JPH11136279A - Server, terminal equipment and electronic mail system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the terminal equipment that informs of an electronic mail immediately when the server receives it. SOLUTION: The system is provided with a reception means 22 that receives data from a computer network, and a cathode ray tube display unit 17 that is displayed by converting data received by the reception means 22 into a video signal, a 1st power supply circuit 18 for the cathode ray tube display unit 17, a reception means 22 that receives a notice denoting reception of an electronic mail from a server, an ON means 20 that activates the 1st power supply circuit 18 when the reception means 22 receives the notice, a 2nd power supply circuit 19 that supplies power to the fetch means 22 and the reception means 22, and means 15, 22, 23 that read the electronic mail and displays it on the cathode ray tube display unit 17 when the ON means 20 activates the 1st power supply circuit 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal device which takes in data from a computer network such as the Internet and an intranet, converts the data into a video signal, and displays it on a screen. The present invention relates to an electronic mail system including a terminal device and a server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The Internet is a computer network in which a large number of computers are connected on a worldwide scale, and each computer stores various information that can be read. This information includes e-mails, various programs, homepages, etc., and can be communicated in both directions. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of connection between each computer and the Internet. In this connection example, the personal computer 7 is connected to the telephone line 2 via a modem 8 or a terminal adapter, and the telephone line 2 is connected to a modem 3 or a terminal adapter of a provider which is a connection service company. The modem 3 is connected to a server 4 which is a computer of the provider.

[0003] The server 4 is always connected to the Internet 6 via a router 5 for setting a relay route. The personal computer 7 makes a call when necessary and connects to the Internet 6 via the provider server 4 (dial-up connection).

[0006] For e-mail, storage areas called mailboxes are provided in the server 4 for the number of recipients, and the server 4 receives document information specifying the recipients.
The server 4 writes the document information in a mailbox corresponding to the designated recipient. The recipient exchanges information by reading out the written document information from the mailbox to the terminal device.

[0005]

As described above, the server 4 receives the document information for which the recipient is specified, writes it in the mailbox corresponding to the specified recipient, and writes the electronic mail into the terminal device. Since the telephone line is connected to the corresponding mailbox from and read to the terminal device, even if an e-mail is received and written to the mailbox,
The terminal device that is the final destination of the e-mail has a problem that it is not possible to notify that the e-mail has been received. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and when receiving an electronic mail, a server, a terminal device, and an electronic mail that can immediately notify a terminal device that is the final destination of the electronic mail. The purpose is to provide a system.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a server stores a received e-mail in a mailbox provided for each address, and reads the received e-mail from the mailbox in response to a read command from a terminal device corresponding to the mailbox. In the server for reading out the e-mail and transmitting it to the terminal device, when the e-mail is received and stored in the mailbox provided for each address, the e-mail is received to the terminal device corresponding to the mailbox. Is provided.

In this server, when an electronic mail is received and stored in a mailbox provided for each address, a means for notifying is sent to a terminal device corresponding to the mailbox.
Notify that you received an email. Then, in response to a read command from the terminal device corresponding to the mailbox, an e-mail is read from the mailbox and transmitted to the terminal device. Thus, when the e-mail is received, the terminal device that is the final destination of the e-mail can be immediately notified.

[0008] A terminal device according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided with a fetching means for fetching data from a computer network. The terminal device converts the fetched data into a video signal and displays it on a screen. A first power supply circuit for receiving, a receiving unit for receiving a notification that the electronic mail has been received from the server, and an ON unit for turning on the first power supply circuit when the receiving unit receives the notification. A second power supply circuit for supplying power to the capture unit and the reception unit; and a unit for reading the electronic mail and displaying the read electronic mail on the screen when the ON unit turns on the first power supply circuit. Features.

In this terminal device, the data fetched by the fetching means is converted into a video signal and displayed on the screen. When the receiving unit receives a notification that the electronic mail has been received from the server, the ON unit turns on the first power supply circuit. Then, the second power supply circuit supplies power to the capturing unit and the receiving unit. The displaying means reads the electronic mail and displays it on the screen when the ON means turns on the first power supply circuit. Thus, when an e-mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the e-mail has been received, and the e-mail can be read and displayed on the screen.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device which includes a fetching means for fetching data from a computer network, and converts the fetched data into a video signal and displays the video signal on a screen. Receiving means for receiving a notification of the reception from the server, reading means for reading the e-mail when the receiving means receives the notification, storage means for storing the e-mail read by the reading means, A second power supply circuit for supplying power to the capturing unit, the receiving unit, the reading unit, and the storage unit.

[0011] In this terminal device, the data fetched by the fetching means is converted into a video signal and displayed on the screen. The receiving unit receives a notification that the electronic mail has been received from the server. And when the receiving means receives the notification,
Reading means reads the e-mail. Then, the storage means stores the electronic mail read by the reading means.
The second power supply circuit supplies power to the capturing unit, the receiving unit, the reading unit, and the storage unit. Thus, when an e-mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the e-mail has been received, and the e-mail can be read and stored. Further, since no power is supplied to the screen, power consumption is small.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device for setting a time at which the second power supply circuit is turned on, a means for turning on the second power supply circuit at the time set by the timer, and Means for making a line connection with the server when the second power supply circuit is turned on.

In this terminal device, at the time set by the timer, the means for turning on turns on the second power supply circuit, and the means for turning on turns on the second power supply circuit. And line connection. Thus, when an electronic mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the electronic mail has been received. Also, only when there is a possibility of receiving an e-mail, the second power supply circuit is turned on and the line is connected, so that power consumption is small and the line usage fee is low.

The electronic mail system according to the fifth invention, when the received electronic mail is stored in a mailbox provided for each address, notifies the terminal corresponding to the mailbox that the electronic mail has been received. A server comprising means and a terminal device according to any one of claims 2 to 4 are provided.

In this electronic mail system, the server is:
When the received electronic mail is stored in a mailbox provided for each address, the terminal device corresponding to the mailbox is notified that the electronic mail has been received, and the terminal device receives the notification. Thus, when the e-mail is received, the terminal device that is the final destination of the e-mail can be immediately notified.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a connection example between a server, a terminal device, an e-mail system and the Internet according to the present invention. In this connection example, a terminal device 1 that is remotely operated by a remote control device 20a and displays a video signal in a video signal on a screen is connected to a telephone line 2.

The terminal device 1 has a function as a television receiver for displaying a video signal in a video signal on a screen and a function as an information display device for capturing data from a computer network, converting the data into a video signal, and displaying the video signal on the screen. And The terminal device 1 has a built-in modem. The telephone line 2 is connected to a modem 3 of a provider which is a connection service company, and the modem 3 is connected to a server 4a which is a computer of the provider.

The server 4a is always connected to the Internet 6, and is connected to the Internet 6 via a router 5 for setting a relay route. Terminal device 1
Thereafter, when the remote control device 20a is operated, a telephone call operation is automatically performed, and the telephone is connected to the Internet 6 via the provider server 4a (dial-up connection).

The configuration of the terminal device 1 is as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2 (relation of audio is omitted). A television wave received by the antenna 10a is tuned by the tuner 10 and tuned. The television signal is detected by a video intermediate frequency / detection circuit 11 as a video signal. The detected video signal is supplied to a video chroma processing unit 12.
Extracts the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals BY and RY.

The extracted luminance signal Y and color difference signal B-
The video signal processor 13 converts Y, RY into red, green, and blue color signals R, G, and B, respectively. The color signals R, G, and B are supplied to an RGB matrix 15 via the switching unit 14 and output to the CRT 17 for each color. The video signal detected by the video intermediate frequency / detection circuit 11 is also supplied to a sync separation / deflection processing unit 16 to extract a vertical sync signal and a horizontal sync signal. The extracted vertical synchronizing signal and horizontal synchronizing signal are supplied to the CRT 17 and used as a screen scanning synchronizing signal.

On the other hand, the Internet processing unit 22 connected to the communication line 24 (telephone line 2) converts the red, green and blue color signals R, G and B of the video signal from the data supplied via the communication line 24. Each color signal R, G, B is extracted
The data is supplied to the RGB matrix 15 via the switching unit 23 and output to the CRT 17 for each color. When displaying only the screen of the Internet, the Internet processing unit 22 independently creates a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal,
The vertical synchronizing signal and the horizontal synchronizing signal are supplied to the CRT 17 and used as a screen scanning synchronizing signal. For example, a storage device 27 such as a hard disk is connected to the Internet processing unit 22, and in the case of the “storage mode” in which an electronic mail is stored when received, the storage device 27 stores the received electronic mail.

The tuning CPU 20 outputs a tuning instruction signal to the tuner 10 in accordance with an instruction from the remote control device 20a, such as an optical signal, a radio signal, etc., and transmits and receives a signal to and from the Internet processing unit 22, and transmits a signal to the terminal device. 1 is operated and controlled. In addition, an instruction signal is output to the on-screen display control unit 21 as necessary,
The video signal is supplied from the on-screen display control unit 21 to the RGB matrix 15.

The channel selection CPU 20 is connected to a power outlet 25 and a television receiver (video signal circuit, CRT
(Including a screen) of the main power supply circuit 18 (first power supply circuit) for supplying power to each circuit. The power outlet 25 is directly connected to a sub-power supply circuit 19 that supplies power to the Internet processing unit 22 and the storage device 27, and the sub-power supply circuit 19 is turned on / off by a channel selection CPU 20. The channel selection CPU 20 is provided with a timer 28 for setting a time at which the sub power supply circuit 19 is turned on.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the server according to the present invention. This server 4a has C
A terminal interface 31 which is an interface between the PU 30, the CPU 30, the Internet 6, and the telephone line 2;
, A storage device 32, and a mailbox 3 which is a storage area provided in the storage device 32 and provided for the number of recipients.
3 to 35.

The operation of the terminal device 1 will be described below. When the mode of operating as a normal television receiver is specified by the channel selection CPU 20, the terminal device 1 transmits the television wave received by the antenna 10 a to the tuner 10 in accordance with an instruction from the channel selection CPU 20. Tuned. From the selected television wave, a video signal is detected by a video intermediate frequency / detection circuit 11, and from the detected video signal, a luminance signal Y and color difference signals BY, RY are detected by a video chroma processing unit 12. Is extracted.

The extracted luminance signal Y and color difference signal B-
The video signal processor 13 converts Y, RY into red, green, and blue color signals R, G, and B, respectively. The color signals R, G, and B are supplied to an RGB matrix 15 via the switching unit 14 and output to the CRT 17 for each color. From the video signal detected by the video intermediate frequency / detection circuit 11, a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal are extracted by a sync separation / deflection processing unit 16. The extracted vertical synchronizing signal and horizontal synchronizing signal are supplied to the CRT 17, and are used as synchronizing signals when the respective color signals R, G, B are scanned on the screen.

In the terminal device 1, when the mode of operating as an information display device is specified by the channel selection CPU 20, the Internet processing unit 22 transmits the red, green, and Each of the blue color signals R, G, and B is extracted, and these color signals R, G, and B are provided to the RGB matrix 15 via the switching unit 23.
The data is output to the CRT 17 for each color. When displaying only the screen of the Internet, the Internet processing unit 22 independently creates a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal,
It is given to the RT 17 and used as a synchronization signal for screen scanning. Further, the Internet processing unit 22 outputs a switching signal, stops the output from the switching unit 14, and switches the input to the RGB matrix 15 only from the switching unit 23 and the on-screen display control unit 21.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server and the e-mail system according to the present invention. When the server 4a receives the document information (e-mail) for which the recipient is specified via the telephone line 2 or the Internet 6 (S10), the server 4a transfers the document information to the mailboxes 33 to corresponding to the specified recipient. 35 (S1
2). Next, the server 4a receives the document information to the destination terminal device that is the recipient of the received document information (S1).
0) is notified (S14).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device and the e-mail system according to the present invention. The terminal device 1 is set to the standby mode in which the server 4a and the telephone line 2 are connected (S20), and the server 4
a that the document information has been received (S10).
14) (S22), if the “storage mode” is set to store when an electronic mail (document information) is received (S24), the mailbox 3 of the server 4a
The document information is sent to the Internet processing unit 22 from
(S26). Next, the terminal device 1 stores the document information read by the Internet processing unit 22 in the storage device 27.
(S28) and returns.

When the main power supply circuit 18 such as the CRT 17 is turned on, if there is document information stored in the storage device 2 (S28), the tuning CPU 20 uses the on-screen display control unit 21 to, for example, The message “There is mail” is displayed on the CRT 17.

If the terminal device 1 has not been set to the "memory mode" (S24), the channel selection CPU 20 turns on the switch circuit 26 and turns on the main power supply circuit 18 (S30). Next, the mailbox 33 of the server 4a
From 35 to 35, the document information is read out to the Internet processing unit 22, displayed on the CRT 17 (S32), and the process returns.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another operation of the terminal device and the electronic mail system according to the present invention.
The time at which the sub power supply circuit 19 is turned on is set in the timer 28. When the set time comes (S40), the terminal device 1 turns on the sub power supply circuit 19 (S42),
The Internet processing unit 22 and the storage device 27 are activated. When activated, the Internet processing unit 22 connects to the server 4a via the communication line 24 (telephone line 2). In this state, the terminal device 1 can receive a notification that the document information has been received from the server 4a.

[0033]

According to the server of the first invention, when an electronic mail is received, it can be immediately notified to the terminal device which is the final destination of the electronic mail.

According to the terminal device of the second invention, when an electronic mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the electronic mail has been received, and the electronic mail can be read and displayed on the screen.

According to the terminal device of the third aspect, when an electronic mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the electronic mail has been received, and to read and store the electronic mail. Further, since no power is supplied to the screen, power consumption is small.

According to the terminal device of the fourth aspect, when an electronic mail is received, it is possible to immediately know that the electronic mail has been received. Also, only when there is a possibility of receiving an e-mail, the second power supply circuit is turned on,
Since the line is connected, the power consumption is small and the line usage fee is low.

According to the electronic mail system of the fifth aspect, when an electronic mail is received, it is possible to immediately notify the terminal device which is the final destination of the electronic mail.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of connection between a server, a terminal device, an electronic mail system, and the Internet according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of a terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a server according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server and the e-mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device and the e-mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device and the e-mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the Internet.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 4a server 6 Internet 14 and 23 Switching part 17 CRT (screen) 18 Main power supply circuit (1st power supply circuit) 19 Sub power supply circuit (2nd power supply circuit) 20 Channel selection CPU (ON means) 22 Internet processing Unit (ON means, receiving means, capturing means, displaying means) 24 communication line (telephone line) 25 power outlet 26 switch circuit 27 storage device (storage device) 28 timer 30 CPU 31 terminal interface 32 storage device 33-35 mail box

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A server which stores a received e-mail in a mailbox provided for each address, reads an e-mail from the mailbox, and transmits the read e-mail to the terminal in response to a read command from a terminal corresponding to the mailbox. A server which, when receiving the electronic mail and storing it in a mailbox provided for each address, notifies a terminal device corresponding to the mailbox of the reception of the electronic mail. . 2. A terminal device comprising a fetching means for fetching data from a computer network, converting the fetched data into a video signal and displaying the video signal on a screen, wherein a first power supply circuit for the screen is provided. Receiving means for receiving a notification that an e-mail has been received from a server; turning on a first power supply circuit when the receiving means receives the notification; A terminal device comprising: a second power supply circuit for supplying power to the means; and a means for reading the electronic mail and displaying the electronic mail on the screen when the ON means turns on the first power supply circuit. 3. A terminal device, comprising: a capturing unit for capturing data from a computer network, wherein the terminal device converts the data captured by the capturing unit into a video signal and displays the video signal on a screen. Receiving means for receiving from the, when the receiving means receives the notification,
Reading means for reading the electronic mail, storage means for storing the electronic mail read by the reading means, a second power supply circuit for supplying power to the reading means, the receiving means, the reading means and the storage means; A terminal device comprising: 4. A timer for setting the time at which the second power supply circuit is turned on, means for turning on the second power supply circuit at the time set by the timer, and the means for turning on the second power supply circuit. The terminal device according to claim 2, further comprising: a unit that connects to the server when the line is connected. 5. A server having means for notifying, when a received electronic mail is stored in a mailbox provided for each address, a terminal device corresponding to the mailbox, that the electronic mail has been received. An electronic mail system comprising: the terminal device described in any one of (2) to (4).