JPH11177714A - Internet access terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain a selective automatic incoming call, to reduce cost and to improve the utilizability by performing incoming call processing only to a data incoming call request from an opposite party of a mail address registered in advance and downloading only the required data to a terminal automatically. SOLUTION: When a mail address is inputted to an NCU section through a telephone line directly from an internet provider, the NCU section recognizes a transmission mail address and stores the transmission mail address to a RAM. Then, the stored transmission mail address is compared with a designation mail address stored in a ROM. When they match, after the NCU section has connected the mail to the internet provider, the connection procedure with an electronic mail server is executed by communication software stored in the ROM. When the connection is completed, electronic mail information which reached an own destination is automatically downloaded from a mail server of the internet provider to the RAM.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an Internet access terminal for receiving electronic mail and the like using the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, e-mail using the Internet has spread to a wide range of users. A conventional e-mail delivery system using the Internet will be described. In order to connect to the Internet by an individual, an individual's line is connected to the Internet through an Internet service provider called a network service provider.

[0003] First, a call is made from a general telephone line to an access point provided by an Internet service provider through a modem for converting analog data called telephone into digital data handled by a computer. The standard Internet protocol is TCP / IP (Trans
missionControl Protocol / I
(Internet Protocol), which is connected to the Internet via a telephone line by software for Internet connection as communication software. This is called a dial-up IP connection.
It is connected to the line by CP / IP.

A conventional terminal used for electronic mail is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-163269.

[0005] An electronic mail delivery system using a conventional electronic mail terminal will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an overall system diagram showing a conventional electronic mail system. The terminal 10 of the caller A, the telephone line 11, the mail server 12 of the Internet service provider B, the Internet 13, and the mail server 1 of the Internet service provider C
4, a telephone line 15, a terminal 16 of the receiver D, and a telephone set 17. First, caller A at terminal 10
Create an email to send. Next, the telephone network 11 is used to connect to the mail server 12 of the Internet connection company. After connection, terminal 10
Sends the e-mail data to the mail server 12.
The mail server 12 of the Internet connection company checks the destination of the e-mail, transmits the e-mail to the mail server 14 of the Internet connection company near the address of the destination person, and the e-mail is temporarily stored in the mail server 14. The recipient D connects to the mail server 14 of the Internet connection company using an electronic mail, whether an e-mail has been received from another person. If the e-mail has arrived, your terminal 1 is sent from the mail server 14 of the Internet connection company.
The mail data is downloaded to the terminal 6, and the terminal 16 reads the e-mail.

[0006]

When using e-mail using the Internet from an ordinary household, if the sender (mail order company, etc.) knows the e-mail address of the Internet user, the sender unilaterally makes a telephone call. When information such as an electronic catalog is transmitted, it is received irrespective of the other party, which may exceed the allowable capacity of the storage memory.
In that case, there is a possibility that really necessary information cannot be accumulated.

Therefore, there is a demand for a function of not accepting an incoming call request from a party other than the party registered by the Internet user.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic e-mail delivery system using the Internet for selective automatic reception, reduction of communication costs, and improvement of convenience.

[0009]

In the Internet access terminal of the present invention, the electronic mail information is transmitted only when it is determined that the mail address registered by the Internet user in advance matches the mail address from the Internet connection company. It is automatically downloaded to the user's terminal. Then, for an unregistered mail address that does not match, the incoming call is rejected.

According to the present invention, incoming information can be selectively stored, and the storage memory is not filled with unnecessary incoming information, thereby reducing communication costs and improving convenience. Can be.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention described in claim 1 of the present invention is as follows.
A terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet, including a CPU as a central processing unit, a ROM for storing a program for controlling the system, a RAM for storing data and an outgoing mail address, and a mail address An input unit which is an interface with an input device for inputting data, a modem unit for converting analog data called telephone into digital data handled by a computer, and performing an incoming process for transmitting and receiving data via the Internet; NCU (Network Co.) which is an interface with the network
control unit), which is composed of a display device for displaying information of an incoming e-mail, and in response to an incoming request to a terminal for data sent via the Internet, a partner of a mail address registered in advance. The Internet access terminal is characterized in that incoming processing is performed only for data incoming requests from the Internet, and only necessary data is automatically downloaded to the terminal. The incoming email information is delivered to the terminal. It has the action of:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet, a CPU serving as a central processing unit, a ROM storing a program for controlling a system, and a ROM. And RAM for storing the outgoing mail address, an input unit which is an interface with an input device for inputting data including a mail address, a modem unit for converting analog data called telephone into digital data handled by a computer, via the Internet NCU (Network Control) which is an interface with a network for performing transmission processing and reception processing for received data.
(role Unit) unit, which comprises a display device for displaying information of an incoming e-mail, and automatically stores a mail address of a request destination to which the terminal has requested data transmission,
The Internet is characterized in that only the necessary data is automatically downloaded to the terminal by performing incoming processing only for the data incoming request from the registered mail address, so that the user can select it. This is an access terminal, and has an effect that the electronic mail arrival information is delivered to the terminal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet, a CPU serving as a central processing unit, a ROM storing a program for controlling a system, and a ROM. A RAM for storing an outgoing mail address, a display unit as an interface with a display device, an input unit as an interface with an input device for inputting data including a mail address, and an output device for outputting incoming data. An output unit as an interface, a modem unit for converting analog data called telephone into digital data handled by a computer, and an NCU as an interface with a network for performing an incoming process for transmitting and receiving data via the Internet. (Network
(Control Unit) section, which is composed of a display device for displaying the information of the incoming e-mail, automatically stores the e-mail address of the request destination to which the terminal has requested data transmission, and displays the information from the registered e-mail address. By performing incoming call processing only for data incoming requests, only the necessary data is automatically downloaded to the terminal, the stored incoming data can be displayed on the TV monitor screen, and the required data can be selected and output This is an Internet access terminal characterized in that the electronic mail arrival information is delivered to the terminal and displayed and output.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram showing an Internet access terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a terminal 1 for a user to create, send and receive e-mail, and received e-mail information , A display device 3 for outputting received e-mail information, an Internet connection company and a user terminal 1
A mail server 5 for temporarily storing an e-mail transmitted by the user through the telephone line 4 and transmitting the e-mail to the Internet connection company C through the Internet network 6; A mail server 7 for receiving and temporarily storing the e-mail, a telephone line 8 for connecting an Internet service provider and the terminal 9 of the sender, and a terminal 9 for the sender to send and receive the e-mail. I have.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an Internet access terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.
In the terminal 1, the terminal 1 performs an operation of transmitting / receiving electronic mail, a CPU 18 as a central processing unit, a ROM 19 in which a program for controlling the system is stored,
A RAM 20 for storing data, an input unit 22 for interfacing with an input device 26, a modem unit 23 for converting analog data of a telephone into digital data handled by a computer, and an NCU (Network Control) for interfacing with a network.
(Unit) unit 24, and a display device for displaying information of the received e-mail.

The operation will be described below mainly with reference to a block diagram. When a mail address is directly input from the Internet connection company to the NCU unit 24 through the telephone line, the NCU 24
The outgoing mail address is recognized by the outgoing mail address obtaining means in the unit 24, and the outgoing mail address is stored in the RAM 20. Next, the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20 is compared with the designated mail address stored in the ROM 19. If the result is the same, it is determined that the request is for an incoming e-mail information notification from an Internet connection company, and the system waits until the e-mail address signal currently trying to connect to the terminal does not arrive for a certain period of time. Then, the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20, that is, the modem unit 2
3. Make a dial-up connection by calling back through the NCU unit 24 (usually, such an operation is called a callback). After the NCU 24 connects the mail to the Internet connection provider, the connection procedure with the e-mail server is performed by the communication software stored in the ROM 19. When the connection procedure is completed, the e-mail information received by the user is transferred from the mail server of the Internet connection company to the RAM via the NCU unit 24 and the modem unit 23.
20 automatically downloaded. The electronic mail information is generated by an electronic mail information search program from electronic mail data stored in an electronic mail server of an Internet connection company. Since the program operates in the system administrator mode, it can access all electronic mail data. After the download of the incoming e-mail information is completed, a disconnection procedure is performed, and the process returns to the standby state.

If the outgoing e-mail address is different from the designated e-mail address or the outgoing e-mail address cannot be recognized, it is determined that the request is not an incoming e-mail information notification request from an Internet service provider and the process returns to the standby state.
Further, the new mail address is automatically stored in the ROM 19 for storing the mail address, and from the next time, the e-mail information is received according to the above flow.

(Embodiment 2) The block diagram of the Internet access terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of Embodiment 1, and therefore the description is omitted.

The operation will be described below mainly with reference to a block diagram. The mail address of the destination to which the user has made a transmission request is automatically stored in the RAM 20. Then, when a mail address is directly input from the Internet connection company to the NCU unit 24 through the telephone line, the outgoing mail address is recognized by the outgoing mail address acquisition means in the NCU unit 24. Next, the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20 is compared with the designated mail address. If the result is the same, it is determined that the request is for an incoming e-mail information notification from an Internet connection company, and the system waits until the e-mail address signal currently trying to connect to the terminal does not arrive for a certain period of time. Thereafter, a mail connection is made to the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20, that is, the Internet connection company through the modem unit 23 and the NCU unit 24 (usually, such an operation is called a callback). After the NCU 24 connects the mail to the Internet connection provider, the connection procedure with the e-mail server is performed by the communication software stored in the ROM 19. When the connection procedure is completed, the electronic mail information received by the user is sent from the mail server of the Internet connection company to the NCU unit 2.
4. Automatically download to the RAM 20 through the modem unit 23. The electronic mail information is generated by an electronic mail information search program from electronic mail data stored in an electronic mail server of an Internet connection company. Since the program operates in the system administrator mode, it can access all electronic mail data. After the download of the incoming e-mail information is completed, a disconnection procedure is performed, and the process returns to the standby state.

If the outgoing e-mail address is different from the designated e-mail address, or if the outgoing e-mail address cannot be recognized, it is determined that the request is not an incoming e-mail information notification request from an Internet connection company, and the process returns to the standby state.
Further, the new mail address is automatically stored in the ROM 19 for storing the mail address, and from the next time, the e-mail information is received according to the above flow.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an Internet access terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, terminal 1 performs an operation of transmitting / receiving an e-mail. ,
RO in which a program for controlling the system is stored
M19, RAM 20 for storing data, display unit 21 as an interface with a display device, input device 26
, An interface for converting analog data of telephone into digital data handled by a computer, and an NCU (Network Controller) for interfacing with a network.
ol Unit) unit 24, a display device for displaying information of an incoming electronic mail, and an output unit 25 which is an interface with an output device 27 for outputting incoming data.

The operation will be described below mainly with reference to a block diagram. When a mail address is directly input from the Internet connection company to the NCU unit 24 through the telephone line, the NCU 24
The outgoing mail address is recognized by the outgoing mail address obtaining means in the unit 24, and the outgoing mail address is stored in the RAM 20. Next, the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20 is compared with the designated mail address stored in the ROM 19. If the result is the same, it is determined that the request is for an incoming e-mail information notification from an Internet connection company, and the system waits until the e-mail address signal currently trying to connect to the terminal does not arrive for a certain period of time. Then, the outgoing mail address stored in the RAM 20, that is, the modem unit 2
3. A mail connection is made through the NCU unit 24 (usually, such an operation is called a callback).

After the NCU 24 connects the mail to the Internet connection company, the connection procedure with the electronic mail server is performed by the communication software stored in the ROM 19. When the connection procedure is completed, the e-mail information received by the user is transferred from the mail server of the Internet connection company to the RAM via the NCU unit 24 and the modem unit 23.
20 automatically downloaded. The electronic mail information is generated by an electronic mail information search program from electronic mail data stored in an electronic mail server of an Internet connection company. Since the program operates in the system administrator mode, it can access all electronic mail data. After the download of the incoming e-mail information is completed, a disconnection procedure is performed, and the process returns to the standby state.

The electronic mail information downloaded to the RAM 20 is converted into a display format by the display unit 21 and displayed on a display device. The device of the present embodiment
Since it has the output unit 25, necessary information can be output from the output device.

If the outgoing e-mail address is different from the designated e-mail address, or if the outgoing e-mail address cannot be recognized, it is determined that the request is not an incoming e-mail information notification request from an Internet connection company, and the process returns to the standby state.
Further, the new mail address is automatically stored in the ROM 19 for storing the mail address, and from the next time, the e-mail information is received according to the above flow.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, only information required by Internet users can be received, and unnecessary information can be rejected. Further, an advantageous effect that the communication cost can be reduced can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram showing an Internet access terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an Internet access terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an overall system diagram showing a conventional electronic mail system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 User's terminal 2 Display device 3 Output device 4 Telephone line 5 Mail server 6 Internet network 7 Mail server 8 Telephone line 9 Sender's terminal 10 Terminal of sender A 11 Telephone line 12 Mail server 13 Internet 14 Mail server 15 Telephone Line 16 Terminal of recipient D 17 Telephone 18 CPU 19 ROM 20 RAM 21 Display unit 22 Input unit 23 Modem unit 24 NCU unit 25 Output unit 26 Input device 27 Output device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An Internet access terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet,
CPU as central processing unit, storage unit for storing data and outgoing mail address, input unit as interface with input device for inputting data including mail address, and conversion of analog data of telephone into digital data handled by computer A modem unit for performing transmission processing and reception processing for reception of data via the Internet, an interface unit with a network,
It is composed of a display device for displaying the information of the incoming e-mail, and responds to the incoming request of the data sent via the Internet, and to the incoming data request from the partner of the mail address registered in advance. An Internet access terminal characterized in that a user can selectively receive by performing only incoming call processing and automatically downloading only necessary data to the terminal. 2. A terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet, comprising: a central processing unit (CP);
U, a ROM for storing a program for controlling the system, a RAM for storing data and an outgoing mail address, an input unit serving as an interface with an input device for inputting data including a mail address, and analog data for telephones. A modem unit for converting into digital data handled by a computer, and an NCU (Netw), which is an interface with a network, which performs processing for transmitting and receiving data via the Internet.
and a display device for displaying information of the received e-mail,
By automatically storing the e-mail address of the request destination where the terminal has requested data transmission, and performing incoming processing only for data incoming requests from the registered e-mail addresses,
An Internet access terminal, wherein a user can selectively receive only necessary data by automatically downloading the data to the terminal. 3. A terminal for transmitting and receiving data using the Internet, comprising: a central processing unit (CP);
U, a ROM for storing a program for controlling the system, a RAM for storing data and an outgoing mail address, a display unit serving as an interface with a display device,
An input unit which is an interface with an input device for inputting data including a mail address, an output unit which is an interface with an output device for outputting incoming data, and a telephone for converting analog data into digital data handled by a computer. NCU, which is an interface with a network, that performs a transmission process and a reception process for receiving data via the modem unit and the Internet
(Network Control Unit) section, which automatically stores the e-mail address of the request destination to which the terminal has requested data transmission, and performs incoming call processing only for a data arrival request from the registered e-mail address destination Internet, wherein only necessary data is automatically downloaded to a terminal, stored incoming data can be displayed on a TV monitor screen, and required data can be selected and output to a printing means or the like. Access terminal.