JPH11101652A - Electronic mail data receiver, electronic mail host apparatus, medium storing their program, and electronic mail system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To receive only electronic mails which can be processed in a mounted terminal corresponding to the use of a vehicle. SOLUTION: The time required come from the present point to the destination is computed (S46) and the limit of gaining the information is computed (S50). According to that, in the list of the electronic mails (catalog file), the mails which can be received are high-lighted and displayed (S51). A user, therefore, can select the electronic mails which can be received and can receive the mails (S53).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to communication of electronic mail data in an electronic mail data terminal in a vehicle and electronic mail data in an electronic mail host device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile communications such as mobile phones and car phones have become widespread. Such mobile communication,
Normally, voice signals were exchanged, but data communication using a personal computer or the like has become widespread, and data communication using a portable terminal for mobile communication has also become widespread.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-139747 discloses a portable terminal capable of exchanging electronic mail and the like. By bringing such a mobile terminal into the vehicle or by providing the in-vehicle terminal with a similar function, data communication such as exchange of electronic mail can be performed in the vehicle.

[0004]

Here, the vehicle is a means of transportation, and when the vehicle normally reaches the destination, the trip is ended. For this reason, when the communication terminal is mounted on a vehicle, even if the e-mail is read out and all unread e-mails are received, there is a possibility that all the cases cannot be processed while the vehicle is in use. In particular, when the number of received mails is large as compared with the time required to reach the destination from the current location, such a situation is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an electronic mail data receiving apparatus, an electronic mail host apparatus, and a program for storing an electronic mail host apparatus capable of receiving an electronic mail in an in-vehicle terminal according to use of a vehicle. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a media and an e-mail system.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an e-mail data receiving apparatus mounted on a vehicle, which receives e-mail data. And selecting means for selecting e-mail data that matches the e-mail data, and receiving the selected e-mail data.

[0007] As described above, it is possible to select and acquire the data corresponding to the use time of the vehicle from the electronic mail data. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from obtaining an item that cannot be seen within the usage time. For example, it is preferable that the amount of e-mail data that can be acquired is detected in consideration of the time required for communication and the time required for sound reproduction, and that e-mail data corresponding to this amount be acquired.

The present invention also provides an e-mail data receiving apparatus for receiving e-mail data mounted on a vehicle, comprising: route information obtaining means for obtaining scheduled travel route information of the vehicle; Selecting means for selecting e-mail data that can be received while traveling,
Receiving the selected e-mail data. If a route is set and the vehicle travels along the route, the trip time to the destination can be detected relatively easily. Therefore, based on the trip time, it is possible to determine the amount of e-mail to be acquired to a value that can be processed during traveling. It is also preferable to consider traffic congestion and the like when calculating based on the route.

Further, the present invention is characterized by having a voice reading means for reading out the obtained electronic mail data by voice. During driving, the driver cannot read the display sufficiently, and can know the contents of the e-mail by reading out the voice.

[0010] Further, the present invention is characterized in that the voice reading means reads only a keyword in electronic mail data. By reading out only the keyword, the reading time can be reduced, and the short time can be effectively used.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that only information other than the text is obtained as electronic mail data which can be processed within the time or in the route. For example, it is preferable to obtain a sender, a title, a file size, and the like to obtain an overview. In particular, by acquiring the size of the file first, it is possible to determine which e-mails can be acquired during the use of the vehicle and can be processed up to voice reading.
Therefore, it is possible to determine which e-mail to acquire from information other than the text.

The present invention also provides an e-mail host device for transmitting an e-mail to an on-vehicle e-mail terminal mounted on a vehicle, wherein the e-mail host device detects time when the vehicle is used or planned traveling route information of the vehicle. An amount of e-mail data that can be processed within the time when the vehicle is used is selected and transmitted from all e-mail data addressed to the on-vehicle e-mail terminal.

The present invention also relates to an e-mail system for transmitting an e-mail from an e-mail host device to an on-vehicle e-mail terminal mounted on a vehicle. Detect information,
An amount of e-mail data that can be processed within a time when the vehicle is used is selected and transmitted from all the e-mail data addressed to the on-vehicle e-mail terminal.

Further, the present invention relates to a medium recording a program for achieving the above-described operation in an electronic mail data receiving apparatus and an electronic mail host apparatus. Such a medium may be a recording medium of various forms such as a CD-ROM, and may be provided by communication. In particular, the program of the e-mail data receiving device can be provided by the e-mail host device through communication.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information center (e-mail host device) side. The information center 10 exchanges various information, e-mails, and the like through communication via the Internet 12 or the like. The information center 10 is a server 1
4, a processing unit 16, a communication unit 18, and a memory 20. The server 14 is connected to the Internet 12,
Various communications via the Internet 12 (in this example,
In particular, processing for e-mail communication) is performed. In addition,
Although described as the Internet 12, other e-mail services may be used. The processing unit 16 is connected to the server 14 and recognizes the information amount of the received mail, the information amount of each text, audio, still image, and moving image, and creates a catalog file for the information amount. In addition, the electronic mail and the catalog file are referred to as electronic mail data. The communication unit 18 is connected to mobile terminals via base stations of the mobile telephone network 22. If direct communication means is provided, it may be used. The memory 20 connected to the processing unit 16 stores an e-mail, a catalog file created in the processing unit 16 as described above, and the like. It is preferable that a program for e-mail processing in the processing unit 16 be stored in the memory 20. It is preferable that this program be stored in a memory such as a CD-ROM or transmitted via communication.

Here, there is a registered user for the information center 10, and an e-mail addressed to this user is received and stored in the memory 20. Then, in response to the access from the user, the electronic mail to the user is provided to the user. Note that the user can access the communication unit 18 of the information center 10 and the Internet 1
2 can also be accessed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mobile terminal (e-mail data receiving device) 30. Mobile phone 32
Are connected to an ECU 36 via a modem 34.
The mobile phone 32 is a mobile phone or a car phone, and is connected to the information center 10 via the mobile phone network 22.
The modem 34 performs modulation and demodulation for data communication using the mobile phone 32 of the ECU 36. A memory 38 is connected to the ECU 36. The memory 38 includes a hard disk and a RAM, and stores application programs and various data necessary for the operation of the ECU 36. In particular, it is preferable that a program for e-mail processing is stored in the memory 38, and this program stores what is stored in a CD-ROM or the like or transmitted by communication in the memory 38. Furthermore, E
The speaker 42 is connected to the CU 36 via the voice synthesizer 40, and the display unit 44 is connected to the speaker 42.

Therefore, the received e-mail is
The CU 36 processes the electronic mail and outputs the contents of the electronic mail by voice based on the processing result, or the electronic mail can be displayed on the display unit 44 and provided to the user.

The ECU 36 is also connected to a map database 46, a GPS device 48, and the like, and searches for a route to a destination, displays a current position, and runs the vehicle with a route set, similarly to a normal navigation device. Perform route guidance. In addition, the display required for the navigation function,
Audio output is also performed by the speaker 42 and the display unit 44.

FIG. 3 shows the processing in the information center 10 when a mail request is made from a user. When a user (mobile terminal 30) requests an e-mail, the server 14 fetches an e-mail addressed to the user via the Internet 12 (S11). Then, based on the content of the received e-mail, the processing unit 16
Creates a catalog file (S12). This catalog file includes the title, size, reception time, sender, and the like. Then, the created catalog file is transmitted to the user (S13). Further, it is determined whether there is a transmission request for the designated file (e-mail) (S14). If there is a transmission request, the file is transmitted (S15).

FIG. 4 shows the processing in the mobile terminal 30. First, the route is calculated by the ECU 36 based on the setting of the destination (S21). Then, based on the calculated route, the required time (trip time) of the current trip (drive) is calculated (S22). In calculating the required time, it is preferable to take into account traffic congestion information and the like that can be obtained through various communications.

Next, an information acquisition limit is calculated (S2).
3). This takes into account the service area of the mobile telephone line network (for example, cellular phone) 22 in addition to the calculated route and the required time. That is, the travel time of the vehicle,
It is determined in consideration of the information acquisition time occupied by the information and the time for reproducing the information.

For example, assuming a commuting trip of about 20 km and 45 minutes, 1/3 (1
The information reproduction time is about 5 minutes), and the information acquisition capacity is calculated from the remaining 30 minutes, the communication speed, and the service area coverage. Here, the information capacity that can be reproduced for 15 minutes by voice synthesis or the like is estimated to be about 10 kbytes (k bytes). This corresponds to 320 characters per minute and 640 bytes. When it is estimated that the user listens repeatedly, it is estimated that about 3 to 5 kbytes is an appropriate amount of information. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of communication capacity, when using the current digital mobile phone,
The data rate is estimated to be around 5 kbps. Assuming a movement of 30 minutes at this data rate, communication of about 1.2 Mbytes is possible. Therefore, 2/3 of the trip
Is reserved for data reception, the time for communication is sufficient, and it can be said that it is preferable to limit the communication contents. The service area of the mobile telephone network 22 is stored in the map database 46.

As described above, when the information acquisition limit is calculated, the user selects acquisition of the user's e-mail as a process. With this, the ECU 36 makes the modem 34,
The information center 10 is accessed via the mobile telephone 32 (S24). Then, an e-mail addressed to itself is received from the information center 10. Here, the mobile terminal 30 supplies the information about the calculated information acquisition limit (information acquisition capacity) to the information center 10 side. The information center 10 compares the information acquisition capacity with the capacity of the e-mail to be sent.
Send only the catalog file. Then, the mobile terminal 30 receives the catalog file (S2).
5). Then, the ECU 36 displays the received catalog file on the display unit 44 (S26).

At this time, those whose capacity is less than the limit are highlighted based on the information acquisition capacity. For example, FIG.
As shown in (1), if there are four e-mails, and the senders are "Nakajima" and "Morita", the e-mails are highlighted if their capacities are less than the limit.

Then, the process waits for the user's selection (S27).
If the user has made a selection, the designated file is reproduced (S28). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the full text is displayed on the display unit 44, the part indicated by the underline is read aloud (output from the speaker 42). Such a selection of the voice reading portion can use a keyword extraction program. Since these programs have a function of automatically extracting a keyword from a context, by reading out only the keyword extracted using this function, the reading time can be reduced. For example, proper nouns, date and time,
Automatically extract before and after keywords such as location and meeting name, or play only proper nouns. In addition, the system may be configured such that the sender indicates in advance the portion to be highlighted by capital letters or the like. It should be noted that whether or not to perform the read-aloud reproduction of only the keyword is set in advance or can be set before the reproduction.

When such reproduction is performed, the communication acquisition limit is recalculated (S29). Then, the highlight of the catalog is displayed based on the result of the recalculation (S30).
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, for the mail of “Morita” that has been played back, a full-text display mark is displayed, and “Nakajima” that can be played back in this state is highlighted.

The recalculation of the catalog display need not always be performed. Particularly when there is not enough time, it may be better to obtain the next mail rather than performing recalculation. Therefore, recalculation may be performed only when instructed.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a process in a case where an instruction to acquire an e-mail is given during traveling. In this case, first the ECU
36 determines whether the user has requested a new list (S41). If the determination is YES, the information center 10 is requested to provide a list (S42).

On the information center 10 side, as shown in FIG. 3, the server 14 updates this e-mail data and creates a catalog file. Then, the created catalog list is transmitted to the mobile terminal 30.

The mobile terminal 30 updates the catalog file with the catalog file sent from the information center 10 (S43). In the case of NO in S41, the catalog file acquired last is adopted (S4
4).

In this way, when the catalog file is ready, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is currently on the route (S45). That is, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a route on a trip in which a route to the destination is set. If the determination is YES, the required time from the current location to the destination is calculated (S46). On the other hand, S45
If NO in step S47, it is determined whether or not it is immediately after the route calculation (S47). If YES in this determination, it is considered that traveling along the route will be performed from now on, so the process proceeds to S46.
It is also preferable to determine whether to proceed to S46 in consideration of the relationship between the current location and the route. In S47, N
In the case of O, the destination cannot be specified, and therefore the time required for this trip cannot be specified. Therefore, the required time is set to a preset time x minutes (S48). The set time x minutes may be set by the user.

When the processing of S46 or S48 is completed, a setting is made for reading out the whole sentence or reading out the keyword (S49). If there is no change in the setting, the user does not need to make any input, and it is preferable to request the user's operation only when the setting is changed.

When the required time is calculated and the output format is determined in this way, the information acquisition limit is calculated accordingly (S50). Next, according to the information acquisition limit, the available files are highlighted and the catalog file is displayed (S5).
1).

The display of the catalog file is requested by the user, and it is determined whether or not there is a selection (S52).
If there is no selection, the process returns to S51. When the user selects a file, the user accesses the information center 10 and obtains the selected file. That is, in the information center 10, as shown in FIG.
0 based on the request from the mobile terminal 3
The mobile terminal 30 receives this by transmitting it to 0 (S53). It should be noted that the file is basically selected one by one, but a plurality of files can be selected at a time. In this case, it is preferable to display not only the capacity of each file but also the combinations that can be obtained.

Next, it is determined whether there is an instruction to read out the full text (S54). If YES, the whole sentence is read out (S55), and if NO, only the keyword is read out (S56). As described above, full-text display is performed on the display unit 44.

In the case where the whole sentence is not read aloud, it is also preferable to obtain only the keyword from the beginning, display it, and read it aloud. In this case, the information center 1
At 0, an automatic keyword extraction process for the text is performed. Then, in the case of acquiring only the keyword, it is preferable to leave it unread or to output only the keyword. In particular, it is preferable not to delete the electronic mail from the information center 10. Thus, the e-mail can be obtained by another terminal.

In this way, in response to an instruction to acquire an e-mail while the vehicle is traveling, acquisition can be limited to those that can be acquired. Depending on the time, it is also preferable not to receive only the catalog file but to receive the text of the e-mail.

In the above example, the calculation of the information acquisition limit and the like are all performed in the mobile terminal 30. However, such processing can be performed in the information center 10.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the mobile terminal 30 provides information about the destination to the information center 10 when requesting an electronic mail addressed to itself. Thereby, the information center 10
Receives the e-mail request and the destination information (S6
1). The information center 10 calculates a trip time to the destination (S62). In the information center 10, it is easy to consider traffic congestion information and the like, and a more reliable required time can be detected. Then, the information acquisition limit is calculated from the detected trip time (S63). The calculation of the information acquisition limit is performed in the same manner as the mobile terminal 30 side. Next, an e-mail addressed to the mobile terminal 30 is obtained, and a catalog file is created from the obtained e-mail (S64). Then, an obtainable file is specified from the relationship between the information acquisition limit and the e-mail, and the contents are attached to a catalog file and transmitted (S65).
Therefore, on the mobile terminal 30 side, the same highlight display as the above case can be performed. Data indicating which file name is to be highlighted is transmitted from the information center 10 to the mobile terminal 3.
0 may be provided, or data about the calculated information acquisition limit may be provided to the mobile terminal 30 and subsequent processing may be performed on the mobile terminal 30 side.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the catalog file can be received, the outline of the received electronic mail can be first known. Therefore,
Important information can also be selected and viewed by the user. In addition, when the catalog file is received, it is possible to grasp how much can be viewed during traveling, so that it is easy to pick up only necessary items. In particular, since the contents whose contents can be viewed are highlighted, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the selected contents are too long to be read. In addition, information that cannot be read even if it can be obtained can be obtained by communication using a normal telephone, and communication costs can be reduced. In addition, since only the keyword can be read out, the reading time can be reduced and the e-mail can be obtained. In a stopped state, it is also preferable that the restriction is not applied as described above.

FIG. 8 shows an image in which the mobile terminal 30 is actually mounted on a vehicle. Thus, the GPS device (GP
The S antenna 48 is provided above the instrument panel in the passenger compartment, and the ECU (portion for performing navigation processing) 36 and the map database 46 are provided in the rear trunk. In addition, the input operation unit, the display unit 44, and the ECU (a unit that performs processing for communication processing) 36
It is integrally formed and is arranged as a wide multi-station 60 in a space between a driver seat and a passenger seat. And in this wide multi station 60,
It is connected via a cable 62 to a cradle 70 constituting the mobile telephone 32.

That is, in this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the mobile phone 32 has a cradle 70,
The mobile phone 72 is placed on the cradle 70. The connector connection terminal 72a of the mobile phone 72
Then, by connecting the connector 70a of the cradle 70, the mobile phone 72 and the cradle 70 are connected. Various devices such as a microphone, a speaker, and a one-touch dial button for hands-free communication are connected to the cradle 70.
By setting 2 in the cradle 70, the portable telephone 72 is used as a hands-free telephone.

The mobile phone 72 is connected to the cradle 7
0 is connected to the ECU 36 via the connector 70a, and functions as the mobile phone 32 described above. Various operations are performed using the input operation unit of the wide multi station 60. It is also preferable to provide a dedicated in-vehicle telephone system in addition to the mobile phone 72.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information center (e-mail host device).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal (e-mail data receiving device).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in an information center.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing in a mobile terminal.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a catalog file.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing in the mobile terminal during traveling.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing in the information center.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image when the mobile terminal is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile phone using a mobile phone.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 information center, 12 Internet, 14 server, 16 processing unit, 18 communication unit, 20 memory, 30
Mobile terminal, 32 mobile phone, 34 modem, 36
ECU, 38 memory, 40 voice synthesizer, 42
Speaker, 44 display unit, 46 map database, 48
GPS device.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail data receiving apparatus mounted on a vehicle for receiving electronic mail data, comprising: a time data obtaining means for obtaining time data for using the vehicle; and selecting electronic mail data corresponding to the obtained time data. An electronic mail data receiving device, comprising: selecting means for receiving selected electronic mail data. 2. An e-mail data receiving device for receiving e-mail data mounted on a vehicle, comprising: route information obtaining means for obtaining scheduled travel route information of the vehicle; and receiving during route travel based on the obtained route information. Selecting means for selecting possible e-mail data; and receiving the selected e-mail data. 3. The electronic mail data receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising: a voice reading unit that reads out the obtained electronic mail data by voice. 4. The electronic mail data receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the voice reading means reads only a keyword in the electronic mail data. 5. The electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein only the information other than the text is acquired as the electronic mail data that can be processed within the time or the route. Data receiver. 6. An on-vehicle e-mail terminal, comprising: an e-mail host device for transmitting an e-mail to an on-vehicle e-mail terminal mounted on a vehicle; An e-mail host device, which selects and transmits an amount of e-mail data that can be processed within a time when the vehicle is used, from all the e-mail data addressed to the e-mail host device. 7. A medium in which a program for causing an electronic mail data receiving device to receive electronic mail data is recorded, wherein time data for obtaining time data for using a vehicle is obtained, and electronic mail data corresponding to the obtained time data is provided. And recording the electronic mail data receiving program, wherein the selected electronic mail data is received. 8. A medium in which a program for causing an electronic mail data receiving device to receive electronic mail data is recorded, wherein a vehicle is configured to acquire scheduled travel route information, and an electronic device capable of receiving during a route travel based on the acquired route information. A medium on which an email data receiving program is recorded, wherein the email data is selected, and the selected email data is received. 9. A medium in which a program for causing an electronic mail host device to send an electronic mail to an on-vehicle electronic mail terminal is recorded, wherein the time when the vehicle is used or the scheduled traveling route information of the vehicle is detected. An e-mail data transmission program, characterized in that, from all e-mail data addressed to an e-mail terminal, an amount of e-mail data that can be processed within the time in which the vehicle is used is selected, and the selected e-mail data is transmitted. The recorded media. 10. An e-mail system for transmitting an e-mail from an e-mail host device to an in-vehicle e-mail terminal mounted on a vehicle, wherein the system detects time when the vehicle is used or information on a planned route of the vehicle. An e-mail system wherein, from all e-mail data addressed to the on-vehicle e-mail terminal, an amount of e-mail data that can be processed within a time when the vehicle is used is selected and transmitted.