JPH10107840A - Electronic mail system and mail server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a receiver user to recognize the corrected/deleted state of a mail once transmitted while resobring problems of increase in a communication traffic and of a large number of consumption of disks. SOLUTION: In this electronic mail system where a mail body is stored in a transmitter side and the transmitter side sends only a mail header to receiver side, when a sender user changes (corrects, deletes) a mail having been once transmitted, the sender sends a revision notice to the receiver automatically. Thus, when a mail change detection section 511a detects any change of a mail 11, the detection section 511a checks whether the mail is not read or read based on an access log file 13a and sends mail change information 16 including unread/ read information to a mail reception section 52b. A mail change processing section 523b reflects the change information onto a reception mail header file 14b depending on the unread/read information and the receiver user recognizes the change state of mails from a reception list, based thereon.

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 operating on a network connecting a plurality of information processing devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art PC (Personal Computer)
With the widespread use of information processing devices such as er) in companies and homes, many e-mail systems that realize efficient information transmission between these information processing devices have also become widespread in the market.

[0003] Such an electronic mail system generally distributes a copy of a mail between mail servers, and a receiving user reads a copy of the distributed mail (referred to as a first related art). However, this method has a problem that communication traffic increases and a large amount of disk is consumed due to mail copy delivery. Especially for broadcast emails,
The above problem is remarkable because it is necessary to deliver copies for several minutes to the destination.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem,
A technique in which mail is managed on the transmitting user side and only the identifier of the mail is transmitted to the receiving user side is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-15 / 1994.
No. 2641 and JP-A-5-167613 (these are referred to as second prior art).

[0005]

By the way, in the use of electronic mail, there are many cases where it is desired to correct a mistake in a mail once transmitted or to delete a mail which has been erroneously transmitted. Although the notification of the meeting is sent to the attendees by e-mail, the former (when it is desired to modify) corresponds to the case where the schedule of the meeting is changed later. In addition, the case where the user notices that the mail has been sent to a different user after creating the mail, or the case where the content of the sent mail becomes old, and the like (the case where the user wants to delete the mail).

However, according to the first prior art, it is necessary to send the corrected mail again in order to perform the correction work. According to the above example, the modification of the email is a re-scheduling, a small part, but requires a copy of the email to be resent to all meeting attendees. As a result, there is a problem that communication traffic increases and disk mass consumption becomes more serious. In addition, there is also a problem that the reception list is difficult to see because the mail before correction and the mail after correction are mixed. Furthermore, in the deletion operation, the mail itself cannot be deleted because the mail copy has already been transmitted to the receiving mail server.

On the other hand, according to the second prior art, the mail is managed on the sending user side, so that the sending user can easily perform the mail correction and deletion processing, but the receiving user does not know. There is a risk that emails will be modified or deleted in the meantime. In addition, if the receiving user has already read the mail before correction or deletion, incorrect contents are transmitted, which is a problem.

[0008] In some cases, "update" of mail is required instead of "correction" of mail. In companies,
E-mail is often used as a means of transmitting information that changes daily or over time, such as stock price reports and sales information. In many of these cases, mail is only valid while the information is up-to-date, and rarely requires old information. For sending users, it is more efficient to update old mail than to create new mail. For the receiving user, emails with the same content but with different information freshness will increase in the receiving list,
There is a problem that the reception list becomes difficult to see.

[0009] Here, the difference in the meaning of the terms "correction" and "update" is a difference from the user's usage, and there is no substantial difference in the processing in the electronic mail system of the present invention. Therefore, in the following description, "modification" includes "update" in a broad sense.

[0010] In order to solve the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of increase in communication traffic and mass consumption of disks, and to inform a receiving user of correction or deletion of mail once sent. It is an object of the present invention to provide an e-mail system and a mail server that can be installed.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a receiving user that confirms correction or deletion of a mail in a receiving list.
An object is to provide an easy-to-read screen without mixing the mail before correction (update) and the mail after correction.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned object, a mail server of a sending user (sending mail server) stores a mail main body storing a mail original, and various information (mail header) relating to the mail. ), An outgoing mail header storing section for storing the sent mail header, and an outgoing mail managing section for managing the outgoing mail header. The mail server on the receiving user side (receiving mail server) A mail header receiving unit that receives the mail header; a mail header storage unit that stores the mail header; and a received mail management processing unit that manages the mail header. The mail client controls a screen display related to transmission and reception of mail. A screen display control unit, including an input control unit for controlling input to the transmission / reception screen, and in particular, transmitting a mail The client (transmission mail client) includes a mail transmission request unit that issues a mail transmission request to the mail server, and a transmission mail header acquisition unit that obtains a list of mail headers of the transmitted mail. An e-mail system comprising: a mail access unit for accessing a received mail existing in a sending mail server; and a received mail header acquiring unit for acquiring a mail header list of the received mail. A mail correction transmission requesting unit for requesting correction transmission of mail, a mail deletion transmission requesting unit for requesting deletion transmission of mail, and a mail change detection unit for detecting the change of the original mail in the transmission side mail server; , Receives information on changes to the mail (mail change information) A mail change notification unit for notifying a mail server, an access log management unit for managing a log of mail access from a receiving client are added, and the mail change information is stored in a mail header storage unit in the receiving mail server. A mail change processing unit to be reflected in the specified mail header is added.

In the electronic mail system of the present invention, as the types of mail transmission, "new transmission" for newly transmitting mail, "correction transmission" for correcting once transmitted mail, and "deletion" for deleting once transmitted mail. There is "Send". The operation of each transmission will be described below.

Upon receiving a request for new transmission from the transmission mail client, the mail body storage unit stores the original of the mail in an external storage device such as a hard disk.
When the mail storage unit completes storing the mail, thereafter, an identifier for accessing the mail is assigned to each mail. Subsequently, the control is transferred to the mail header transmitting section. The mail header transmission unit transmits only various information (mail header) related to the mail to the receiving mail server. The mail header includes the mail identifier, sender name, mail title, transmission date and time, and the like. After sending the mail, the outgoing mail management unit stores the mail header as one record in the outgoing mail header storage unit.

When the mail header receiving section of the receiving mail server receives the mail header, it stores the mail header in the mail header storage section. Upon receiving the request for returning the reception list from the receiving mail client, the received mail managing unit returns all the mail headers stored in the mail header storage unit to the receiving mail client. The mail access unit of the receiving mail client reads the mail selected by the user from the sending mail server from the received list displayed based on the returned information. When the receiving mail client accesses the mail stored in the sending mail server, the access log storage unit of the sending mail server stores the mail access log.

The mail change detection unit, upon receiving a correction transmission request or a deletion transmission request from the transmission mail client, detects the change to the mail and transfers control to the mail change notification unit. The mail change notification unit, after inquiring the access log storage unit about the opening status of the mail,
Sends information on mail change (mail change information) to the receiving mail server. The mail change information includes the mail identifier, an open status flag indicating whether the mail is unread or read, and a change type flag indicating whether the change of the mail is correction or deletion. Upon receiving the mail change information, the mail change processing unit of the receiving mail server changes the mail header of the mail stored in the mail header storage unit. Thus, when the received mail client accesses the received mail management unit, it is possible to display mail change information in the received list.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify the receiving user of the correction or deletion of the mail once transmitted, while solving the problems of increased communication traffic and mass consumption of disks. In other words, if the sent mail is modified or deleted, the mail server automatically sends the mail change information to the receiving side without the need for the user of the sending side to be aware of it. Then, it is possible to recognize that the mail has been changed. When the receiving side receives the mail change information, it changes the received mail header itself corresponding to the changed sent mail.
When confirming the correction or deletion of the mail in the reception list, an easy-to-read screen can be obtained without mixing the mail before the correction and the mail after the correction. In addition, since the unread / read status of the sent mail is reflected in the received mail header change process, in the case of “unread”, the changed original mail does not exist for the receiving user from the beginning. Can be shown as if In the case of "read", a display notifying the receiving user that the previous mail has been changed can be displayed.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, in order to solve the problems of communication traffic and disk consumption, mail transmitted by a user is managed by the transmitting user. That is, the original mail is stored in the mail server of the sending user, and only the mail header is transferred to the mail server of the receiving user. The receiving user accesses the mail stored in the mail server of the sending user according to the mail header. Such a configuration itself is the same as that of the second conventional technique.

In the present invention, the function of executing the automatic notification of correction and deletion of the mail once sent, which is the object of the present invention, is added to the above-mentioned system.

FIG. 2A shows a network configuration of the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment. The network 7 of the present embodiment includes a server machine 2 on which a mail server 5 (general term for 5a and 5b; hereinafter, the same applies to other reference characters), a client machine 1 on which a mail client 8 operates, and a directory. The server machine 3 on which the server 6 operates is connected. Communication between the mail server 5, the directory server 6, and the mail client 8 is controlled by the communication control unit 8. Network 7
Even for a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Ar
ea Network).

At least one mail server 5 is required in the network 7, and each mail server 5 manages the transmission and reception of mail of a user registered in advance in its own mail server. Normally, the user performs user registration in the mail server 5 which is most easily accessed from the client machine 1 he frequently uses. The registered user is authenticated by the mail server 5 before using the mail. In the present embodiment, the mail server on the sending user side is a mail server 5a, and the mail server on the receiving user side is a mail server 5b. The server machine on which the mail server 5a operates is designated as 2a, and the server machine on which the mail server 5b operates is designated as 2b. However, the server machines 2a and 2
b, the mail servers 5a and 5b have the same functions, respectively, and can transmit and receive in both directions.
In each of the hardware and software components described below, the mail transmitting side is referred to as “a” and the receiving side is referred to as “b” for the sake of convenience.

The directory server 6 is a component for managing correspondence information between all users and the mail server in the electronic mail system of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the destination of the mail is specified in Roman letters of the user's first and last names. The directory server 6 has a function of determining a mail server corresponding to each user from the Roman character display. Details of the management information of the directory server 6 will be described later with reference to FIG. The sending mail server 5a determines the network address of the receiving mail server 5b by accessing the directory server 6. Here, the present embodiment shows an example in which the directory server 6 is operated on an independent machine. However, operation on the same machine as the mail server 5a, or
It is also possible to include the function of the directory server 6 in a.

FIG. 2B shows the software configuration of the mail client 8. The mail client 8 includes a screen display control unit 8 that controls screen display related to transmission and reception of mail.
8, an input control unit 89 for controlling input to the screen, a new mail transmission requesting unit 82, a mail correction transmission requesting unit 83, a mail deletion transmission requesting unit 84, a transmission mail header obtaining unit 8
5. Received mail header acquisition unit 86, mail access unit 8
7 is comprised.

The new mail transmission request unit 82 issues new mail transmission information 17 to the transmission mail server 5a, and the mail correction transmission request unit 83 and the mail deletion transmission request unit 84 transmit the new mail transmission information 17 to the transmission mail server 5a. In response, mail change client information 18 is issued. FIG. 2C shows components of each information. The new mail transmission information 17 includes a mail title 171, a destination 172, and a mail body 173. The mail change client information 18 includes a mail identifier 181, a flag indicating whether the change of the mail is to be corrected or deleted, and a body 183 of the mail. You.

In this embodiment, the client machine used by the sending user is indicated by 1a, the client machine used by the receiving user is indicated by 1b, the sending mail client is indicated by 8a, and the receiving mail client is indicated by 8b. As described above, the transmitting side and the receiving side here are determined for convenience.

FIG. 18 shows a hardware configuration of each machine. The client machine 1 includes a control device 210, a storage device 211, and an input / output device 212. The storage device 211 includes a main storage device 2102 and a hard disk device 2103. The input / output device 212 includes a keyboard 2105, a mouse 2107, and a display device 2109. The control device 210 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21
01, a keyboard control unit 2104 for controlling the keyboard 2105, and a mouse control unit 21 for controlling the mouse 2107
06, display control unit 210 for controlling display device 2109
8 and a network control unit 2110 for controlling communication performed via the network 7.

The server machine 2 is a client machine 1
Similarly to the above, a control device 220, a storage device 221, and an input / output device 222 are provided. The storage device 221 is the main storage device 2
202 and a hard disk device 2203. The hard disk device 2203 stores various management files necessary for the operation of the mail server 5, mails created by each user, and the like.

Similarly, the server machine 3 also
0, a storage device 231, and an input / output device 232.
The storage device 231 includes a main storage device 2302 and a hard disk device 2303. Hard disk drive 23
03 stores the correspondence information between all the users and the mail server.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a software configuration of the mail server 5.

The mail server 5a includes a mail transmitting unit 51a for controlling mail transmission and a mail receiving unit 52a for controlling mail reception. The mail server 5b has the same configuration.

The mail transmitting section 51a comprises a mail change detecting section 511a, a mail body storing section 512a, a mail header transmitting section 513a, a transmitted mail managing section 514a, a mail change notifying section 515a, and an access log storing section 516a. The unit 52b includes a mail header receiving unit 52
1b, mail change processing unit 522b, received mail management unit 5
23b.

As described above, in the electronic mail system of the present invention, the types of mail transmission include "new transmission", "correction transmission", and "deletion transmission". The operation of each control unit will be described with an example.

Upon receiving the request for "new mail transmission" from the mail client 8a, the mail body storage section 512a creates the mail 11 in the hard disk device 2203a. Specifically, the text 17 of the mail included in the new transmission information 17 received from the mail client 8a
Copy 3. Thereafter, an identifier for uniquely identifying the mail is assigned. The identifier assigned here is mainly used to identify the mail at the time of mail access after being transmitted to the receiving mail server 5b.
Alternatively, it is used for identifying a mail when the sending user corrects or deletes the mail again.

In the above description, the case where the mail edited by the mail client 8 is transmitted has been described. However, the mail 11 does not need to be edited by the mail client 8. That is, a file edited in advance by another AP (application) program such as spreadsheet software or word processing software (hereinafter referred to as a mail file to distinguish it from ordinary mail) can be used. In that case, the sending user is the mail client 8 of the present invention.
Can be used to access the mail file 11.

The mail body storage unit 512a stores the mail 11
Is completed, the control is transferred to the mail header transmitting section 513a. The mail header transmission unit 513a accesses the directory server 6 and searches for the management information to find the mail server 5 in which the user included in the destination 172 (FIG. 2C) is registered. Next, only the various information (mail header) 15 relating to the mail is transmitted to the receiving mail server 5b. At this time, the destination 172
When there are a plurality of users included in, the same transmission processing is executed a plurality of times. In addition, as a result of searching the user's mail address, if the sending mail server and the receiving mail server are the same, the control is transferred to the receiving mail server without passing through the network 7. The mail header 15 includes header information included in the new transmission information 17 and header information newly added by the mail header transmission unit 513a. For details of the mail header 15,
It will be described later with reference to FIG.

The outgoing mail management section 514a stores the mail header of the mail as one record in the outgoing mail header file 12a. The details of the transmission mail header file 12 will be described later with reference to FIG.

Upon receiving the mail header 15, the mail header receiving section 521b transfers control to the received mail managing section 524b. The received mail management unit 524b stores the mail header 15 in the received mail header file 14b. When receiving the return request of the mail header list (hereinafter, referred to as a reception list) from the reception mail header acquisition unit 86b of the reception mail client 8b, the reception mail management unit 524b receives all the mails stored in the reception mail header file 14b. The header is returned to the receiving mail client 8b. The screen display control unit 88b of the receiving mail client 8b displays the returned header information as a reception list. The mail access section 87b accesses the sending mail server 5a according to the header information of the mail selected by the user from the list. The mail access unit 87b
When accessing the mail stored in the sending mail server 5a, the access log storage unit 516a of the sending mail server 5a stores the mail access log in the access log file 13a. Details of the access log file 13 will be described later with reference to FIG.

In the present invention, the mail correction transmission and the deletion transmission are performed when an explicit instruction is received from the transmission mail client 8a, or when the user does not use the transmission mail client 8a.
There are two cases in which the mail file 11 is directly modified or deleted.

In the former case, the mail change detection unit 511
A detects a change in mail by accepting a request for correction or deletion transmission from the transmission mail client 8a. In the latter case, the modification and deletion of the mail file 11 are carried out without the knowledge of the electronic mail system of the present invention. Therefore, the mail change detection unit 511a monitors the mail change detection unit 511a at a fixed time interval. To detect the change. The mail change detection unit 511a that has detected the change by any of the above methods transfers control to the mail change notification unit 515a.

The mail change notifying unit 515a sends information 16 (mail change information) on mail change to the receiving mail server 5b after inquiring the access log storage unit 516a about the opening status of the mail. Upon receiving the mail change information 16, the mail change processing unit 523b of the receiving mail server 5b receives the mail
The information for the mail stored in b is changed.
Thus, when the receiving mail client 8b accesses the received mail managing unit 523b, the change information of the mail can be displayed in the reception list. Details of the mail change information 16 and the received mail header file 14 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 3A to 3E show the mail header 1
5, the components of one record of each of the outgoing mail header file 12, the access log file 13, the mail change information 16, and the received mail header file 14.

In the mail header 15 of FIG.
151 is the mail identifier, 152 is the title of the mail, 1
53 is the date and time of sending the mail, 154 is the sender of the mail, 1
55 is a mail destination, and 156 is a mail attribute. The mail attribute 156 stores various attribute information that is not directly related to the mail body. For example, information such as a notification requesting “immediate” reading and a notification “reply required” corresponds to this. A plurality of attributes can be set in the mail attribute 156 at the same time.

The outgoing mail header file 12 shown in FIG. 3B is a file unique to each user, and is header information of all mails transmitted by the user. It is also used to display a list of mail transmissions. What is a send list?
It is a screen in which a title, a transmission date, and the like of the mail transmitted by the user are listed as a list. The items constituting the file are shown at 121 to 125. 121 is the mail identifier, 1
22 is the title of the email, 123 is the date and time of sending the email,
124 is the destination of the mail, and 125 is the location of the mail.
The destination 124 stores the names of all users who send mail. The file location 125 stores an identifier of the mail 11 in the local file system. OS (Operating System) of server machine 2
Correspond to this.

The access log file 13 shown in FIG.
Is a file for managing an access log of the receiving user to the mail 11, and is composed of items of a mail identifier 131, an access date and time 132, and an access user 133. When there is access from the receiving user, the access log storage unit 516a records the information, and is referred to by the mail change notifying unit 515a at the time of transmitting the corrected mail and transmitting the deleted mail.

In the mail change information 16 of FIG. 3D, 161 is a mail identifier, 162 is a mail transmission date and time, 163 is a change type, 164 is a mail opening status flag, and 165 is a mail attribute. The change type 163 is
This is a flag for notifying whether the change indicated by the mail change information 16 is correction (storing “correction”) of the mail once transmitted or deletion (storing “deletion”).
The mail opening status flag 164 stores “unread” or “read” as information indicating whether the receiving user has opened the mail. The mail attribute 165 contains the same type of information (reply required, urgent, etc.) as the mail attribute 156, which is one element of the mail header 15.

The received mail header file 14 is a file unique to the user, and the received mail management unit 524b stores the header information of all the mails received by the user. It is also used when displaying the reception list. The reception list is a screen in which the title, transmission date and time, etc. of the mail received by the user are listed as a list. The received mail header file 14 uses the mail header 15 as original data. The items constituting the file are shown at 141 to 147. 141 is a mail identifier, 142 is a mail title, 143 is a mail transmission date and time, 144 is a mail sender, 145 is a mail destination, 146 is a mail location, 1
47 is the state of the mail. The destination 145 stores all user names including the user. The information stored in the mail location 146 is the state of mail arrangement by the receiving user. In other words, the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment has a function of checking the mail (mail header) received by the user in the reception list and moving the mail to a mail storage called a folder as necessary.
Here, whether the mail exists in the folder or in the reception list is stored. In the state 147, when the received mail management unit 523b displays the reception list or the folder list, information on the mail, for example, whether there is correction, deletion, reply required, urgency, or the like is stored.

FIG. 19 shows an example of the management information of the directory server 6. In this example, for each user, its name, affiliation, post, and registration destination file server are stored and managed.

The network configuration and software configuration of the present invention described above do not depend on a specific platform (OS, communication technology). That is, any platform may be used as long as the above configuration and function can be satisfied.

In the present embodiment, WWW (World
The following description will be made taking an example in which the electronic mail system of the present invention is applied on Wide Web). That is, TCP / IP is used as the communication technology, an operating system that can operate a WWW browser as the operating system of the client machine 1, and the OS of the server machine 2
A description will be given of a case where an OS capable of operating a WWW server (HTTP daemon) is used. Where W
A WWW browser is a web browser for browsing various information on the WWW.
UI (Graphical User Interface)
e). WWW browser and WW
Data transfer between W servers is performed using HTTP (Hyper T
ext Transfer Protocol), but the description of the data transfer in the present embodiment also assumes the use of HTTP.
Also, documents on the WWW are HTML (Hyper Text)
tMarkup Language) format, but in the present embodiment, the reception list, the transmission list,
The mail 11 is created in HTML format. Here, HTML is a language that describes the character settings and layout of a document, and can set hyperlinks in other documents. In a WWW browser, a text to which a hyperlink is set is emphasized with an underline or the like, so that the text is often distinguished from normal text.

As a method of applying the mail server 5 to the WWW, there is a method of operating the function of the mail server 5 as a part of the WWW server, or a method of operating the mail server 5 as an independent program separately from the WWW server. . However, no matter which method is used, the present invention does not affect the root of the present invention, and therefore, the difference of each method is not described in this embodiment.

Although it has been described above that the mail client 8 has display, input, and communication functions with the server,
When using the WW, a WWW browser substitutes for the function of the mail client 8. In other words, on the screen display, the WWW browser displays the HTML format data transferred from the mail server 5 to which the WWW is applied as a screen. Input is also performed through the function of a WWW browser. In addition, the communication function with the mail server,
Utilizes the HTTP of the WWW browser. Various requests (new mail transmission, mail correction transmission, mail deletion transmission, read request) from the mail client 8 to the mail server 5 are sent to a URL (Uniform Resource).
Locator).

FIG. 14 shows the format of the URL and the URL in the present embodiment. FIG. 14A shows the RFC.
URL format 140 defined in 1738
FIG. 14B shows the URL 1401 of the sending mail server 5a in the present embodiment, and FIG. 14C shows the URL 1402 of the receiving mail server b in the present embodiment.

In the format 1400, "hos
t. "domain" 14001 represents the host name of the server, and may be an IP address. "Path / da
The “name” 14002 is a location representing a document (file), and is composed of a path (directory name) and a document name (file name). However, "path / data
The “name” 14002 can be used not only for accessing a document, but also for requesting an AP process such as a search to a WWW server. Also in the present embodiment,
“Path / dataname” 14002 is used to identify processing related to mail transmission / reception.

The URL “sales.
titahi. co. “jp” 14011 is the host name of the sending mail server. It is an example showing the server name of the sales department of a certain company. "/ Mail ..." 14012
Specifies a different directory name or file name for each process.

In the URL 1402, "head.t"
itahi. co. “jp” 14021 is the host name of the receiving mail server. It is an example showing the server name of the head office of a certain company. In “/ mail...” 14022, a directory name or a file name that is different for each process is specified.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing sequence of the outgoing mail client 8a, the outgoing mail server 5a, and the incoming mail server 5b at the time of new mail transmission.

The user displays a mail main screen prior to all operations related to mail transmission / reception (step 400). This display is made on the display device 2109a of the client machine 1a. As described above, this screen displays the HTML transferred from the sending mail server 5a.
Format data is displayed by a WWW browser.
FIG. 8 shows an example of the main screen. In the main screen 800, hyperlinks for calling the mail creation screen, the reception list screen, and the transmission list screen are set. A mail creation link 801, a reception list link 802,
This is called a transmission list link 803. Any link can display a desired screen by clicking with the mouse 2107a.

Next, the user clicks the mail creation link 801 in step 400 to display a mail creation screen, and creates a mail using the keyboard 2105a and the mouse 2107a (step 401). FIG. 9 shows an example of the mail creation screen. The user creates the mail creation screen 900
, A destination 901, a title 902, and a body 903 are input, and a send button 904 is pressed. If the receiving user needs to read the e-mail immediately, the user clicks the "urgent" radio button 905 to turn it on. If a reply is required, the user clicks the "reply required" radio button 906 to turn it on.

At step 401, the user presses the send button 9
When 04 is pressed, the WWW browser (mail client 8a) issues a new mail transmission request to the mail server 5a (step 402). At this time, the mail body 173, the destination 172, and the title 171 are sent as new transmission information 17 from the mail client 8a to the mail server 5a. The mail body storage unit 512a
A mail file is created in the hard disk device 2203a based on the data sent from the mail client 8a (step 403). Then, step 403
An e-mail identifier for uniquely identifying the e-mail created in step (1) is created (step 404). In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned URL is used as the mail identifier. Next, the mail header transmission unit 513a accesses the directory server 6 and determines the mail server of the user included in the destination (step 405). Next, the outgoing mail management unit 51
4a adds a new record to the outgoing mail header file 12a (step 406). In FIG. 15 (a),
9 shows a specific example of a record of the outgoing mail header file 12a on the mail creation screen 900. In the mail identifier in this example, the transmission date and time are included in the file name for unique identification.

Subsequently, the mail header transmitting section 513a sets data in the mail header 15 to be transmitted to the receiving mail server 5b (step 407). In FIG. 15 (b),
A specific example of the mail header 15 in the example of the mail creation screen 900 is shown.

Subsequently, the mail header transmitting section 513a transmits the mail header 15 to the receiving mail server 5b (Step 408). Upon receiving the mail header 15, the mail header receiving unit 521b of the received mail server 5b transfers control to the received mail management unit 523b. The received mail management unit 523b adds a record of the mail header 15 to the received mail header file 14b (Step 4).
09). The addition of the record is performed by copying each element of the mail header 15. That is, 151 to 15
5 is copied to items 141 to 145. Nothing is set in the state 147. FIG. 16A shows a mail creation screen 90.
A specific example of the record of the received mail header file 14 in the example of 0 is shown. The status 147 includes the mail attribute 15
6. Copy "urgent" and "request required" set in 6.

The description of the new transmission using the processing sequence shown in FIG. 4 has been made in the case where the mail is created by the mail client 8a. However, according to the present invention, as described above, the mail is created beforehand. You can send the file as an e-mail. FIG. 13 shows an example of the screen in this case.

The user inputs a destination 1301 and a title 1302 on the mail creation screen 1300, inputs a URL of a previously created file, and sends a send button 1304.
Press. Mail body storage unit 51 of mail server 5a
2a, when recognizing that the newly transmitted mail is a previously created file, does not create the mail 11, but sets the URL input as the mail identifier in the mail identifier 121 of the outgoing mail header file 12a. I do.
Further, the location of the file is calculated from the URL, and is set as the mail location 125.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing sequence of the outgoing mail client 8a, the outgoing mail server 5a, and the incoming mail server 5b at the time of correcting the mail.

When modifying the mail, the user displays the main screen 800 (FIG. 8) and clicks the transmission list link 803 (step 400). As a result, the screen display control unit 88 displays the transmission mail header acquisition unit 85 of the mail client 8a after the transmission mail header acquisition unit 85 of the mail client 8a issues a request for acquiring the transmission list display HTML to the mail server 5a (step 50).
0). The transmission list is created by the mail server 5a based on the transmission mail header file 12a. FIG. 10 shows an example of the transmission list. The transmission screen 1000 is divided into two upper and lower screens using an HTML function. When a hyperlink set in the mail title 1001 on the upper screen is clicked, the text of the mail transmitted by the user is read and displayed on the lower screen. On the transmission list screen 1000, the user clicks the update button 1002 when he / she wants to correct the mail once sent, the delete button 1003 when he / she wants to delete the mail, and the list button 1004 when he / she wants to check the access status to the transmitted mail.
Is pressed. When the update button 1002 is pressed in step 500, the WWW browser (mail client 8a) transmits a correction mail reading request to the mail server 5a (step 501). The modified mail reading request includes a mail identifier (URL in this case), and the mail server 5a detects the location 125 of the mail from the transmitted mail header file 12a based on the mail identifier. Using this, the body of the mail is read, an HTML for displaying the mail correction screen is created, and transferred to the mail client 8a (step 502). FIG. 11 shows an example of the mail correction screen. Email modification screen 11
00 is very similar to the mail creation screen 900, except that the destination 1101 and the title 1102 are fixedly displayed and cannot be changed by the user, and the created mail text is displayed in advance in the body 1103 of the mail. Is different. The user performs the mail correction process on this screen (step 503). When the mail modification is completed and the user presses the update button 114 in step 503, the WWW browser (mail client 8a)
Change client information 1 to instruct mail correction
8 (FIG. 2C) to the mail server 5a (step 504). The mail change client information 18 includes a mail identifier 181, a flag 18 indicating a modification.
2. The body 183 of the mail is sent. Mail server 5a
The mail change detection unit 511a detects the location 125 of the mail from the transmitted mail header file 12a based on the mail identifier 181 and requests the mail body storage unit 512 to correct the mail 11. The mail body storage unit 512a reflects the contents of the mail body 183 on the mail 11 (step 505). Subsequently, the access log storage unit 516a stores
Using the mail identifier as a key, the outgoing mail header file 12a and the access log file 13a are collated to check whether or not the user included in the destination of the mail has accessed the mail (step 506). Next, the user accesses the directory server 6 to determine the mail server of the user included in the destination (step 405). Next, after setting data in the mail change information 16 (step 507), the data is transmitted to the receiving mail server 5b (step 508). In step 507, “modify” is set in the change type 163, and the result of step 506 is set in the opening status flag 164. Upon receiving the changed mail information 16, the mail change processing unit 523b of the received mail server 5b executes a received mail header file access process for reflecting the change in the received mail header file 14b (Step 509). The received mail header file access processing will be described later.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing sequence of the outgoing mail client 8a, the outgoing mail server 5a, and the incoming mail server 5b at the time of mail deletion.

At the time of deleting a mail, the transmission list link 803 is clicked on the main screen 800 as in the case of the mail correction (step 400). A transmission list is displayed (step 500). Next, when the delete button 103 is pressed in step 500, the WWW browser (mail client 8a) transmits the mail change client information 18 to the mail server 5a (step 601). The mail change client information 18 includes a mail identifier 181,
The deletion flag 182 is set. Mail server 5a
The mail change detection unit 511a of the
1 to detect the location of the mail from the transmitted mail header file 12a, thereby deleting the mail 11 (step 602). Next, the access log storage unit 516a
Checks the outgoing mail header file 12a and the access log file 13a using the mail identifier as a key, and checks whether or not the user included in the destination of the mail has accessed the mail (step 506). Next, the user accesses the directory server 6 to determine the mail server of the user included in the destination (step 405). Next, after setting data in the mail change information 16 (step 507), the data is transmitted to the receiving mail server 5b (step 508). In step 507, “delete” is set in the change type 163, and the result of step 506 is set in the opening status flag 164. Upon receiving the mail change information 16, the mail change processing unit 523b of the received mail server 5b executes a received mail header file access process described later (step 509).

In the processing shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, only the case where the user directly modifies or deletes the mail file 11 using the transmission mail client 8a is shown. The e-mail change detection unit 511a monitors whether or not the mail file 11 has been modified or deleted at each time interval of, so that the e-mail change can be detected. The processing after detecting the mail change (correction or deletion) is the same as described above.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the received mail header file access processing in step 509.

The mail receiving section 52 stores the mail change information 16
Is received, the control is transferred to the mail change processing unit 523b. First, the mail change processing unit 523b checks the change type 163 (step 701). here,
If the change type is “correction”, the presence / absence of access to this mail by the user is checked by checking the opening status flag 164 (step 703). Here, if “unread”, the transmission date and time 162 of the mail change information 16 is set to the transmission date and time 1 of the received mail header file 14.
43 (step 704), and if "read", copy from transmission date / time 162 to transmission date / time 143 and set "correction" in state 147 (step 70).
5).

If the change type is "delete" in step 701, the access status of this mail by the user is checked by checking the opening status flag 164 (step 706). Here, if "unread", the information about this mail is deleted from the received mail header file 14 (step 707). If "read", the copy from the transmission date 162 to the transmission date 143 is performed. Then, "delete" is set in the state 147 (step 708).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the reception list. The reception list is created by the mail receiving unit 5b based on the received mail header file 14, and is displayed on the display device 2 of the mail client 8b.
109b. Like the transmission screen 1000, HT
It is divided into upper and lower two screens using the function of ML.
When the user clicks a hyperlink set in the mail title on the upper screen, the text of the mail received by the user is read from the sending mail server 5a on the lower screen and displayed. When the mail client 8b accesses the mail, the access log storage unit 51a records it in the access log file 13a. Step 7
Received mail header file 1 set in 05 and 708
The state 147 of 4 is an icon 1201, 1202, 120
3 is displayed, and the receiving user can be notified of the update, deletion, urgency of the mail, and whether or not a reply is required. Here, as long as it is a means for displaying the presence / absence of update, deletion, urgency, and need for reply, a method of changing the color to a different one may be used instead of the icon.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently correct or delete a mail once transmitted, after solving the problems of increased communication traffic and large disk consumption. There is an effect that can be done.

Further, a new line does not always increase in the reception list every time there is a correction notification, so that there is an effect that the display is easy to see without increasing useless lines.

By the way, in a situation where electronic mail is utilized, there are cases where it is desired to change not only the text of the mail but also the attributes of the mail such as urgent or needing a reply. For example, when sending a new email, you did not specify "immediately"
Such a situation corresponds to a case where, after confirming the opening status of the mail of the receiving user, an instruction to read “immediately” is given to the unread user. According to the present invention, such a function can be realized. Hereinafter, an embodiment for solving this situation will be described. Note that the present embodiment only changes a part of the first embodiment, and therefore, the description is limited to only differences from the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 shows the transmission list screen 100
It is an access list screen 1700 displayed when the list display button 104 is pressed. The access list screen 1700 is a list of the access status of the mail, created by the mail transmission unit 51a, and transferred to the mail client 8a. If an urgent read notification is desired to be sent to an unread user, an urgent notification button 1701 is pressed. In the present embodiment, the mail change client information 18 issued from the mail client 8a is provided with a flag for requesting urgent notification, thereby enabling notification.

Upon receiving the urgent notification request from the mail client 8a, the mail change detection unit 511a transfers control to the mail change notification unit 515a. Email change notification section 5
15a sets information in the mail change information 16. A "modification / attribute" flag is added to the change type 163, which means that the attribute is modified. As a result, it is known that the attribute is to be corrected, so that “urgent” is set in the attribute 164.

Upon receiving the mail change information 16, the mail change processing unit 523 b has a function of recognizing “correction / attribute” in addition to “correction” and “deletion” in the change type check in step 509 (step 701). You have. Here, in the case of “correction / attribute”, the mail attribute 1
64, the status flag 147 of the received mail header file 14 is changed to “immediate”. Note that this change only needs to be made when unread is confirmed.

According to the second embodiment described above,
Since the attribute of the mail once sent can be changed according to the situation, there is an effect that the mail can be utilized according to the business.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Correction and deletion of mail once sent can be efficiently performed after solving the problems of increase in communication traffic and mass consumption of disks.

Further, a new line does not always increase in the reception list every time there is a correction notification, so that there is an effect that the display is easy to see without increasing useless lines.

Further, by making it possible to change the attribute of the mail once transmitted according to the situation, it is possible to utilize the mail according to the business.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a software configuration diagram of an electronic mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram of an electronic mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing file elements of an electronic mail system according to a conventional example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an information sequence diagram between a mail client and a mail server in a conventional example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an information sequence diagram between a mail client and a mail server in a conventional example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an information sequence diagram between a mail client and a mail server in a conventional example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation of a received mail header file access process in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a main screen of the electronic mail system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mail creation screen of the electronic mail system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a transmission list screen of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a mail correction screen of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a reception list screen of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mail creation screen of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a URL of the electronic mail system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a record in a transmission mail header file of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a record in a received mail header file of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an access list screen of the electronic mail system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a hardware configuration diagram of an electronic mail system according to a conventional example of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of management information of a directory server of the electronic mail system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... client machine, 2 ... server machine, 3 ... server machine, 4 ... communication control part, 5 ... mail server, 6 ... directory server, 7 ... network, 8 ... mail client, 11 ... mail, 12 ... outgoing mail header file , 13 access log file, 14 received mail header file, 15 mail information, 51 mail transmission unit, 52 mail reception unit, 210 control device, 211
Storage device, 212 input / output device,

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshitsugu Kamiyama 5030 Totsukacho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Software Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A mail body storage section for storing an original mail, a mail header transmitting section for transmitting various information (mail header) relating to the mail, and a mail server for transmitting the mail to a mail server (sending mail server) on the transmitting user side. An outgoing mail header storing unit for storing a mail header, an outgoing mail managing unit for managing an outgoing mail header, a mail server (receiving mail server) on the receiving user side, a mail header receiving unit for receiving the mail header, A received mail header storage unit for storing the received mail header, a received mail management processing unit for managing the mail header, a mail client, a screen display control unit for controlling a screen display related to transmission and reception of mail, the transmission and reception screen E-mail client (sending mail client) G) includes a mail transmission request unit that issues a mail transmission request to a mail server, and a transmission mail header acquisition unit that acquires a list of mail headers of transmitted mail, and a client that receives mail (reception mail client). An e-mail system comprising: a mail access unit for accessing an original of a received mail with respect to a sending mail server; and a received mail header obtaining unit for obtaining a mail header list of the received mail. The client has a mail correction transmission request unit for requesting correction transmission of the mail, a mail deletion transmission request unit for requesting deletion and transmission of the mail, and the transmission side mail server detects that the original mail has been changed. Change detection unit, informs the receiving mail server of information on the change of the mail (mail change information) A mail change notifying unit to perform, and an access log managing unit that manages a log of a mail access from a receiving mail client, wherein the receiving mail server changes the mail to a mail header stored in the received mail header storage unit. An e-mail system comprising a mail change processing unit for reflecting information. 2. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein when the mail change notification unit notifies the mail change information to a receiving mail server, the access log management unit determines whether the mail is unread / read. It is confirmed by an access log, a different automatic notification is performed depending on the unread / read, and the mail change processing unit performs a different process depending on the unread / read in the receiving mail server receiving the notification. And e-mail system. 3. The e-mail system according to claim 1, wherein when the original of the e-mail is a file created in advance, even if there is a change to the file, the change to the receiving user is provided. An e-mail system that provides notification. 4. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein when the mail change notifying unit notifies the user of the correction of the mail, the mail change processing unit of the receiving mail server determines whether the transmitted mail is unread. Changing the transmission date and time described in the mail header in the received mail header storage unit to a new transmission date and time, and if it has been read, adding information indicating that the mail has been corrected to the mail header. An e-mail system characterized by the following. 5. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein when the mail change notification unit notifies the user of the deletion of the mail, the mail change processing unit of the receiving mail server determines whether the transmitted mail is unread. , Delete the mail header from the received mail header storage unit, and if it has been read,
An electronic mail system wherein information indicating that the mail has been deleted is added to the mail header. 6. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of users receive the mail. 7. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the mail change detection unit detects a change in the original mail based on a user's explicit request. 8. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the mail change detecting unit periodically detects whether there is a change in the original mail to automatically detect the change in the original mail. Characterized e-mail system. 9. The mail body is held by the sender, and various information (mail header) about the mail is sent from the sender mail server.
This is a mail server in an e-mail system that sends only mail to the receiving mail server. As a means for the own mail server to function as a sending mail server, a mail body storage unit for storing original mail, The mail header sending unit that sends information (mail header), the sent mail header storage unit that stores sent mail headers, the sent mail management unit that manages sent mail headers, and the original mail sent , Deleted), and a mail change notifying unit that, when the mail change is detected, notifies the receiving side of information on the change of the mail (mail change information). As a means for the own mail server to function as a receiving mail server, a mail for receiving the mail header A header receiving unit; a received mail header storage unit for storing the received mail header; a received mail management processing unit for managing the mail header; and an access to the original mail of the received mail to a sending mail server. A mail server comprising: a mail access unit; and a mail change processing unit that reflects the mail change information in a mail header stored in the received mail header storage unit. 10. A mail server according to claim 9, wherein said mail server manages a log of access to said original mail from a mail client for reception as means for allowing said mail server to function as a mail server for transmission. Further comprising a management unit, wherein the mail change notification unit includes:
The mail change information is notified to the receiving side including unread / read information based on the log, and the mail change notification unit transmits the mail change information from the mail change notification unit as means for the own mail server to function as a receiving mail server. When receiving the notification, the mail change processing unit changes the way in which the mail change information is reflected in the mail header according to the unread / read status. 11. The mail server according to claim 10, wherein when a mail correction is notified from another mail server, the mail change processing unit, if the mail is unread, stores the mail in the received mail header storage unit. A mail server which changes the transmission date and time described in the mail header to a new transmission date and time, and if it has been read, adds information indicating that the mail has been modified to the mail header. 12. The mail server according to claim 10, wherein when the mail is notified from another mail server that the mail is deleted, the mail change processing unit, if the mail is unread, reads the mail from the received mail header storage unit. A mail server, wherein the mail header is deleted, and if the mail has been read, information indicating that the mail has been deleted is added to the mail header. 13. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the mail change notification unit notifies the mail change information notified to the receiving side mail server of “reply required” or “urgent”.
An e-mail system, which can include a mail attribute consisting of at least one of the following. 14. The electronic mail system according to claim 13, wherein the mail attribute of the mail change information includes "urgent".
When the mail change notification unit notifies the mail change information to the receiving mail server,
An e-mail system wherein an unread / read status of the mail is confirmed by an access log in the access log management unit, and a notification is made only when the mail is unread.