 and 3 is performed by loading a control processing program stored in the external storage device 9 onto the RAM 7 and causing the CPU 8 to execute the program.

On the electronic mail sending side, the mail creator writes the destination address using the keyboard 4 and creates the body of the electronic mail (step S1). When the creation of the mail is completed, a button (not shown) "add line information and send" on the GUI displayed on the display device 10 is clicked with the mouse 5 to select it (step S2). Thereby, the line information (FIG. 4) of the own terminal (e-mail system 1) stored in the external storage device 9 is added to the header part of the mail and transmitted to the LAN 22 via the LAN interface 3 (step S3). ). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of line information of the electronic mail system 1, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic mail to which the line information of FIG. 4 is added.

On the e-mail receiving side, the LAN 22
The mail addressed to itself is received via the LAN interface 3 (step S11), the line information added to the header of the received mail is read, and the RAM 7
It is temporarily stored in (step S12). At this time, the available functions are displayed on the GUI of the display device 10 according to the terminal function information in the read line information.
The mail recipient selects which method to reply to the received mail by clicking the mouse 5 on the GUI (step S13).

When the answer is selected by telephone in the selection in step S13, the public network interface (modem) 2 is instructed according to the received line information to automatically make a telephone call (step S14). .

At the mail transmitting side, it is judged whether or not there is an incoming call, and when there is an incoming call, the modem 2
Performs incoming call processing of the telephone (step S5). When both processes are completed and the line is connected, a telephone conversation is performed (step S15), and when the conversation is completed, the line is disconnected (step S16).

When the response is selected by mail in the selection in step S13, the mail is created and transmitted by the usual method according to the prior art (step S17).

The mail sending side judges whether or not the mail has been sent (step S6), and when the mail has been sent, receives a reply mail (step S).
7).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the line information of the own system is added to the header part of the mail when sending the electronic mail, and the line information of the header part is added when the electronic mail is received. Since it is configured to read and make a call to this line information, it is possible to make a call to the e-mail sender with a simple operation.

Next, an electronic mail system according to the second embodiment of the invention will be described. The electronic mail system according to the present embodiment is different from the electronic mail system according to the first embodiment only in the processing when a reply is made to the electronic mail sender by telephone. Therefore, the system shown in FIG. In addition to using the system having the same configuration as above, the processing on the electronic mail transmitting side also uses the same procedure as in FIG. 2, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of control processing on the electronic mail receiving side executed by the electronic mail system (particularly the CPU) of the present embodiment. The steps for performing the same processing as in FIG. The same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

In the figure, when a call is made but a call cannot be established because the caller is busy or does not answer the call more than a specified number of times (step S2).
If the answer is "NO" in the judgment of 1, the modem 2 detects this and notifies the CPU 8. At this time, the CPU 8 shifts the operation mode to the reply mode by mail and opens the mail creation window. After that,
A mail is created and transmitted by a conventional means according to the related art (step S17).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the telephone is not connected, the window for sending the e-mail is opened so that the e-mail can be sent immediately. The processing procedure for transmission can be simplified, and operability can be improved.

Next, an electronic mail system according to the third embodiment of the invention will be described. The electronic mail system of the present embodiment is different from the electronic mail system of the second embodiment only in the processing when the telephone is not connected. Therefore, the same system as the electronic mail system of the second embodiment. In addition to using the configuration, the processing of the electronic mail sender also uses the same.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a procedure of control processing on the electronic mail receiving side executed by the electronic mail system (particularly the CPU) of the present embodiment, and the steps similar to those in FIG. 6 are performed. The same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

In the same figure, when a call is made but the other party cannot connect to the other party, such as when the other party is busy or does not answer the call more than a specified number of times, the modem 2
Detects this and notifies the CPU 8. CPU8
Reads out an e-mail, which is stored in advance in the external storage device 9 and which informs that the telephone was not connected, and returns it to the other party (step S31).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the telephone is not connected, the email notifying that the telephone is not connected is sent back to the other party. Therefore, the sender of the electronic mail makes a call from the destination. You can know what has come.

As described above, in the first to third embodiments, it is possible to easily and flexibly communicate with each other between the electronic mail on the LAN and the public network terminal such as the telephone.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a system or a program. In this case, by reading a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or the apparatus, the system or the apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When sending an electronic mail, the line information stored in the line information storage means is added to the header portion of the electronic mail and sent to the LAN. Therefore, the electronic mail on the LAN and a public line network such as a telephone The effect that it becomes possible to perform flexible communication that can be easily used mutually with the terminal is provided.

Preferably, an electronic mail to which the line information is added is received, the line information is read from the electronic mail, and a call is made to the read line of the public line network. You can make a call to the email sender by operation.

Preferably, when a call is made to the public line network and the called party is not connected to the telephone,
Since the process is shifted to the process of transmitting the electronic mail, the process procedure for transmitting the electronic mail that the user should perform can be simplified, and the operability can be improved.

Further, preferably, when a call is made to the public line network and the callee is not connected to the telephone, an electronic mail indicating that the telephone is not connected is transmitted to the electronic mail transmitting means. As a result, the sender of the e-mail can know that the call is received from the recipient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing executed by the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing executed by the electronic mail system according to the first embodiment.

4 is a diagram showing an example of line information of the electronic mail system of FIG.

5 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic mail to which the line information of FIG. 4 is added.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing on the electronic mail receiving side executed by the electronic mail system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing on the electronic mail receiving side executed by the electronic mail system according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 E-mail system 2 Public line interface (calling means) 3 LAN interface (e-mail sending means, e-mail receiving means) 4 Keyboard (selecting means) 5 Mouse (selecting means) 8 CPU (line information adding means, e-mail sending) means,
E-mail receiving means, line information reading means, calling means, selecting means, transfer means, control means) 9 External storage device (line information storage means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail system connected to both a public line network and a LAN, and a line information storage means for storing its own line information on the public line network, and an electronic mail system when transmitting an electronic mail. An electronic mail, comprising: line information adding means for adding the stored line information to a header portion of the electronic mail; and electronic mail transmitting means for transmitting the electronic mail with the line information added to the LAN. system. 2. An electronic mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail to which the line information is added, a line information reading means for reading line information from the received electronic mail, and the read line of the public line network. 2. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, further comprising a calling means for making a call to. 3. When the line information is read from the received e-mail, the user has a selection unit that can select whether or not to make a call to the line of the public line network, 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein the calling unit calls the line when the user selects calling. 4. When a call is made to the public line network, and when the callee and the telephone are not connected, a transition means is provided for transitioning to a process for transmitting an electronic mail. The electronic mail system according to either 2 or 3. 5. When a call is made to the public line network and the callee is not connected to the telephone, the electronic mail sending means is made to send an electronic mail indicating that the call is not made. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, further comprising control means for controlling the electronic mail system. 6. A method of controlling an electronic mail system connected to both a public line network and a LAN, wherein the line information storage means stores its own line information on the public line network and sends an electronic mail. Further, the stored line information is added to the header part of the electronic mail, and the electronic mail with the line information added is transmitted to the LAN.