JPH10164169A - Electronic mail system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain the reduction of a load to the transmission/reception terminal of an electronic mail and also to enable the higher multimedia correspondence of the electronic mail to be executed by effectively utilizing a pre-existing communication equipment so as to attain the distribution of a processing against the electronic mail of multimedia correspondence. SOLUTION: In this mail system, the electronic mail is distributed from a first information processor 102 to the second information processor 105 with one or plural mail servers 103 and 104 in a network 101. In this case, a processing command to be executed against the electronic mail in the mail servers 103 and 104 car the second information processor 105 is described in the electronic mail and the mail servers 103 and 104 or the second information processor 105 where the electronic mail passes is provided with a means for processing the processing command which is described in the received electronic mail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic mail system for providing multimedia information using electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, the development of multimedia network technology is exploding.

In this technology, a network infrastructure technology and an application technology built on the network infrastructure technology are both being developed. For example, as network infrastructure, broadband ISDN, CATV, NTT (registered trademark)
OCN (Open Computer Network)
k) A wide range of services such as a service plan, a wide band, and a low cost are major goals. Furthermore, network technology that guarantees quality according to media is also important as an essential technology for multimedia communication.

On the other hand, as applications, various browser technologies for WWW, provider services, groupware technologies, network functions on PCs, and the like have been widely developed in application fields.

One of the most widely used services among various multimedia applications is electronic mail. Terminals that subscribe to the Internet or to a specific PC network can freely communicate with each other and individuals and groups, and have many attractive features such as asynchronous, easy to edit, high speed, and low cost.
In recent years, the demand for such networks will further increase as it becomes more common for various networks to provide interconnection services.

[0006] However, the main body of the current e-mail service is basically text-based, and incorporation of various media, such as images and sounds, has been attempted in some limited environments so far. It is not a service to ordinary households. However, making e-mail compatible with multimedia is considered to be an important application in the information network era due to the richness of information and the expansion of communication media options. A specific method is needed.

[0007]

At present, in order to send still image information, moving image information, audio information, and the like as e-mail in addition to text on the Internet, each of them is compressed and converted into a character code. , MI
ME (Multipurpose Internet)
A method called "Mail Extension" is incorporated into the text and sent to the partner terminal. The receiving terminal interprets the MIME format, checks what form each piece of information is built in, and activates a player tool for displaying / reproducing each piece of information. If the receiving terminal does not have a function to understand MIME, it cannot be displayed because it is all interpreted as text data.

In order to spread electronic mail compatible with multimedia to ordinary households, it is necessary to reduce the load on the transmitting and receiving terminals.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to effectively utilize existing communication facilities, to distribute processing for multimedia-compatible e-mails on a network, to reduce the load on e-mail transmission and reception terminals, and to reduce the load on e-mails. An object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail system and an e-mail processing device capable of coping with more advanced multimedia of mail.

[0010]

An electronic mail system according to the present invention (Claim 1) provides a method for transmitting information from a first information processing device to a second information processing device via one or more mail servers on a network. In the e-mail system that distributes an e-mail, the e-mail describes a processing command to be executed by the mail server and / or the second information processing apparatus for the e-mail, and the e-mail The transmitting mail terminal or the second information processing device has a means for executing the processing of the processing command described in the received e-mail, so that the transmitting terminal does not have sufficient processing capability. Or even if the network does not have sufficient transfer capability,
In the form of a command to an outgoing mail, it is possible to add sufficient added value to the mail, and it is possible to enhance the e-mail system.

Further, the electronic mail system according to the present invention (claim 2) is a system in which a first information processing device transmits a first information over a network.
In an e-mail system that distributes an e-mail to a second information processing apparatus via one or more mail servers, the e-mail includes, for the e-mail, the mail server and / or the second information. A processing command to be executed in the processing device is described, and the mail server or the second information processing device through which the e-mail passes executes the processing of the processing command described in the received e-mail, and if necessary, By providing a means for rewriting the processing command, it becomes possible to sequentially carry out value-added processing to the e-mail desired by the user at the mail server through which the e-mail is delivered during the delivery of the e-mail. The functions can be distributed and arranged, and the load of value added processing can be distributed.

Further, in the electronic mail system according to the present invention (claim 3), the mail server receiving the electronic mail includes:
The processing of the processing command is executed in accordance with the processing method of the processing command determined with another mail server through which the e-mail passes, and the processing command is rewritten as necessary to perform the second processing. By distributing the e-mail to the information processing device, it becomes possible to share the processing of the added value processing to the mail, and it is possible to realize the load distribution of the added value processing.

Further, in the electronic mail system of the present invention (claim 4), the network is connected to a storage device for storing content information to be inserted into the electronic mail, and the mail server or the second information processing device is connected to the network. Upon receiving an e-mail in which a processing command requesting insertion of content information is described, the device extracts content information from the storage device based on the identification information of the content information included in the processing command, and inserts the content information into the e-mail. By doing so, it is not necessary for the transmitting terminal to perform processing for transmitting / inserting the content information or inserting data of a large file, and the load on the transmitting terminal can be reduced. Also, for example, by inserting necessary information from a mail server equipped with a content information storage device connected near the receiving terminal, it is possible to greatly reduce the total amount of data flowing on the network, Effective utilization of network resources becomes possible. This corresponds to the home used by the sending user of the e-mail system of the present invention,
When the MM server is connected only by a so-called “thin (small band) line” such as a telephone line, a great effect can be expected since it leads to a drastic reduction in transmission information. Further, as basic information for accessing the content information inserted into the e-mail, identification information of the content information included in the processing command requesting the insertion of the content information (for example, the location of the content information, the file name of the content information) , Information related to authentication for accessing a file of content information, information related to a presentation time of content information, etc.).

A command for requesting insertion of content information is inserted by the mail sender specifying content information registered in advance in the mail server and specifying an identifier assigned to the content information. This makes it possible for the sender to register content information to be transmitted a plurality of times on the mail server side, and to add an identifier to the content information, and thereafter insert it with the designation of this identifier. -Since it is possible to transfer the content information, the trouble of transferring the content information between the sender and the mail server each time can be omitted, and effective utilization of communication resources can be achieved.

Further, when it is necessary to go through a specific mail server when executing a specific processing command,
For example, in a database implemented in the form of a plug-in in the first information processing device, if a setting for instructing the passage through a specific mail server in a specific processing command is set, the database is used by the mail server. It is possible to provide a value-added function desired by the user, and when processing on the mail server sharing the database is necessary, a mail server having explicit knowledge of the database is passed when transferring the e-mail, This can be set automatically.

In the electronic mail system according to the present invention (claim 5), the mail server through which the electronic mail passes includes:
Executing the processing of the processing command, rewriting the processing command as necessary, and, as a result, distributing the reproduced image of the e-mail distributed to the second information processing apparatus to the second information processing apparatus Before sending to the first information processing device, the sender of the e-mail
Before the e-mail is transferred to the second information processing apparatus, the contents of the e-mail can be checked in advance, which is convenient for the user.

In the electronic mail system of the present invention (claim 6), the mail server through which the electronic mail passes includes:
Executing the processing of the processing command, rewriting the processing command as necessary, and, as a result, distributing the reproduced image of the e-mail distributed to the second information processing apparatus to the second information processing apparatus Before sending the e-mail to the second information processing device when the permission is obtained from the first information processing device in response to the transfer to the first information processing device. It is possible to prevent the distribution of an e-mail having a content different from the content intended by the sender.

Further, in the electronic mail system of the present invention (claim 7), a storage device for storing content information to be inserted into the electronic mail is connected to the network, and the storage device is distributed to the second information processing device. The content information inserted in the e-mail is stored in the storage device based on communication quality information for transferring the content information included in a processing command requesting insertion of the content information described in the e-mail. Is transmitted to the second information processing device via a connection set between the second information processing device and the second information processing device, so that a connection setting that sufficiently satisfies the communication quality required for transferring content information can be established. Easy to do. Therefore, the e-mail recipient can receive high-quality content information.

In addition, since the connection other than at least the connection between the storage device and the second information processing device may be, for example, best-effort communication, communication resources can be efficiently allocated.

Further, if the transmission of the content information from the first information processing device to the storage device is performed via electronic mail, even if the user has only an interface other than electronic mail, such as a personal computer communication user, It is possible to use the electronic mail system of the present invention.

If it is determined that the transmission of the content information from the storage device to the second information processing device is not possible, at least a part of the content information is inserted into the electronic mail to be transferred, so that the storage device can communicate with the storage device. Even if the content information cannot be transmitted between the second information processing apparatuses, the user of the second information processing apparatus can view and hear the content information as the mail content embedded in the mail. Become.

Also, the content information stored in the storage device is not erased until a request from the second information processing device is issued, so that the recipient of the e-mail can deal with erroneous erasure and check what is repeated. It is possible to do it at any time.

Further, by providing the storage device inside the first information processing device, the first information processing device can transmit the content information without interposing a video server or a mail server at an arbitrary position. Since it is not necessary to send the content to the mail server, privacy of the mail content can be protected.

Further, the electronic mail system of the present invention (claims 1 and 2) is as follows: (1) The description of the processing command is described in accordance with the MIME of the TCP / IP protocol, so that general processing of electronic mail processing is performed. Processing conforming to the MIME format, which is a format, becomes possible, and since the MIME system is a method supported by most e-mail servers, it is easy to start and respond to services in the e-mail server of the present invention. .

(2) When the mail server or the second information processing apparatus receives an electronic mail in which a processing command requesting translation of arbitrary information in the electronic mail is described, the mail server or the second information processing apparatus performs a translation process in accordance with the processing command. It further comprises means for executing.

(3) When the mail server receives an e-mail in which a processing command requesting time-specified distribution of the e-mail to the second information processing device is described, the mail server performs a distribution process in accordance with the processing command. It further comprises means for executing.

(4) When the mail server or the second information processing device receives an electronic mail in which a processing command requesting character recognition of arbitrary information in the electronic mail is described, the mail server or the second information processing apparatus performs character recognition in accordance with the processing command. It is characterized by further comprising means for executing processing.

According to the above (2) to (4), the mail server or the second information processing apparatus performs a translation process, an e-mail designated time distribution process, a character recognition, in accordance with a process command in a received e-mail. The use of electronic mail can be enhanced by providing a means for performing processing.

An electronic mail processing device according to the present invention is an electronic mail processing device for executing a predetermined process on an electronic mail received via a network. The transmitting terminal is a terminal that does not have sufficient processing capability by having means for executing processing on the received e-mail based on the processing command to be executed on the e-mail and sending it to the network. Even if the network does not have sufficient transfer capability, it is possible to add sufficient added value to the mail in the form of a command to the sent mail to the mail server or receiving terminal, and the e-mail system Can be improved. Further, if this e-mail processing device is connected to a desired network, it can coexist with an existing e-mail server, and can easily construct the e-mail system of the present invention while utilizing the facilities of the existing e-mail system. Can be done.

An electronic mail processing device according to the present invention is an electronic mail processing device for executing a predetermined process on an electronic mail received via a network. Based on the processing command to be executed for the e-mail, the processing for the received e-mail is performed, and the processing command is rewritten as necessary and transmitted to the network. During the delivery of mail, it is possible to sequentially perform value-added processing to the e-mail desired by the user at the mail server that passes through, and it is possible to distribute value-added functions in a distributed manner.
In addition, the load of the value-added processing can be distributed.

Further, the electronic mail processing device of the present invention further comprises: (1) means for executing a translation process in accordance with a processing command for requesting translation of arbitrary information in the electronic mail described in the received electronic mail. It is characterized by the following.

(2) It is characterized by further comprising means for executing a distribution process in accordance with a processing command requesting time-specified distribution of the e-mail described in the received e-mail.

(3) The information processing apparatus further comprises means for executing character recognition processing in accordance with a processing command for requesting character recognition of arbitrary information in the electronic mail described in the received electronic mail.

[0034]

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

FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration example of a network 101 to which an electronic mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
Terminal 102, a first mail server 103, a second mail server 104, and a second terminal 105 are connected.

Various terminals, servers, and the like are connected to the network 101, and mail contents (text, voice, images, data, and the like) are distributed via the network.

In this embodiment, the network 10
1 is assumed to be the Internet, but this does not mean that the network 101 is limited to the Internet, but rather the public telephone network, B-ISDN,
Other infrastructure such as a PHS network may be used.

The first terminal 102 and the second terminal 105
A terminal connected to the network 101 has a function of transmitting and receiving information via the network 101.

In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example where mail is distributed from the first terminal 102 to the second terminal 105. In other words, the first terminal 102 is an e-mail transmission terminal, and the second terminal 105 is an e-mail reception terminal. Hereinafter, terminals such as the transmitting terminal 102 and the receiving terminal 105 that realize the electronic mail system of the present invention are distinguished as “multimedia mail terminals (or MMM terminals)”, and existing electronic mail terminals are classified as “existing mail terminals”.
The functions of the first terminal 102 and the second terminal 105 are as follows.
The present invention is not limited to the e-mail function, and may have various functions provided in a general personal computer.

Each of the first mail server 103 and the second mail server 104 has a registered member (terminal) which is registered in advance (or may be dynamically updated), and manages the transmission and reception of mail of the member. , A server to be realized.

Hereinafter, the first mail server 103 and the second mail server 1 for realizing the electronic mail system of the present invention.
A mail server such as 04 is distinguished as a “multimedia mail server (or MMM server)”, and an existing electronic mail server is distinguished as “existing mail server”.

Also, the electronic mail system of the present invention may be generally described as a multimedia mail function (or MMM).

The first terminal 102 (or the terminal 102
User1) has text, animation,
A case is considered in which a moving image (movie) is transmitted together with a mail to the second terminal 105 (or the user 2 of the terminal 105).

The user of the first terminal 102 transmits the text in the form of a text file (actually, for example, HT
ML sentence), but does not have the substance of animations and moving images. That is, the first terminal 1
02 is sent to the user of the terminal 102 in advance, for example, C
It is assumed that the data is stored in a D-ROM, a memory card, or the like. A plurality of sample animations are stored in the storage medium. When the user selects one of the sample animations, the ID number assigned to the sample animation is stored, and only this ID number is transmitted to the network 101. . Details will be described later.

For a moving image, there is, for example, a movie catalog previously distributed to the user of the terminal 102, and the user of the terminal 102 selects a movie to be transmitted from the catalog. Details will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of an example of a format of a mail transmitted from the transmitting terminal 102. Thus, the transmitting terminal 1
02 is an email intended to be sent to the receiving terminal 105, but its destination is M
The address of the MM server 103 (domain name, here, mmm-server1). This MMM
It is assumed that the address of the server 103 is registered in the mail agent used by the transmitting terminal 102 in advance. Details will be described later.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, in this mail, the destination is the MMM server 103 (mmmm-server).
1), and the transmission content is divided into two parts in addition to the header 201, for example, according to the description format of MIME. One is the command group 202 for the MMM server, and the other is the transmitting terminal 102 is the receiving terminal 105.
Is the original mail content 203 to be sent to. However, as described later, the mail sent from the transmitting terminal 102 to the receiving terminal 105 in FIG.
There is a possibility that part of the contents (mainly the MIME format and the part added by the service provided by the MMM server) may be rewritten by the server.

FIG. 3 shows how the electronic mail 301 having the format shown in FIG.
5 is to be delivered. In FIG. 3, an e-mail 301 sent from the transmitting terminal 102 to the receiving terminal 105 includes a first MMM server 103.
Is sent to the first MMM server 103 with both the command 302 and the original content 303 directed to the receiving terminal 102. In the first MMM server 103,
A command 302 for the first MMM server is executed. With the execution of this command, there is a possibility that a part of the content 303 intended for the original receiving terminal 102 is rewritten.

The electronic mail 301 is the first MMM server 1
03, the first MM, as shown in FIG.
The M server 103 sends the original mail to the receiving terminal 1
05 (step S1), and the receiving terminal 1
The message may be exchanged with a mail server (in this case, the second MMM server 104) responsible for delivering the mail to the mail server 05 (step S2).

By exchanging the message, the sharing of processing such as which MMM server processes the command and how is performed.

After the first MMM server 103 has received necessary processing, an e-mail 304 having a format as shown in FIG. 3 is transferred to the second MMM server 104. The basic configuration of the electronic mail 304 is the same as that of the electronic mail 304, but a command 305 for the second MMM server 104
And the original mail 306 to the receiving terminal 105 is
02 and 303 may have been rewritten.

Similarly, the electronic mail 304 stores the second M
After reaching the MM server 104, where again the command 305 for the second MMM server 104 is appropriately processed and the mail content 306 is appropriately modified, an e-mail 307 in the format shown in FIG. 3 is received. It is delivered to the terminal 105 (step S3 in FIG. 4). In this case, delivery may be performed for the first time after receiving a request from the receiving terminal 105.

A command group 309 for requesting execution when the receiving terminal is a terminal corresponding to the electronic mail system of the present invention is given to the electronic mail 307.

If the receiving terminal 105 is a mail agent corresponding to the electronic mail system of the present invention, the receiving terminal 105 executes the command 309 for the receiving terminal to display the mail to the user of the receiving terminal 105.

If the receiving terminal 105 is a mail agent that does not support the electronic mail system of the present invention,
The command 309 for the receiving terminal may be ignored and only the mail to the original user (user2) may be displayed to the user.

As described above, in the electronic mail 301 transferred from the transmission terminal 102 to the first mail server 103, the command 302 for the mail server 103 is arranged in the mail 301 in parallel with the mail 303 to the original destination. Then, the command 302 is processed by the mail server 103. Thus, even if the transmitting terminal 102 is a terminal that does not have sufficient processing capability, or if the network does not have sufficient transfer capability,
It is possible to add sufficient added value in the mail server, and it is possible to enhance the e-mail system.

The transmitting terminal 102 and the mail server 10
For the data and the like which are shared by the transmission terminal 102 and the first terminal, the ID number and the like which are commonly recognized are written in the command 302 and transmitted. The traffic between the mail servers 103 can be significantly reduced. This is because when the MMM server is connected only with a so-called “thin (small band) line” such as a telephone line to the home used by the transmission user of the e-mail system of the present invention, the transmission information is greatly increased. Since it leads to reduction, a great effect can be expected.

Also, the first mail server 103 sends the second
In the electronic mail 304 transferred to the mail server 104, the command 305 is transmitted to the mail 30 to the original destination.
6 in the mail 304 in parallel with this command 3.
05 is processed by the mail server 104. This makes it possible to disperse the processing by a plurality of mail servers in addition to the processing in the first MMM server. For example, attachment of a large file that requires a large-capacity transmission path is performed by a mail server (104 in this case) as close as possible to the receiving terminal 105, so that processing efficiency can be improved and network resources can be effectively used. Becomes

As apparent from this example, the command 3
05, the first mail server 103
It is also possible to significantly reduce the traffic between the mail server and the second mail server 104.

(2) Details of E-mail Transfer Processing Next, the transmitting terminal 102 transmits a text,
The contents of the e-mail introduced in the basic format of FIG. 2 and the e-mail transfer processing in the e-mail system of FIG. 1 will be described in further detail by taking an example of sending an animation and a movie (large-capacity real-time data).

FIG. 5 shows a case where the first MMM
This is the details of the mail sent to the server 103.
It has the same format as FIG.

The destination of the mail is the MMM server 103. This is because the mail sender user1 (user of the sending terminal 102) intends to add value to the mail, and the original mail content and the destination use
r2 (in this case, the receiving terminal 105) is included in the latter half (502 and thereafter) of the mail and sent to the MMM server 103.

The sender of the mail intends to send an HTML sentence to the recipient. In this mail (HTML sentence), in addition to the text sentence (included in the HTML sentence of 505),
Animations and movies are included. As described above, animations and movies have information on the MMM server, such as the animations, the locations of videos, and database numbers.
Referring to a catalog provided by the MM server provider or the like, for example, the catalog name and the movie name
It is intended to have the MMM server instruct and insert it by including it in the command to the server (portion 502).

The addition of such advanced functions to the electronic mail can be made by a command to the MMM server.

In this embodiment, the command group 502 to the MMM server and the original mail contents 504 and below are
In order to be mixed in the mail to the MMM server 103, for example, the description format of MIME (multipart / mix
ed). However, the technique for realizing this is not limited to the realization by the MIME command.
For example: (1) Introduce a new command to MIME.

(2) Original mail contents (user
1 encapsulates the content of the mail that is about to be sent to user2) into a mail to the MMM server.

(3) Communication is separately performed between the MMM server and the transmitting terminal, and a command for the outgoing mail is issued separately from the mail.

The following methods are conceivable, and these methods are also included in the present patent.

As shown in FIG. 5, the command group 502 to the MMM server and the original mail content 504 are composed of a character string “−”.
boundary1- ".

The command group 502 to the MMM server includes the first “Content-Type: applicationicati”.
On / X-mmm ", the MMM server recognizes that this is a command group for the electronic mail system of the present invention. That is, “C
ontent-Type: application / X
-Mmm ”is a part of the MMM server or the MM that supports the electronic mail system of the present invention.
Commands related to the M terminal.

At 502, a part of the command group is described.
Thus, the command group includes the version number of the MMM protocol, the source address, the destination address of the original mail content, the number of transmitted content parts, the number of commands,
The target of the command (to which part is the following command), if it is stored in an external storage medium such as a movie, where it exists and what file, its access control and duration And a series of commands.

By describing the version number of the MMM protocol, it is possible to know which version of the protocol the command group is created for, and to take appropriate measures against differences in version numbers and the like. It is possible to do.

The source address is the address of the sender of the original mail content. The destination address is the destination address of the original mail content 504.

In the present embodiment, these addresses use domain names. Instead, IP addresses (or addresses after the domain names are resolved), E.E. 164 address, NSAP address, ATM
Other types of addresses may be used, such as an address, some personal identification number (such as a national security number, social security number, etc.), or the recipient's address and name.

The number of transmission content parts is, for example, the number of MIME parts of the transmission content 504.

The number of commands indicates the total number of specific individual commands to the MMM server, which are arranged in 502.

In the present embodiment, the command group 503 is intended to allow the sender to distribute animations and moving images on one screen of the HTML from the video server or the database that the MMM server has (or knows). And an example of this command is described.

As described above, whether the video to be inserted should be included in the original part of the mail content 503, the command requesting “video insertion”, the location of the video database and the video name (catalog name and There may be information such as a combination of a movie code name, etc.), an authenticator for accessing the video database, and a show time.

Next, a description will be given of the original mail content 504 and thereafter. As shown in FIG. 5, the sender sends “Co
nent-Type: Multipart / rel
The HTML sentence is transmitted by using “atted; type = Text / HTML”. Each part of the HTML sentence is separated by "-boundary2-".

The parts to be transmitted include a part (505) containing an HTML sentence (including text), a part (506) containing an animation, and a part (507) containing a movie.

The sender is the JPE for animation.
It requests the MMM server to provide the G file from a suitable database for movies and a video on demand server.

For the part 506 where the animation enters and the part 507 where the movie enters, “Content
-Type: application / X-mmm "
From this, it can be understood that the processing of this part is requested to the MMM server.

In the present embodiment, the processing commands for 506 and 507 are included in 502, but the processing command may be directly written in 506 and 507.

In the present embodiment, an authenticator and the like are arranged in this portion, and it is confirmed that the command corresponds to the corresponding command of 502. That is, the database name, identification number, and authenticator (for example, an
A group of commands for image1) and a group of commands for the movie database name, identification number, and authenticator (for example, movie1) are entered. In addition, respective authenticators are arranged in 506 and 507.

Here, an example of a method for inserting these animations or movies will be described. The e-mail user is provided with a catalog or the like in which various animations, movies, and the like are described, from an e-mail provider or the like.

These catalogs may be in the form of a book or a CD-ROM, or may be electronically introduced via the WWW or the like. E-mail users select their favorite from these catalogs. Then, the user's email agent
Identification number of the catalog (or database),
Selected object (animation, movie, etc.)
, And described as a command to the previously introduced MMM server.

The e-mail agent stores the address of the e-mail provider providing the catalog from the catalog number or the address described in the catalog itself, and designates the destination of the e-mail. It is good also as a method of making it a mail provider. By doing so, it becomes possible to directly deliver the e-mail of the user who created the e-mail using a certain catalog to the e-mail provider that provides the catalog.

Further, this can be realized by a browser having a mail function. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to provide registration of catalog contents to a browser in the form of a plug-in to the browser. In this case, if the plug-in ends (step S
91 to step S92), for a mail created using the registration function, the first destination (the destination to which the mail is delivered first) is automatically set as the first MMM server. As a result, the mail created using the browser registration function is automatically delivered to the first MMM server (step S93). Since the function of registering in the browser includes a command interpreted by the MMM server, the MMM server receives only a predetermined command, code number, exchange of catalog number, etc., which has been agreed in advance by both parties. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the detailed description and transmission of content that consumes large capacity between the browser and the MMM server. Therefore, it is possible to greatly simplify the processing of the mail.

Incidentally, including the case of the plug-in, the address of the MMM server (in this case, mmm-server1) known by the sender (in this case, user1) may be far from the sender. This is the case, for example, when the plug-in function is distributed on a CD-ROM or the like, and the CD-ROM contains the address of the MMM server in Tokyo by default.

The operation of the transmitting terminal and the MMM server in this case will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the user in Osaka creates a mail, it is transferred to the MMM server in Tokyo specified by the default address (steps S61 to S6).
2). The MMM server in Tokyo that received the e-mail
The source address is compared with its own address, and the address of the MMM server located closer to the user is notified to the user (steps S63 to S66).
From the next time, the user in Osaka will be able to transfer mail more efficiently, for example, by using an MMM server in Osaka (steps S67 to S68).

The above procedure may be started using a command for the MMM server. Further, these procedures may be automated and incorporated in the MMM mail system. Further, the above procedure may be performed every fixed number of mail transmissions. This makes it possible to check whether the user is using the MMM server at the optimum position at regular intervals.

As another example, when inserting an animation or a movie, consider a case where a certain user attaches a photograph or video of his / her child when issuing a New Year's card or the like by e-mail. At this time, the user registers the photos and videos with an e-mail provider that supports the multimedia mail of the present invention. On the other hand, the e-mail provider assigns a registration number or ID to the photograph or video, and the user assigns the ID to the e-mail so that the photograph or video can be transmitted to each user. Even without transmission from the beginning, the e-mail provider attaches a photo or video, so that data transmission with high communication efficiency can be performed.

Regarding the part 507 in which the movie shown in FIG. 5 is inserted, for example, when the recipient opens the mail, the movie starts at the corresponding portion, or when the recipient clicks the corresponding portion, the movie starts at the corresponding portion. Or, when the recipient clicks on the relevant portion, the screen is switched and the movie starts to be played, and various other forms are conceivable.

(3) Operation of First MMM Server FIG. 8 shows the first MMM server 10 that has received an e-mail.
6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation 3;

The first MMM server 103 receives the e-mail, and if the first MMM server 103 determines that the mail is addressed to itself from the destination address description portion 511 in FIG.
The ME analysis is performed, and the processing target portion “Content-Type: application” in the MMM server is further processed.
If there is "ion / X-mmm", the above-described processing is performed on the portion 502 in which the command group in FIG. 5 is described (steps S11 to S15).

Then, the MMM server 103 refers to the address of the receiving terminal 105 and investigates the mail server (104 in this case) responsible for mail delivery to the receiving terminal 105 by using DNS or the like (step S16). .

The MMM server 103 exchanges a confirmation message in step S2 in FIG. 4 to confirm whether the other mail server 104 is a mail server that supports the electronic mail system of the present invention (that is, the MMM server). (Step S17). In this exchange of messages, it is checked whether the system is the e-mail system of the present invention, its version number, a series of commands for the MMM server, how the distributed processing is to be performed, and a database (in this embodiment). If
Video database) may be searched.

At this stage, the version numbers of the two MMM servers are checked with each other, and the database of the other party is deduced based on the version numbers, and data (for example, animation contents in this case) which the other party seems to have already existed.
May have a function of leaving the insertion to the other party (that is, the second MMM server 104), transmitting only the database number and the identification ID, and reducing the amount of traffic on the network.

As described above, when the insertion of a large amount of data is performed by a transit server as close as possible to the receiver, the use efficiency of the network is improved.

Now, in step S17 of FIG. 7, by exchanging messages between the first MMM server 103 and the second MMM server 104, the insertion of animation is performed by the first MMM server 103. It is assumed that the insertion of the video (movie) is performed by the second MMM server 104 by exchanging the above messages (step S18).

Then, the first MMM server 103 inserts an animation and forwards the mail in a format as shown in FIG. 11 (steps S19 to S21).

The insertion of the animation is performed by processing the command for the MMM server in the portion of 502 (the portion indicated by 612 and clearly specifying the command for the portion 506) and replacing the content of 506 with the contents. Will be

The sender user1 describes a magazine number or a CD-ROM number (database number) in which a desired animation clip is inserted, an identification number thereon, an authenticator, and the like. The first MMM server 103
Refer to. The first MMM server 103 also has the database number as information, and can perform an appropriate search.

The contents after replacement (50
In (6), the JPEG file is directly entered, which is introduced by MIME.

Finally, the transmission address of the header part is changed to the second MMM server 104 as shown at 501.

In the present embodiment, since the processing of the command group related to the movie insertion is to be performed by the second MMM server, the MMM server 10
It is assumed that the original command for the MMM server 103 is written as it is, except for the point (612) indicating that the command has passed through the M.3 and the processing relating to the animation insertion.

Now, the sender of the mail (in this case, user
In the case of 1), there is a case where the user may be worried about how the mail sent by the user arrives at the other party (in this case, user2). There are mistakes in the sentence, whether or not the intended design is included, its layout, and the like. Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the first MMM server 103 (or a second MMM server 104 described later) presents the transmission image to the transmission side before transmitting the mail to the other party. There may be an option (steps S71 to S
78). Then, an e-mail is transmitted to the other party only when transmission permission is obtained from the sender side for the image presentation (steps S79 to S80).

This option is described in “Content-T
type: application / X-mmm ", and may be executed by a command to the MMM server. In this case, a portion that cannot be supported by the first MMM server 103, such as a movie, or a portion that takes a long time to be displayed, is presented to the sender in a form such as "This portion contains a movie". May be.

(4) Operation of second MMM server, second
Next, the operation of the second MMM server 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the second MMM server 104 receives the mail as shown in FIG. 11 (step S31), the second MMM server 104
Part 2 ("Content-Type: appli
By referring to the “action / X-mmm” part), it recognizes that there is a command to be processed by itself, and starts processing (step S32).

By referring to the portion 602, whether the version number is supported by itself (in this embodiment, it is assumed that a version number that can be supported is described), the sender and receiver of the original mail , And a group of commands for what kind of processing should be performed on the original mail (step S36).

In the present embodiment, the original mail 3
Assume that the second part 607 contains a command to insert a pointer to a specific video. That is, the second MMM server 104 searches for a video server via the network 101, checks whether there is a service for the requested video (movie), and if this service is possible, the video-on-demand service The information on the right to access to the mail is given to the part of the original mail (steps S37 to S40). This is to get the recipient of the mail the right to watch the video from the video-on-demand server. Of course, it is also possible to confirm whether the video service is possible between the video on demand server and the receiving terminal.

After performing such processing, the second MMM
The server 104 ends the creation of the mail to be delivered to the receiving terminal 105 (steps S41 to S42).

FIG. 12 shows an example of the mail format. This example is a format in a case where the mail agent of the receiving terminal 105 can support even the case where the electronic mail system of the present invention is not supported.

Reference numeral 901 denotes a mail header. This part describes that the mail is described in the HTML system. Here, the sender of the mail is u
ser1 and the receiver (destination) is the second MM
Edited by the M server 104. 902 is HTML
The root part of the sentence, 903 is the animation part, 90
Reference numeral 4 denotes a movie (video) portion.

As described above, the present embodiment uses the message / external-body system for movie distribution. That is, using the contents described in the portion 904, the user accesses, for example, a video-on-demand server. Therefore, in this part, the information access type (access-type) is video-on-demand, and the position (address) (sit) of the server
e), the name of the video file to be accessed (name), the authenticator for access (key), the attribute information of the connection to be set (connection), and the like are described. It is possible to directly access the video-on-demand server and refer to the video.

The attribute information of the connection to be set (co
connection) includes, for example, the QO of the connection.
S-parameters and the like are included, and for these values, a predetermined default value may be used, or a value notified from the video server may be entered here. In the latter case, it is possible to set appropriate parameters for each video title on demand, and it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in encoding speed and the like.

FIG. 13 shows another example of the final delivery format of the mail, assuming that the receiving terminal 105 supports the electronic mail system of the present invention.
Are described using. Thus, the MIME multi
It is divided into two parts using ipart / mixed, and the first half describes the content for the recipient (user2) and the second half describes the command for the MMM system (mail agent used by the recipient). In the second half of this, the version number, the MMM server that passed through, the MMM server that should act or issue a command,
Commands and the like to the MMM server are described.

[0120] Receiving terminal 105 reads this part, performs necessary processing, for example, accesses the MMM server described here, obtains an access right to the video database, and obtains information on its position and the like. I do.

As described above, the receiving terminal 105 is a terminal owned by the user (user2), or owned by the home, and the second MMM server 10 at any time.
4 to search for mail addressed to him and access the contents.

(5) Network Setting Procedure for Providing Electronic Mail Service FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a network setting procedure for providing the above-described mail service on the network of FIG.

First, the transmitting terminal 102 that has created the mail to be transmitted, for example, transfers the generated mail to the first MMM server 103, and if necessary, separately sets a connection to the first MMM server 103.

The connection 1101 guarantees QOS, for example, CBR (Constant Bit R).
ate) ATM connection. Alternatively, a best-effort connection (for example, a frame relay CIR =
0 or a case like a router network).

Thereafter, the generated mail is transferred via the network 101 to the first MMM server 103 via the path 1101. As described above, this route 1
101 may be a best effort class without bandwidth guarantee or delay guarantee, or a path with quality guarantee may be set and used.

The first MMM server 103 accumulates the transferred multimedia mail and performs the necessary command processing described above. During this command processing, the first MMM
The server 103 may check that the mail server in charge of the destination terminal is the second MMM server 104, and exchange messages with the MMM server 104.
At this time, this message exchange is performed via the Internet in the present embodiment.

The mail processed by the first MMM server 103 is transferred to the second MMM server 104 through the connection 1102.

In the second MMM server 104, the necessary processing (in the case of the present embodiment, the search for the optimum video server accommodating the requested video, and the receiving terminal 1
05 performs various procedures necessary for receiving the video, etc.), and stores the mail in its mail spool.

[0129] The second MMM server 104 may notify the receiving terminal 105 of the arrival of the mail at this time or at the time of arrival of the mail.

[0130] After the search of the video server, if there is no necessary video, for example, the transmission terminal 102 checks whether the video is present or not. If the sender has the video, the video source of the sender is downloaded. It may be set in an on-demand server. In that case, the mail may be delivered to the recipient at the end of the download of the video file. Of course, at the stage of downloading this video, this can be done by best effort transfer. Also, the video download itself,
You may go by e-mail.

Thus, for example, even when the transmitting terminal 102 is not connected to the Internet, multimedia mail can be used. In this case, the transmitting terminal 10
2 and the MMM server 1102 are all performed on the mail.

When it is determined that the location of the searched video server is far from the receiving terminal 103 and that the network resources cannot be effectively used, the necessary video server is searched from the remote video server. Video information
It is also possible to transfer the video information to a video server near the MM server or near the receiving terminal 103, and to reflect information on this address (the storage location of the video file) in the description of the last video part. . By doing so, unnecessary traffic during video playback can be minimized, and efficient operation of communication network resources can be achieved.

When selecting a video, the MMM
If the server has information on the state of the network, such as bandwidth information with the receiving terminal 105, the bandwidth information is reflected. For example, when the bandwidth is narrow, the compression method of the attached video is large. It is also possible to perform an optimal process such as selecting.

It is also conceivable that the receiver cannot use the video server. In this case, taking into consideration the communication band of the network to which the MMM server and the receiver are connected, for example, the video information that is desired to be inserted is subjected to appropriate compression processing (for example, MPEG). The mail may be transmitted in a form incorporated in the portion 904 in FIG.

On the other hand, the user 2 of the receiving terminal 105 subscribing to the second MMM server 104 accesses the second MMM server 104 at his own convenience.

Then, the user 2 can view the contents of the mail through, for example, a mail browser. That is, it is possible to list the mail list addressed to the user, and to select and refer to a mail whose detailed message is desired from the list.

As described above, the mail referred to by the user of the receiving terminal 105 needs to transfer wide-band information including moving images in addition to texts and simple animations. 110
In addition to 3, the connection 1104 that guarantees quality such as bandwidth and delay time characteristics sufficient for transferring multimedia information between the video-on-demand server described in the mail and the receiving terminal 105 may be set. Good.

For example, as shown in FIG.
Subtract AN (Home Area Network)
The home may be networked. At this time, the home external network and the home network are connected to each other by, for example, a set-top box 1106.

The quality assurance connection 1105 is set inside the HAN, and the interconnection with the connection 1104 is established by coordinating between heterogeneous networks using a node serving as an interface inside and outside the home such as a set-top box, for example. It is possible. Of course, if the network outside the home is composed of a combination of heterogeneous networks, such a connection is also possible via the necessary network connection.

The connections 1104 and 1105 are set, and these connections are set to the set-top box 11.
At 06, the user of the receiving terminal 105 can view the moving image distribution included in the mail without quality deterioration.

When the connections 1104 and 1105 are established, the parameters (signaling parameters) defining the QOS may use the values described in the command “X-mmm”, or the parameters necessary for the video server. May be asked later. If necessary, monetary settlements can be included in these procedures using methods such as electronic commerce.

By doing so, the MMM server can handle traffic that is expected to impose an excessive load on the network or the receiving terminal side, such as a video of an extremely long time, at the time of mail distribution to the home. It is possible to save the data on the side (or a video-on-demand server or the like), and it is possible to reduce the load on the recipient / home storage (storage capacity).

Also, by establishing a connection or the like between the server and the user to guarantee QOS when necessary and displaying a moving image, the communication resources can be effectively used for the network, and a high-quality moving image can be displayed for the user. It is possible to enjoy advantages such as appreciation.

Quality Assurance Connections 1101, 1102
And 1104 and 1105 need not be set at the same time.

The procedure when the receiving terminal 105 finishes receiving the mail is as follows.
Release 105. At this time, the mail accessed by the user of the receiving terminal 105 may be automatically deleted from the mail server 104, or may be retained until a certain period of time by an instruction from the transmitting terminal 102, or After the user 105 has completed the access, "erase" may be set. The receiving terminal 10
5 can be deleted or retained by an instruction from the user. A mail processing method realized by combining these instructions may be used. Further, the e-mail provider may charge the user for storing the mail.

The transmitting / receiving terminal handling the electronic mail needs an editing work such as creation and transfer of the reply, saving a part or all of the mail, and a general function of creating the sent mail. This function can be implemented in the receiving terminal 105, for example. This is possible if each terminal is equipped with a mail browser function and a mail authoring function.

On the other hand, the MMM server 104 can perform such processing. In that case, the mail recipient
While accessing the MM server and setting the connections 1104 and 1105 for quality assurance as described above, prepare a connection between the terminal and the MMM server that realizes a sufficiently high-speed band and response time. It is possible for the processor power of the MMM server to provide editing work such as cutting necessary parts, attaching different information, merging, copying, and image processing.

Information transferred for mail creation (for example, moving picture information to be included in outgoing mail) is stored in MMM server 10.
3 and stored in the user terminal 1 of the transmitting terminal 102.
Performs editing work from the transmission terminal 102. For example, editing and setting such as cut and paste of information, creation of content display, designation of destination, designation of retention period of mail information, necessity of reception confirmation, necessity of recipient authentication (confidentiality), and necessity are performed.

The MMM server is provided with an interface so that these operations can be easily provided to the user.

In general, a plurality of e-mails are sent to a recipient. As a mail browser, for example, a format as shown in FIG. 15 can be considered. Each mail is displayed, for example, on an initial screen of HTML, or a part thereof is simultaneously displayed for a plurality of e-mails.

However, mails that cannot be displayed can be scrolled. The display order of the mail is defined in advance by the recipient or the provider. For example, express mail, confidential mail, etc. will be displayed first,
Alternatively, various combinations can be defined, such as displaying mail from a specific person preferentially, displaying direct mails such as advertisements at the end, and so on.

(6) Various Embodiments of E-mail System The above description is effective when the terminal on the receiving side is usually turned off, or when there is not enough storage device in each user's terminal. become. That is, the received mail is
Spooled to the MMM server 104, and the receiving terminal 105 opens it when necessary.

On the other hand, in the form of the mail system shown in FIG. 16, a buffer for pooling mail exists on the mail receiver side, and when mail is sent from the mail server, the mail server A service for sending (at least a part of) the mail.
This includes a case where the mail recipient has a mail server function at his / her home, for example. As shown in FIG. 16, in the following description, it is assumed that the number of mail servers that pass through is one.

In FIG. 16, one of the communication facilities on the receiver side is shown.
A mail spool function (storage device 1) is provided in (or around) a set-top box (STB)
305), the mail addressed to the receiving terminal 1306 detected by the mail server 1303 is stored in the storage device 1305.
Delivered to It is assumed that the STB 1304 and the storage device 1305 are always powered on.

To check whether the STB 1304 is operating or not, for example, the mail server 1303 and the STB 1
A confirmation protocol works between the server and the server. This protocol is active, for example, if a telephone / ISDN is dialed and the STB responds, and if there is no response, again
It is also possible to use a form in which confirmation is performed after a while. Alternatively, the STB may send the mail information unconditionally if it is considered that the STB is always in operation (for example, when the STB is registered as an uninterruptible terminal).

If the storage device linked to STB 1304 is also operating, it is checked if necessary, and the content information is sent. In this case, as in the case of the e-mail shown in FIG. 12, video data which is supposed to occupy a large disk capacity is not included, and only other contents are transmitted.

Since this information transfer does not require a real-time property, the information may be transferred from the MMM server to the STB and the storage device over time.

[0158] Since the capacity of the storage device is finite and differs for each individual, a protocol for confirming the transferable information capacity may be operated between the server and the storage device.

On the receiver side, from his / her own terminal 1306,
For example, the user can access the storage device 1305 in the house, and can check the outline of the arrival mail while viewing the mail browser screen, for example.

When video information and the like contained in the mail are accessed by accessing the mail server and distributed on a video-on-demand basis, the MMM server 1303 sends the STB1
Path 1307, STB with required quality up to 304
Path 1 from 1304 that secured the required quality via HAN
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which, when both 308 are secured, the mail is displayed on the mail browser of the recipient via the browser screen or the like described above.

Unnecessary mails are stored as they are in the storage device 130.
5, it is also possible to notify the provider of the deletion and request processing of the mail. Note that the method described above can be adopted except that the content information is stored in the storage device 1305.

In the above description, the video information (movie) of the mail content itself has been stored in the video server. However, it may be possible that the video information (movie) is under the sender (user1 in this case). In this case, as shown in FIG. 17, the receiving terminal 105 establishes a connection 1401 directly with the transmitting terminal 102 to obtain video information.
This connection is desirably a connection that satisfies the communication quality (QOS) (for example, a CBR connection).

In the processing command included in the e-mail received by the receiving terminal 105, the transmitting terminal 102 is specified as the storage location of the video information file, and its file name, access authenticator, required communication quality, etc. Is described.

The receiving terminal 105 analyzes such a processing command and establishes the connection 1401. The transmission terminal 102 establishes a connection 1 that satisfies sufficient communication quality for video transmission with the reception terminal 105.
Video distribution is started via 401 without a relay operation of a video server or the like. Such a method is effective, for example, when the sender wants to keep the transmission video confidential, but requires sufficient consideration on the security of the transmission terminal 102 side.

In the above description, connection 1 in FIG.
104, 1105, or connection 1 in FIG.
As described in 307, the QOS connection for video delivery has been described as being established on the same network as the mail delivery (the Internet in this embodiment). However, establishing these connections is
Of course, it may be performed via a network (for example, B-ISDN) different from a network (for example, the Internet) that transfers mail.

This case will be described below.

The connection for video delivery is established as follows:
This is performed according to a connection setting procedure from the receiving terminal 105 that triggers the video delivery or the second mail server 104 that has received the video delivery instruction. Information such as which network should be used to establish a connection may be explicitly included in the processing command in the e-mail.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of video transfer via a different type of network. In the case where the transmitting terminal triggers connection setting with the MMM server via another network. is there.

When the transmitting terminal receives the mail (or calls the stored mail) and learns that the video content is stored in the MMM server (or a video server at an arbitrary position, etc.), the transmitting terminal transmits the mail. It is known from the processing command group that connection to the MMM server is possible via a specific network (for example, B-ISDN) (steps S51 to S53). Then, the sending terminal is MM
The connection setting is performed with the M server via the B-ISDN (steps S54 to S55). This is directly via the B-ISDN net, 2931
(ITU recommended call control protocol) It may be performed using a signaling procedure, or a message may be exchanged with the MMM server via the Internet to prompt the MMM server to establish the MMM server.

Before and after the connection is established, a video delivery request message is exchanged between the transmitting terminal and the MMM server. This message exchange may be performed via B-ISDN (user / user information of signaling or an established connection) or may be performed via the Internet.

A video delivery is requested from the MMM server side, and the MMM server starts the video delivery via the connection (steps S56 to S58).

As described above, video delivery is provided on a network different from the Internet, so that even when the Internet supports only best-effort data transfer and high-quality video transfer cannot be provided, the QOS of another network can be used. With support features, users can watch high-quality videos.

Next, with respect to the processing and format of the mail until the mail sent from the transmitting terminal 102 is delivered to the receiving terminal 105, a method different from that shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. .

The difference from FIG. 3 is that the destination of the mail is all the receiving terminal (user2) from the beginning. Intermediate mail server (MMM server) 103, 1
04 is “Content-T” from the received mail.
type: application / X-mmm "is extracted, the command in the item is processed, and the mail is sequentially forwarded.

Except for the point that the transmitted mail (the original mails 3002, 3005, 3008 to user2) is not encapsulated in, for example, the MIME format as shown in FIG.
Basically, the embodiments described above can be used as they are.

As a result, the mail is sent to the MMM due to some mistake.
Even if the mail is not delivered to the server,
It can be delivered to ser2. If there is an MMM server somewhere in the middle of the delivery, the recipient (user2)
Can enjoy the multimedia mail service of the present invention. Note that the MIME "Cont"
The “ent-Type” is, for example, “multipa
rt / mixed ”may be used.

The MMM servers 103 and 104 may provide a service for notifying the recipient of the received information when the mail is received from the sender. For example, an e-mail address registered by the recipient in advance, or a telephone number, a pager number, a mobile telephone number, a PHS number, a future mobile terminal PDA, or the like, is notified according to the functions necessary and possessed by the partner terminal. Send information.

According to the type of the designated terminal, such as a text if the e-mail is text-based, a voice if it is a telephone, a facsimile, or a pager if the e-mail is a sender, the contents of the transfer message or the sender who needs the notification, Specify the type of multimedia mail.

In this embodiment, most of the processing of the commands included in the electronic mail is performed by the mail server (MMM).
Although the description has been given of the mode performed by the server), if the function of the mail agent used by the user is sophisticated, a series of commands (“X-mm
m) may be processed by the mail agent on the transmission side or the reception side. In that case, processing such as cooperation with the database is performed by the mail agent itself on the user side.

The electronic mail system according to the present invention can realize various functions in addition to animation and video insertion. For example, in the portion 202 in FIG.
This can be realized by providing a command requesting these.

(A) Translation of electronic mail contents. In the command part, "How many words should be translated?"
And so on. FIG. 20 shows the flow of processing of the MMM server at that time.

In FIG. 20, the MMM server receives the e-mail, and if it judges that the e-mail is addressed to itself from, for example, the description portion 511 of the destination address in FIG. Target part "Content-Type: applica
If there is a processing command requesting translation, the translation processing is executed for the part specified by the processing command, the translation result is embedded in the specified part, and processed as necessary. The command is rewritten, the destination address is rewritten, and the like, and the mail is transmitted (steps S101 to S106).

(B) Timed delivery of electronic mail. It is assumed that the delivery time of the e-mail can be specified in units of, for example, "year, month, day, hour, minute". For example, this is a convenient function for delivering New Year's cards. FIG. 21 shows the flow of processing of the MMM server at that time.

In FIG. 21, for example, when an electronic mail is received by the MMM server closest to the mail receiver, and it is determined that the electronic mail is addressed to itself from, for example, the destination address description portion 511 in FIG. 5, the MIME of the electronic mail is determined. Analysis is performed and the processing target part "Content
-Type: application / X-mmm "
If there is a command requesting timed delivery, the mail is transferred to the receiving terminal at the designated time (steps S111 to S114).

(C) Handwritten character recognition of electronic mail. The transmitting side sends the handwritten characters to the MMM server in a bitmap pattern, a facsimile format, or the like. The MMM server performs automatic recognition of the handwritten character, converts the character code, and delivers the mail. FIG. 22 shows the flow of processing of the MMM server at that time.

In FIG. 22, when the MMM server receives the electronic mail and determines that the mail is addressed to itself from the destination address description portion 511 in FIG. 5, for example, it performs MIME analysis of the electronic mail and performs processing in the MMM server. Target part "Content-Type: applica
tion / X-mmm ", if there is a processing command that requires handwritten character recognition, the handwritten character recognition is executed for the part specified by the processing command, and the character recognition result is embedded in the specified part. Then, rewriting of the processing command, rewriting of the destination address, and the like are performed in accordance with the request, and the mail is transmitted (steps S121 to S126).

The processing functions (a) to (c) described above may be provided not only in the mail (MMM) servers 103 and 104 but also in the transmitting terminal 102 and the receiving terminal 105.

By the way, the mail servers 103 and 104
Has both the function of realizing the e-mail system of the present invention and the function of the existing mail server. However, these functions can be provided in separate devices to configure the e-mail system. . In the latter case, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 23 can be considered.

In FIG. 23, mail server 2401
Has the function of an existing mail server, and mainly has a function of assigning addresses of servers and nodes to be reached next to received e-mails and sending them to the network.

A multimedia mail processing device (hereinafter referred to as M
An MM processing device 2402 is capable of interpreting a process command group included in an e-mail and executing the process (for example, “C
ontent-Type: application / X
-Mmm ").

The mail server 2401 serves as a client of the MMM processing device 2402, and operates in cooperation with each other to implement the MM for realizing the electronic mail system of the present invention.
The functions of the M servers 103 and 104 may be realized.

Although the above embodiment does not mention the encryption of the mail content, the exchange is performed after the necessary encryption is performed.
Needless to say, the processing needs to be performed between the mail servers 103 and 104 and the receiving terminal 105.

In the above embodiment, the case where two or more mail servers intervene has been described.
It is of course possible for mail to be delivered via only one mail server. In this case, the mail transferred from the sending terminal to the only mail server that is passed only has a format such as the mail 301 in FIG. 3, and the mail server processes and executes all the processing commands included in the received mail. The mail is transferred to the receiving terminal in a format such as the mail 307 in FIG.

[0194]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Efficient use of existing communication equipment to decentralize the processing of multimedia-compatible e-mails on the network, reduce the load on e-mail sending and receiving terminals, and improve e-mail support for advanced multimedia Make it possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a network to which an electronic mail system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a format of an e-mail transmitted by a transmission terminal.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view for explaining a process of processing an electronic mail until the electronic mail sent from the transmitting terminal is received by the receiving terminal.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an e-mail transfer procedure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining in detail a format of an e-mail sent from the transmitting terminal to the first MMM server.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure of a browser plug-in of an additional function of e-mail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure for facilitating access to an MMM server arranged at an optimum position when providing a supplementary service for an e-mail from a transmission terminal.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first MMM server that has received the e-mail.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first MMM server that has received the e-mail, and shows the operation when the processing image is executed and the resulting e-mail reproduction image is sent to the transmission terminal. It is.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a second MMM server that has received an e-mail.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary view for explaining in detail a specific example of a format of an e-mail received by the second MMM server;

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining in detail a specific example of the format of an e-mail transmitted from the second MMM server and received by the receiving terminal.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining in detail another specific example of the format of an e-mail transmitted from the second MMM server and received by the receiving terminal.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary view for explaining a network setting procedure when the electronic mail service of the present invention is provided on the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a view showing a display example of an e-mail browser on the receiving terminal.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of a network setting procedure for providing an electronic mail service, in which a receiving terminal has a buffer for spooling received mail.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing still another example of a network setting procedure for providing an electronic mail service, in which content information to be inserted into an electronic mail is stored in a transmission terminal.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of a connection setting procedure when transferring content information (video image) inserted into an e-mail via different types of networks.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary view for explaining another example of a process of processing an electronic mail until the electronic mail sent from the transmitting terminal is received by the receiving terminal.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining an electronic mail translation processing procedure in the WWW server.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a specified time distribution process of an e-mail in the WWW server.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a procedure for recognizing handwritten characters of an electronic mail in the WWW server;

FIG. 23 shows a configuration example of an e-mail system in which a multimedia processing apparatus having a function for realizing the e-mail system of the present invention and an apparatus having both functions of an existing mail server are separately connected to a network. Figure.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: network, 102: transmitting terminal (first information processing device), 103: first mail server, 104: second mail server, 105: receiving terminal (second information processing device).

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An e-mail system for distributing an e-mail from a first information processing apparatus to a second information processing apparatus via one or more mail servers on a network, wherein the e-mail includes: A processing command to be executed in the mail server or the second information processing device is described for the e-mail, and at least one of the mail server through which the e-mail passes and the second information processing device is described. An e-mail system comprising means for executing the processing of the processing command described in the received e-mail. 2. An electronic mail system for distributing an electronic mail from a first information processing device to a second information processing device via one or more mail servers on a network, wherein the electronic mail includes: A processing command to be executed in the mail server or the second information processing device is described for the e-mail, and at least one of the mail server through which the e-mail passes and the second information processing device is described. An electronic mail system comprising means for executing processing of a processing command described in a received electronic mail and rewriting the processing command as necessary. 3. A mail server that has received the electronic mail executes the processing of the processing command in accordance with the processing method of the processing command determined with another mail server through which the electronic mail passes. 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the processing command is rewritten in response to the electronic mail, and the electronic mail is delivered to the second information processing apparatus. 4. 4. A storage device for storing content information inserted into an electronic mail is connected to the network, wherein the mail server or the second information processing device is
Upon receiving an e-mail in which a processing command requesting insertion of the content information is described, extracting the content information from the storage device based on the identification information of the content information included in the processing command, and inserting the content information into the e-mail. The electronic mail system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 5. A mail server through which the e-mail passes executes the processing of the processing command, rewrites the processing command as necessary, and as a result,
3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a reproduction image of the electronic mail distributed to the first information processing apparatus is distributed to the first information processing apparatus before being distributed to the second information processing apparatus. Email system. 6. The mail server through which the electronic mail passes executes the processing of the processing command, rewrites the processing command as needed, and as a result,
Transfer the reproduced image of the e-mail distributed to the second information processing apparatus to the first information processing apparatus before distributing the reproduced image to the second information processing apparatus, and permit the first information processing apparatus in response to the transfer. 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein an electronic mail is delivered to the second information processing device when the electronic mail is obtained. 7. A storage device for storing content information inserted in an electronic mail is connected to the network, and the content information inserted in the electronic mail delivered to the second information processing device is stored in the electronic mail. Set between the storage device and the second information processing device based on information about communication quality for transferring the content information included in a processing command requesting insertion of the content information described in an email The second connection through the established connection
2. The information is distributed to an information processing apparatus.
Or the electronic mail system according to claim 2.