JPH11289347A - Electronic mail system and computer-readable recording medium with electronic mail distribution program recorded therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily provide a document recognition function in an electronic mail system. SOLUTION: In an electronic mail system, consisting of plural terminals for performing transmission and reception of electronic mails and a server devices connected to these, each of the terminals is provided with address set means (S101 and S102) for setting plural transmitted addresses in header of an electronic mail and flag setting means (S108 to S110) for setting or updating recognition flags which become transfer enable/disable information between each transmitted address. The server device is provided with distribution control means (S106 and S114) for distributing the electronic mails, where plural transmitted addresses are set in a specified to each transmitted address and a transfer decision means (S113) for deciding whether or not to distribute the electronic mail to the terminal in next order on the basis of the recognition flag.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail system for sending and receiving electronic mail, and to a recording medium storing an electronic mail distribution program used in a computer constituting the electronic mail system. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic mail system (EMS;
onic Mail System) is a system composed of multiple computers for sending and receiving e-mail.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of mail clients 10a, 10
, 10c... and a mail server 20 connected to these for delivering e-mail. Further, the mail server 20 is connected to another mail server 20 and a mail client 10 via a network 30 called the Internet or an intranet.
d, 10e (other e-mail systems).

[0003] In an electronic mail system, electronic mails are generally sent and received based on a predetermined message format. For example,
When sending and receiving e-mails via a network such as the Internet as described above, RFC # 822 (St.
andard for ARPA Internet Text Messages).
In the message format of RFC # 822, information on the destination, date, and source of the e-mail is called a message header, and the body of the e-mail is called a message body. In the message header, the destination of the message header (destination)
"To", "cc",
Fields such as “bcc” (hereinafter, these are referred to as “to” fields) are included.

[0004] Based on such RFC # 822, in the electronic mail system configured as described above, for example, when an electronic mail is transmitted from a certain mail client 10a to the mail server 20, The mail server 20 analyzes the message header of the e-mail, and based on the information specifying the destination described in the message header, the mail server 20 converts the transmitted e-mail into another mail. Client 10
b, 10c...

[0005]

However, in recent years,
Documents are also being digitized in companies and the like, and electronic documents are exchanged using an electronic mail system instead of the conventional paper-based document exchange. However, when the above-described conventional e-mail system is used, it is not easy to cope with approval of document contents frequently performed in document exchange in a company or the like. For example, RFC #
The e-mail system based on 822 does not realize a document content approval function as performed when exchanging a paper-based document. This is because RFC # 822
This is because it defines a mechanism for distributing a text-format email from a source to a destination, and does not include a concept such as approval of the email.

Therefore, in order to approve the contents of the message body of the e-mail when the conventional e-mail system is used, for example, the mail client 10a, which is the source of the e-mail, operates the e-mail message once operated by the approver. After the e-mail is transmitted to the client 10b and the approver confirms the contents of the message body of the e-mail, it is necessary to transfer the e-mail from the e-mail client 10b to the intended destination. That is, in the approver's mail client 10b, a setting operation (manual operation by the approver) for transferring the e-mail is required, and as a result, the burden on the approver increases.

In order to facilitate the realization of the document approval function, the present invention provides a circulation function for automatically transmitting an e-mail via an approver's mail client and an approval by the approver. If you cannot get it,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an e-mail system having an approval (transfer permission / inhibition determination) function of returning an e-mail to a client. In addition, the present invention provides a recording medium on which an electronic mail distribution program for realizing a circulation function and an approval function is provided for facilitating the realization of a document approval function on a computer constituting an electronic mail system. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised to achieve the above object, and an electronic mail system according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of terminal devices for transmitting and receiving electronic mail. And a server connected to each terminal. When an electronic mail is transmitted from a certain terminal to the server, the server is connected to the server based on a destination address described in a header of the electronic mail. Is configured to deliver the e-mail to another terminal device, wherein the terminal device includes an address setting unit that sets a plurality of destination addresses in the header, and the plurality of destination addresses. Flag setting means for setting or updating an approval flag serving as transfer permission / prohibition information in the header, and the server apparatus transmits a plurality of transmission flags in the header. When an address is set, a delivery control means for delivering the e-mail in which the plurality of destination addresses are set to each terminal device specified by the plurality of destination addresses in a predetermined order; If the approval flag is set in the header of the e-mail to be delivered by the means, it is determined whether or not to deliver the e-mail to the terminal device in the next order based on the approval flag. And a transfer judging means for instructing.

According to the electronic mail system of the first aspect, when an electronic mail is transmitted from a certain terminal device to the server device, the server device specifies the electronic mail by the transmission destination address described in the header. Is delivered to the terminal device. At this time, if a plurality of destination addresses are set in the header, the server device sends, to each terminal device specified by each destination address,
Distribute e-mails in a predetermined order. In addition, when an e-mail is distributed in a predetermined order, if an approval flag is set in the header of the e-mail, whether the e-mail is to be distributed to the next terminal device based on the approval flag is determined. Judge. Therefore, in this e-mail system, when a terminal device requests distribution of an e-mail to a server device, a plurality of destination addresses are set in a header of the e-mail, and the e-mail is transmitted to each terminal device. Will be circulated in order. In addition, it is possible to instruct whether or not to forward the electronic mail to the next circulation destination by setting the approval flag in the terminal device of the circulation destination of the electronic mail. In other words, using this e-mail system, e-mail from the sender is distributed to a plurality of circulation destinations in order, and each circulation destination is used to determine whether it can be transferred to the next circulation destination (whether or not there is approval). An instruction will be given.

In the electronic mail system according to the present invention, the terminal device sets the transmission destination address of the electronic mail in a transmission destination area in a header of the electronic mail to be transmitted to the server device. Address setting means for securing a circulation destination area for storing the circulation destination address in the header, and setting the circulation destination address in the circulation destination area; and the transmission destination address and the circulation destination address in the header. Flag setting means for securing a flag area for storing an approval flag serving as transfer permission / non-permission information between, and setting or updating the approval flag in the flag area; and sending an e-mail to the server device. When sending,
A destination that replaces the destination address set in the destination area with the circulation destination address set in the circulation destination area based on the presence or absence of the approval flag in the flag area or the setting content of the approval flag. And control means.

According to the electronic mail system of the present invention, when a terminal device attempts to transmit an electronic mail to a server device for an electronic mail distribution request, the address setting means of the terminal device transmits the electronic mail. The transmission destination address and the circulation destination address are set in the transmission destination area and the circulation destination area in the header of the mail. Then, the destination control means determines whether the destination address set in the destination area and the circulation destination address set in the circulation destination area are based on the presence or absence of the approval flag in the flag area in the header of the e-mail. After that, the e-mail is transmitted to the server device. When the e-mail is transmitted, the server device distributes the e-mail to the terminal device specified by the address set in the destination area of the e-mail. In the terminal device to which the e-mail was delivered,
The flag setting means sets or updates an approval flag in the flag area of the delivered e-mail. Then, the destination control means replaces the destination address set in the destination area with the circulation destination address set in the circulation destination area based on the setting content of the approval flag in the flag area, The e-mail is transmitted to the server device. When the e-mail is transmitted, the server device distributes the e-mail to the terminal device specified by the address set in the destination area of the e-mail. Therefore, by using this electronic mail system, an electronic mail from a sender is delivered to a terminal device specified by a destination address and a circulation destination address in a predetermined order, and furthermore, the terminal device transfers the electronic mail to the next destination. An instruction for judging whether or not (approval or not) is issued.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing an electronic mail distribution program for recording an electronic mail distribution program used by a computer connected to a server device for distributing an electronic mail. A plurality of destination addresses are set in the header of an e-mail requesting distribution to the device and transmitted to the server device, and the e-mail is sent to each terminal device specified by the plurality of destination addresses in a predetermined manner. When the e-mail is distributed from the server device, an approval flag which is information of transferability between the plurality of destination addresses is set or updated in a header of the e-mail, and this is updated. The e-mail is returned to the server device, and it is determined by the server device whether or not to deliver the e-mail to the next terminal device based on the approval flag. It has become to so that.

[0013] When a computer connected to a server device reads a recording medium recording the electronic mail distribution program according to claim 3 and causes the computer to execute the electronic mail distribution program, the computer executes the electronic mail distribution program. It functions similarly to the terminal device in the described invention. Therefore, if the computer executes the e-mail distribution program according to the above procedure, the e-mail from the transmission source is sequentially distributed to a plurality of circulation destinations. The presence / absence of the instruction is issued.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium in which an electronic mail distribution program is recorded, wherein a transmission destination area for storing a transmission destination address of the electronic mail in a header of the electronic mail requesting distribution to a server device. And a circulation destination area for storing a circulation destination address of the e-mail and a flag area for storing an approval flag serving as transferability information of the e-mail, and the transmission destination address is stored in each area. And setting or updating the circulation destination address and setting or updating the approval flag, and when sending an e-mail to the server device, based on the presence or absence of the approval flag in the flag area or the setting content of the approval flag, Replace the destination address in the destination area with the circulation destination address in the circulation destination area, and then copy the email Send to over server device, and is adapted to deliver to the terminal device specified by the address of the destination area to the server apparatus the electronic mail.

[0015] When a computer connected to the server device reads the recording medium storing the electronic mail distribution program according to claim 4 and causes the computer to execute the electronic mail distribution program, the computer executes the electronic mail distribution program. It functions similarly to the terminal device in the described invention. Therefore, if the computer executes the e-mail distribution program according to the above procedure, the e-mail from the transmission source is distributed to the terminal device specified by the transmission destination address and the circulation destination address in a predetermined order. An instruction for determining whether transfer to the next transmission destination is possible (approval or not) is performed.

[0016]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic mail system and an electronic mail distribution program according to the present invention.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing an example of an e-mail sending / receiving process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail system according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of mail clients 1a, 1b,... And a mail server 2 connected to these clients. In addition, mail server 2
Are connected to other mail servers 2 and mail clients 1c (other e-mail systems) via a network 30 called the Internet or an intranet. Therefore, in this electronic mail system, as in the conventional system (see FIG. 7), RFC #
An electronic mail is exchanged based on the 822 message format. It is assumed that each mail client 1a, 1b, 1c,... Is assigned an individual mail address in advance.

However, in the electronic mail system of the present embodiment, unlike the conventional system (see FIG. 7), each of the mail clients 1a, 1b, 1c... And the mail server 2 are described below. It has such a function.

Each mail client 1a, 1b, 1c
... extends the email message header and adds an authorization field. As the approval field, a "user-defined-field" defined as a function extension field that can be used arbitrarily by the user in the message header is used. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, "Appr" is included in "user-defined-field".
oval-Flag ”,“ Date-of-Approval ”,“ Approval-by
And an approval flag (0: rejected, 1: approved), an approval date, and an e-mail address of an approver are set in the respective fields.

That is, each mail client 1a, 1
b, 1c ... In sending an e-mail,
Use the “to” field and “Approval-by” in the message header of the email to set multiple email addresses and “Ap” in the message header.
It has a function of setting or updating an approval flag which is transferability information between each e-mail address using a "proval-Flag" field. These functions are provided for each mail client 1a, 1b, 1c. .. Are executed by executing a predetermined program.

On the other hand, in FIG.
Receives an e-mail from the mail client 1a, 1b, 1c...
The authorization field in the header is inspected, and if a plurality of e-mail addresses are set in the message header, as described in detail below, each e-mail client specified by these e-mail addresses is in a predetermined order. It has the function of delivering e-mail. Further, if the approval flag is set in the message header of the received e-mail, the mail server 2 determines whether to deliver the e-mail to the next mail client based on the approval flag. Has the function of determining Note that these functions are realized by executing a predetermined program in the mail server 2.

Next, in the electronic mail system configured as described above, the mail clients 1a, 1
An example of a processing operation in the case where the mail server 2 distributes an e-mail corresponding to the extended message header will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. However, here, the mail client 1a is the operation terminal of the message creator that is the source of the e-mail, the mail client 1b is the operation terminal of the approver of the message, and the mail client 1a
The case where c is the operation terminal to which the message is to be transmitted will be described as an example.

In sending an e-mail, the mail client 1a sets the destination mail address (the mail address of the mail client 1c) in the "to" field in the message header according to the operation of the message creator. (Step 101,
The following steps are abbreviated as S), and “Ap” in the approval field
The e-mail address of the approver (e-mail address of the e-mail client 1b) is set in "proval-by" (S10).
2). Thereafter, the mail client 1a sends the created e-mail to the mail server 2 (S10).
3).

When the mail server 2 receives the e-mail from the mail client 1a (S104), it checks the message header of the received e-mail,
It is determined whether an approval field is set (S1).
05). As a result of this determination, when the approval field exists (when the mail address is set in “Approval-by”), the mail server 2 sets the received e-mail to “Approval-by”. Transfer to the mail address (mail client 1b) (S10
6). If the approval field does not exist,
As described later, the received electronic mail is transferred to the mail address (mail client 1c) set in the "to" field (S114).

When the mail server 2 transfers the e-mail to the mail client 1b, the mail client 1b receives the transferred e-mail (S107) and sends the e-mail to the user of the mail client 1b. Display to approver and approve the contents. Here, when the approver approves the content of the e-mail message (S108), the mail client 1b sets "Approval-Flag" in the message header to "1" according to the operation of the approver (S108). S
109) Further, the date of approval is recorded in “Date-of-Approval”. If the approver does not approve, "Appr
oval-Flag ”is set to“ 0 ”(S110), and“ Date-o
The date is recorded in "f-Approval". When the description in the approval field is completed, the mail client 1b returns the e-mail to the mail server 2 (S111).

When the mail server 2 receives the electronic mail returned from the mail client 1b (S11)
2), examine the message header of the email,
It is checked whether “Approval-Flag” is “1” (S113). If the result of this determination is that “Approval-Flag” is “1”, the mail server 2 determines that there has been approval (transfer permission to the next destination) by the mail client 1b, and the e-mail To the mail address (mail client 1c) set in the "to" field in the message header (S114).

Thereafter, the mail client 1c receives the electronic mail from the mail server 2 (S11).
5) Referring to the approval field in the message header of the e-mail and recognizing that "Approval-Flag" is set to "1", the message is approved by the approver. (S11)
6) Notify the user of the mail client 1c of the fact.

However, if Approval-Flag is "0", the mail server 2 determines that the mail client 1b has not received the approval, and sends the e-mail to the "From" field (in the message header). A reply is sent to the mail address (mail client 1a) set in the sender's mail address (a field for describing the mail address of the sender) (S117). The client 1a will know that the message has not been acknowledged.

As described above, according to the electronic mail system of the present embodiment, the message header of the electronic mail is extended and the field for approval is added,
Even in the case of realizing the document content approval function, the circulation and transfer of e-mail can be automated during the approval process. In addition, by setting the approval flag in the approval field of the message header, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the electronic mail has been approved. Therefore, in the e-mail system according to the present embodiment, even when the function of approving the contents of a document is realized, an e-mail is transmitted to the approver as before, and the approver then sends the e-mail to the intended destination. Since there is no need to transfer the mail, a manual operation or the like for transferring the e-mail is not necessary, which is very convenient for each user including the approver. That is,
The use of the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment makes it possible to easily realize an approval process using electronic mail.

In the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment, since the message header of the electronic mail is extended based on the message format of RFC # 822, the approval function can be added. It is also possible to use the same mail server as that of the mail server included in the e-mail delivery route. That is, since compatibility with the existing mail system is ensured, connectivity with a network such as the Internet is high.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. However, here, only the differences from the above-described first embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic mail system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of mail clients 1d, 1e, 1f, and a mail server 20 connected to these clients. . The mail server 20 is the same as the conventional one (see FIG. 7).

Each mail client 1d, 1e, 1f
… Is the “user-def” in the email message header
ined-field ”, add a field for approval,
In addition, a field for storing the destination is added. As a field for storing the transmission destination, as shown in FIG. 5, "orig-destination"("orig-to","orig-cc","orig-bcc" in the figure)
Etc .; these are hereinafter referred to as “orig-to” fields). Using this "orig-to" field, each of the mail clients 1d, 1e, 1f...
The e-mail address in "proval-by" is replaced as necessary. The approval field is the same as that in the first embodiment. Each mail client 1d, 1
.., 1f... are realized by executing a predetermined program.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, an example of a processing operation in the case of distributing an e-mail corresponding to the extended message header in the e-mail system configured as described above. explain.
However, here, the mail client 1d is the operation terminal of the message creator that is the source of the e-mail, the mail client 1e is the operation terminal of the approver of the message, and the mail client 1f is the destination of the message. The operation terminal will be described as an example.

In sending an e-mail, the mail client 1d sets the destination mail address (the mail address of the mail client 1f) in the "to" field in the message header according to the operation of the message creator. (S201), and the approver's e-mail address (e-mail address of the e-mail client 1e) is entered in "Approval-by" in the approval field.
Is set (S202).

Here, the mail client 1d refers to the approval field in the message header, and sets "Ap
It is determined whether or not “proval-Flag” is set (S2
03), if nothing is set in “Approval-Flag” (if it has not been delivered to the approver), extract the e-mail address from the “to” field and copy the e-mail address to the “orig-to” field Yes (S20
4). At this time, the "to field is cleared.

Then, “Approval-b” in the approval field
y ", the e-mail address of the approver is extracted, and the e-mail address is copied to the" to "field (S20).
5). At this time, the mail address set in “Approval-by” is not changed (not cleared) as it is. After that, the mail client 1d
The created e-mail is transmitted to the mail server 20 (S206).

Upon receiving the e-mail from the mail client 1d, the mail server 20 transfers the received e-mail to the mail address set in the "to" field (S207). At this time, the mail address of the approver set in “Approval-by” is copied in the “to” field, so the mail server 20 transmits the received e-mail to the mail client 1.
e.

When the mail server 20 transfers the e-mail to the mail client 1e, the mail client 1e receives the transferred e-mail (S208) and an approval field in the message header of the e-mail. Check the "Ap" field in the approval field.
The e-mail address of "proval-by" is the same as the e-mail address set in the "to" field, and "Ap
It is determined whether or not "proval-Flag" is in a clear state (a state in which nothing is set) (S209).

As a result of this judgment, “Approval-by” and “t
o "email address is the same and" A
If “provprov-Flag” is in the clear state, the mail client 1e enables the approval function (S210).
The approval function is a function for displaying the received e-mail to the approver who is the user of the mail client 1e and allowing the approver to approve the content of the e-mail. However, the email addresses in the “Approval-by” and “to” fields are not the same, or “Approval-F”
If "lag" is not in the clear state, the mail client 1e does not enable the approval function and performs normal e-mail reception processing (processing as e-mail that does not use the extended function of the present invention) (S211). ).

Here, when the approver approves the content of the e-mail message by the validated approval function (S212), the mail client 1e
“Orig” in the message header according to the approver's operation
Take out the email address from the "-to" field and copy the email address to the "to" field (S
213). At this time, the mail address set in the "orig-to" field is cleared. Further, "1" is set in "Approval-Flag" of the approval field (S214), and the approval date is recorded in "Date-of-Approval". When the description in the approval field is completed, the mail client 1e returns the electronic mail to the mail server 20 (S215).

When the mail server 20 receives the electronic mail returned from the mail client 1e (S2)
16) Then, the electronic mail is transferred to the mail address set in the “to” field (S217). At this time, the mail address of the transmission destination set in the “orig-to” field is copied in the “to” field, so the mail server 20 delivers the received e-mail to the mail client 1f. Will be done.

When the mail server 20 distributes the electronic mail to the mail client 1f, the mail client 1f receives the distributed electronic mail (S218), and furthermore, an approval field in the message header of the electronic mail. To confirm that the message has been approved by the approver by recognizing that "Approval-Flag" is set to "1" (S219), and to that effect, the mail client 1f Notify users.

On the other hand, if the approver does not approve the content of the e-mail message (S212), the mail client 1e sends the mail address from the “From” field in the message header according to the operation of the approver. Is taken out and the mail address is copied to the "to" field (S220). Further, “0” is set in “Approval-Flag” of the approval field (S22).
1) Record the date of approval in “Date-of-Approval”. When the description in the approval field is completed,
The mail client 1e returns the electronic mail to the mail server 20 (S222).

When the mail server 20 receives the electronic mail returned from the mail client 1e (S2
23) The e-mail is transferred to the e-mail address set in the "to" field (S224). At this time, since the source mail address set in the “From” field is copied in the “to” field, the mail server 20 returns the received e-mail to the mail client 1d. Becomes

When the mail server 20 replies the e-mail to the mail client 1d, the mail client 1d receives the returned e-mail (S225), and an approval field in the message header of the e-mail. , The setting of “Approval-Flag” is determined (S203). If “0” is set in “Approval-Flag” (if the approval has already been rejected), this is notified by mail. Notify the user of the client 1d. Thus, the message creator knows in the mail client 1d that the message has not been approved.

As described above, in the e-mail system according to the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the message header of the e-mail is extended and a field for approval is added. Thereby, the approval process by e-mail can be easily realized. Moreover, in the electronic mail system of the present embodiment, only the mail clients 1d, 1e, 1f... Need to understand the extended message header, and the mail server 20 does not need to interpret the extended message header. Therefore, the approval function can be used only by adding a function to each of the mail clients 1d, 1e, 1f... That is, the same mail server 20 as used in the related art can be used as the mail server 20 for distributing e-mails, and therefore, the compatibility with the existing e-mail system is high.

In the first and second embodiments described above, an example has been described in which the message format is based on the RFC # 822 message format. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The same applies to other message formats as long as a function extension field is defined in the message header. That is, the extension of the message header uses a user-definable area (does not change the defined fields), and thus does not affect the existing frame configuration. Therefore, even an e-mail including an approval field can pass through a mail server that does not support the approval function, and as a result, compatibility with an existing e-mail system is ensured. .

In the first and second embodiments,
Although the case where the number of approvers is one has been described as an example, it is possible to cope with the case where there are a plurality of approvers. In this case, the mail addresses of a plurality of approvers may be set in the approval field, and the mail addresses may be distributed in the order registered in advance. When the approval is rejected, it is conceivable that the e-mail is delivered to the approver who has already been approved and the message creator.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the mail client 1 that is the source of the electronic mail
The case where an approval field is created in a and 1d has been described. For an e-mail that does not require approval (conventional e-mail), if an extension part (approval field) of the message header is not created, It is also possible to deliver an e-mail in the same manner as a conventional e-mail.

Also, in the first embodiment, each mail
.. And the mail server 2 have a function corresponding to the approval field in the message header in advance, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a recording medium on which an e-mail distribution program for realizing these functions is recorded is stored in each of the mail clients 1a and 1a.
.., and the mail server 2 can read and execute the same effects as those described above. In this case, the electronic mail distribution program may be read by any one of the electronic mail distribution programs and downloaded (uploaded) instead of reading them. This is the same for the second embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments,
The case where the document approval function is easily realized by extending the message header has been described as an example. However, as an application example of the present invention, a circulation function that specifies the order of e-mail delivery in addition to the purpose of approval It is also conceivable to use it.

[0054]

As described above, the recording system in which the e-mail system and the e-mail distribution program of the present invention are recorded can expand the e-mail header to allow the electronic mail to be transmitted between a plurality of destination addresses. A circulation function for transferring the mail and an approval function for determining whether the transfer is possible are realized. Therefore, by using this e-mail system or a recording medium on which an e-mail distribution program is recorded, even if a document content approval function is realized, an e-mail is sent to the approver as in the past, and thereafter, Since it is not necessary for the approver to forward the e-mail to the intended destination, a manual operation for forwarding the e-mail is not required, which is very convenient for each user including the approver. As a result, a document approval function in the electronic mail system can be easily realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of an e-mail transfer processing operation in an e-mail system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an approval field in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic mail system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an approval field in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an e-mail transfer processing operation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a conventional electronic mail system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f Mail client 2 Mail server

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail system comprising: a plurality of terminal devices for transmitting and receiving e-mail; and a server device connected to each terminal device. When an e-mail is transmitted from a certain terminal device to the server device, the e-mail is sent to the server device. In the electronic mail system, the server device is configured to deliver the electronic mail to another terminal device based on the destination address described in the header of the terminal device. Address setting means for setting a destination address of the server device; and flag setting means for setting or updating an approval flag serving as transferability information between the plurality of destination addresses in the header. When a plurality of destination addresses are set in the header, the e-mail in which the plurality of destination addresses are set is transmitted to the plurality of destination addresses. Distribution control means for distributing in a predetermined order to each terminal device specified by the email, and if an approval flag is set in the header of the e-mail distributed by the distribution control means, the electronic mail is generated based on the approval flag. An e-mail system comprising: a transfer judging unit for judging whether or not to distribute the mail to the terminal device in the next order and instructing the distribution control unit. 2. An electronic apparatus comprising: a plurality of terminal devices for transmitting and receiving an e-mail; and a server device connected to each terminal device. When an e-mail is transmitted from a certain terminal device to the server device, the e-mail is transmitted. An e-mail system configured so that the server device delivers the e-mail to another terminal device based on an address described in a transmission destination area in a header of the terminal device; A destination address of the e-mail is set in a destination area in a header of the e-mail to be transmitted to the e-mail, and a circulation destination area for storing the circulation destination address in the header is secured. Address setting means for setting a circulation destination address in an area; and a header in the header serving as transfer enable / disable information between the transmission destination address and the circulation destination address. Flag setting means for securing a flag area for storing an approval flag and setting or updating an approval flag in the flag area; and transmitting an e-mail to the server device, A destination control unit that replaces a destination address set in the destination area with a circulation destination address set in the circulation destination area based on the presence or absence of the approval flag or the setting content of the approval flag. E-mail system characterized by the following. 3. A recording medium for recording an e-mail distribution program used in a computer connected to a server device for distributing e-mail, wherein a plurality of transmissions are provided in a header of the e-mail requesting the server device for distribution. A destination address is set and transmitted to the server device, and the e-mail is distributed to each terminal device specified by the plurality of destination addresses in a predetermined order, and the e-mail is distributed from the server device. And setting or updating an approval flag in the header of the e-mail as the transferability information between the plurality of destination addresses, returning the approval flag to the server device, and transmitting the e-mail to the terminal in the next order. A computer recording an electronic mail distribution program, wherein the server device determines whether or not to distribute to an apparatus based on the approval flag. Only take a recording medium that can be. 4. A recording medium for recording an electronic mail distribution program used in a computer connected to a server device for distributing electronic mail, wherein the electronic mail is transmitted in a header of the electronic mail requesting the server device to distribute the electronic mail. A transmission destination area for storing the transmission destination address of the mail, a circulation destination area for storing the circulation destination address of the electronic mail, and a flag area for storing an approval flag serving as transferability information of the electronic mail To secure
Setting the destination address and the circulation destination address and setting or updating the approval flag in each area; and transmitting or not sending an e-mail to the server device, the presence or absence of the approval flag in the flag area or the approval flag. Based on the setting contents, the destination address in the destination area is replaced with the circulation destination address in the circulation destination area, and then the e-mail is transmitted to the server device,
A computer-readable recording medium on which an electronic mail distribution program is recorded, wherein the electronic mail is transmitted to the terminal device specified by an address in the destination area by the server device.