JPH1174933A - Network supply-type unified message system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network supply-type unified message system where a service business man in a network has all means for supplying unified message service and a user can easily use them. SOLUTION: A message unified center 10 having a unified message server 11 is provided in the network. The message unified center 10 supplies service for the transfer of a unified message passing through the unified message server 11 through a telephone line, an ISDN line or internet. The message unified center 10 transmits mails addressed to a message receiver by converting it into the mail of the other system such as from the electronic mail into a sound mail, from a FAX mail into the electronic mail if requested.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telephone line, a dedicated line, an ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network).
k) The present invention relates to a network-provided unified message system using communication facilities such as a line, an OCN (0pen Computer Network), and the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A unified message system is a system for uniformly handling irregular and asynchronous messages such as electronic mail, voice mail, facsimile (hereinafter abbreviated as FAX) in a personal computer (PC). For example, it is used in a form of browsing electronic mail, fax, voice mail, and the like using an Internet browser (Netscape (registered trademark), Internet Explorer, or the like). Conventionally, when a user needs this type of unified message system, a user has to construct and use a unified message system by providing necessary equipment (unified message server) at each place where the user wants to introduce the system. Was.

[0003]

By the way, the introduction of the above-mentioned conventional unified message system requires expensive equipment to be installed, so that it is used by a wide range of users including students and housewives. Can not,
In addition, after installation, there is inconvenience in use, such as the need for a user to provide a system administrator for maintenance. In addition, in the conventional unified message system, it is necessary to confirm the contents of e-mail, fax, voice mail, etc. by an individual communication device corresponding to each. There was a problem that can not be.

[0004] The media have different numbers / contacts for contacting the other party of the communication depending on the communication means and communication equipment. Therefore, the following problems have occurred because a plurality of contacts exist. 1) Telephone, FAX,
Although there are e-mails and the like, it is necessary to prepare a contact address of a communication partner for each communication means. 2) The message recipient prepares a plurality of contacts, and even if the sender sends a message to the same recipient, an appropriate contact corresponding to the communication means is selected from the plurality of contacts. You must choose a destination and use it. 3) If you do not have all the contacts that are in the communication means, you can not send to the mail recipient by each method, and the address of the contact is written in alphabets and numbers Hard to remember.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a network in which a service provider in a network has all means for providing a unified message service, and a user can easily use the network. The purpose is to provide a provision type unified message system. Further, the present invention associates the telephone number assigned by the server with the BOX number of the mail storage BOX, and furthermore, expresses the destination address of the mail using the numeral of the telephone number so that the user's contact information can be displayed. It aims to unify. Further, for mail delivered using a server other than the unified message server, the mail can be stored in a storage box associated in advance by using a mail address conversion table installed on the server side. The purpose is.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A message integration center having a unified message server is provided in a network, and the message integration center provides a service for sending and receiving a unified message via the unified message server via a telephone line, an ISDN line, or the Internet. The gist of the present invention is a network-provided unified message system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the unified message server has a mail storing BOX provided for each registrant registered to use the unified message service. The message integration center includes a storage unit, and the message integration center sends the mail addressed to the registrant stored in the mail storage unit to the message recipient according to a command from the message receiver as a registrant. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when an instruction is received from the user, the mail destined for the registrant stored in the mail storage means is converted into mail of another format and sent to the message recipient. The gist is a network-provided unified message system.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the message integration center converts the electronic mail stored in the mail storing unit into a facsimile mail, converts the electronic mail into a voice mail, and converts the voice mail into a voice mail. Means for converting e-mail, means for converting voice mail to facsimile mail, means for converting facsimile mail to image,
3. A network-provided unified message system according to claim 2, further comprising means for converting X-mail into voice mail.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the unified message server stores, for each registrant, a telephone number of the registrant and a BOX number of a BOX for the registrant in association with each other. When an incoming call from a message recipient who is a registrant is detected via a line or the Internet, the telephone number is extracted, a BOX number corresponding to the telephone number is obtained, and a B number corresponding to the BOX number is obtained.
The mail stored in the OX is provided to the message recipient, and when the transmission of the message to the registrant is detected, the B corresponding to the telephone number of the registrant, which is the transmission destination, is transmitted.
An OX number is obtained, and a BOX corresponding to this BOX number is
3. The transmission mail is registered.
The gist is the network-provided unified message system described in (1).

The invention according to claim 5 has the message integration center in Japan, a mirror message integration center connected to the message integration center via a network overseas, and the message integration center and the mirror. Each unified message server of the message integration center keeps the same contents of the mails held by each other, and the message receiver who has made a connection with one of the message integration center or the mirror message integration center is the other message integration center. The network-provided unified message system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it is configured to receive a mail addressed to itself received by a center or a mirror message integration center. Make a summary.

[0011] In the invention according to claim 6, the unified message server stores the mail address assigned to each registrant by the registrant's telephone number by representing the registrant's telephone number. 3. A network-provided unified message system according to claim 2, wherein a mail of various formats addressed to the registrant is stored in the corresponding BOX.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network type unified message system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a message integration center having facilities necessary for building a unified message. This message integration center 1
0 has a unified message server 11 and a personal computer 12. Here, the unified message server 11 is connected to the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 and the LAN 13. The personal computer 12 has a function of executing voice synthesis software, and is connected to the LAN 13. The LAN 13 is connected to the Internet 110.

The mirror message integration center 90 is a message integration center installed abroad, and has a unified message mirror server 91 and a personal computer 92. Here, the unified message mirror server 91 is connected to the telephone line or the ISDN line 10.
0 and LAN93. The personal computer 92 has a function of executing voice synthesis software, and is connected to the LAN 93. The LAN 93 is connected to the Internet 110. The mirror message integration center 90 has the same function as the message integration center 10 in Japan, and the mirror message integration center 90 and the message integration center 10 exchange information with each other so that each It is configured to maintain the identity of the contents held by the message server.

A user of this system can use various communication devices such as a telephone 40, a portable telephone or a PHS 50, a facsimile machine 60, a radio selective call receiver 70, and the like, and a message integration center 10 via a telephone line or an ISDN line 100.
To access the unified message service. In addition, the user can access the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110 using the personal computer 80 and use the unified message service. Furthermore, the mirror message integration center 90 can be used overseas.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the unified message server 11 in the message integration center 10. As shown in this figure, the unified message server 11 includes a voice processing board 201, a telephone number extraction module 202, a telephone number / BOX number management module 2
03 and mail storage means 204.

Here, the voice processing board 201 is connected to the telephone line or the ISDN line 100. When there is an incoming call to the voice processing board 201, the telephone number extraction module 202 extracts the telephone number.

The mail storage means 204 is provided with a mail storage BOX for each registrant who has registered to use the unified message service. The message sender connects his or her communication device to the unified message server 11 and then specifies the BOX number of the registrant, the other party, to send an e-mail or fax mail to the BOX corresponding to the registrant. Etc. can be stored.

Telephone number / BOX number management module 20
Reference numeral 3 stores, for each registrant, the telephone number of the registrant and the BOX number of the BOX provided for the registrant in association with each other. Then, when there is an incoming call from the message receiver and the telephone number is extracted by the telephone number extraction module 202, the telephone number / BOX number management module 203 checks the BOX corresponding to the telephone number.
The number is obtained, and an e-mail or the like in the BOX corresponding to the BOX number is sent to the message recipient. At the time of transmission of this e-mail or the like, if there is a request from the message recipient, various conversions regarding the mail format such as conversion from e-mail to voice mail are performed in the message integration center 10, and the converted mail is Send to message recipient.

FIG. 3 shows the functions of the message integration center 10. The illustrated functions are operated by a unified message server 11, a personal computer 12 for speech synthesis, or a combination thereof, but it is optional whether the unified message server 11 or the personal computer 12 performs each function. Should be determined.

The electronic mail storing means 311, the voice mail storing means 312, the FAX mail storing means 313, and the video mail storing means 314 are means for storing various mails sent from the sender.

The e-mail distribution means 321, the voice mail distribution means 322, and the FAX mail distribution means 323 arrive at the message integration center 10 and send each mail stored in the e-mail storage means 311 or the like to the recipient. This is distributed to the means for performing the format conversion.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the mail arriving at the message integration center 10 can be sent to the recipient in the same format, but if there is a request from the message recipient, For example, an electronic mail can be converted to a facsimile mail format and sent, and the mail format can be converted and sent to the recipient. Character → voice conversion means 331, character → FAX conversion means 332, voice → character conversion means 333, voice → FAX conversion means 334, FA
The X-to-image conversion means 335 and the FAX-to-speech conversion means 336 are means provided for performing such format conversion, and the e-mail distribution means 321 and the like perform these conversions for mails requiring format conversion. The e-mail is distributed to the corresponding one.

Numeral 301 denotes a means for notifying when a radio selective call receiver or a portable telephone is called.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The message sender is the telephone 40
A, FAX machine 60A or personal computer 80
A communication device such as A is operated, and this communication device is connected to the message integration center 10 via a telephone line, an ISDN line 100, or the Internet 110. After this connection, the message sender specifies the BOX number of the registrant who is the other party, and sends a voice mail from the telephone 40, for example. This voice mail can be sent via telephone line or IS
The mail reaches the unified message server 11 via the DN line 100 and is stored in a corresponding BOX in the mail storage unit 204.

Through such a procedure, voice mail from telephone 40A and F-mail from FAX machine 60A illustrated in FIG.
All mails addressed to the registrant of the unified message service, such as AX mails, e-mails from the personal computer 80A, and video mails from the personal computer 80C, are sent to the unified message server 11
Is stored in each BOX in the mail storage means 204.

The message recipient is the telephone 40B, FA
X device 60B or personal computer 80B or the like, and operates this communication device by telephone line or ISDN line 100 or Internet 110.
Is connected to the unified message server 11 of the message integration center 10 via. In this state, the message receiver can check the mail stored in the BOX corresponding to the own BOX number. Also, when the message receiver connects to the unified message server 11 via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100, the unified message server 11
The telephone number of the message recipient is extracted by the telephone number extraction module 202 (see FIG. 2). Then, a BOX number corresponding to this telephone number is obtained by the telephone number / BOX number management module 203, and this BOX number is obtained.
The mail in the BOX corresponding to the number is provided to the message recipient (see FIG. 2).

The operation when the message receiver receives the mail in the BOX has the following various forms.

(1) Reception of mail by personal computer The message recipient sends the personal computer 80B to the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110.
The user can connect to the unified message server 11 in the server and operate the personal computer 80B to receive an e-mail using an Internet homepage browser and display it in characters. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage unit 311 (the BOX for the message recipient in the mail storage unit 204 in FIG. 2) is sent to the e-mail distribution unit 321 via the Internet 110 as a message. It is sent to the recipient's personal computer 80B.

After connecting to the unified message server 11, the message receiver can send a command to the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110 to send an electronic mail addressed to itself as a voice mail. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means 311 is sent to the character-to-speech conversion means 331 by the e-mail distribution means 321 and is converted to voice mail by the character-to-speech conversion means 331. You. Then, the converted voice mail is sent to the personal computer 80B of the message recipient via the Internet 110, and is output as voice from a speaker attached to the personal computer 80B.

After connecting to the unified message server 11, the message receiver can send a command to the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110 to send an electronic mail addressed to itself as a fax mail. In this case, the message integration center 10
Then, the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means 311 is sent by the e-mail distribution means 321 to the character-to-FAX conversion means 332, and the character-to-FAX conversion means 332 is sent.
Is converted to FAX mail. Then, the converted F
The AX mail is sent to the message recipient's personal computer 80B via the Internet 110 and displayed as a photograph on the screen of the personal computer 80B.

After connecting to the unified message server 11, the message receiver can send a command to the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110 to send a voice mail addressed to itself as an electronic mail. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the voice mail stored in the voice mail storage unit 312 (the BOX for the message recipient in the mail storage unit 204 in FIG. 2) is converted by the voice mail distribution unit 322 into a voice → character conversion unit 333. And converted into an electronic mail by the voice-to-character conversion means 333. And
The converted e-mail is sent to the message recipient's personal computer 80B via the Internet 110 and displayed as characters on the screen.

After connecting to the unified message server 11, the message receiver can send a command to the message integration center 10 via the Internet 110 to send a fax mail addressed to itself as a video mail. In this case, the message integration center 10
Then, the FAX mail storage unit 313 (BOX for the message recipient in the mail storage unit 204 in FIG. 2)
FAX mail stored in the FAX mail distribution means 32
3 and is sent to the FAX → image conversion means 335, and is converted to a video mail by the FAX → character conversion means 335. Then, the converted video mail is sent to the message recipient's personal computer 80B via the Internet 110 and displayed on the screen as a video.

Further, the message receiver, for example, connects the personal computer D to the unified message server 1
After connecting to 1
10 can be received. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the video mail stored in the video mail storage unit 314 (the BOX for the message recipient in the mail storage unit 204 in FIG. 2) is directly transmitted to the message recipient's personal computer 80D via the Internet 110. And displayed on the screen as a video.

(2) Reception of mail by telephone The message recipient connects the telephone 40B to a telephone line or I
By connecting to the unified message server 11 in the message integration center 10 via the SDN line 100, an instruction to send a voice mail can be sent by operating the telephone or by voice. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the voice mail stored in the voice mail storage unit 312 is sent to the message receiver's telephone 40B via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 by the voice mail distribution unit 322 and output as voice. You.

The message receiver is the telephone 40B.
After the connection to the unified message server 11, a command to transmit the electronic mail addressed to itself as a voice mail can be sent by operating the telephone or by voice. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means 311 is sent to the character-to-speech conversion means 331 by the e-mail distribution means 321 and is converted to voice mail by the character-to-speech conversion means 331. You. Then, the converted voice mail is sent to the message receiver's telephone 40B via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 and output as voice.

Further, after connection with the unified message server 11, the message receiver can send a command to transmit a fax mail addressed to itself as a voice mail by operating the telephone or by voice. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the FAX mail stored in the FAX mail storage unit 313 is sent to the FAX → voice conversion unit 336 by the FAX mail distribution unit 323, and is converted to voice mail by the FAX → voice conversion unit 336. You. Then, the converted voice mail is sent to the message receiver's telephone 40B via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 and output as voice.

(3) Reception of mail by FAX machine The message recipient transmits the FAX 60B to the telephone line or I
By connecting to the unified message server 11 in the message integration center 10 via the SDN line 100, an instruction to send a fax mail can be sent by operating the fax machine. In this case, the message integration center 10
Then, the fax stored in the fax mail storage unit 313 is displayed.
The mail is sent to the message recipient's FAX machine 60B via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 by the FAX mail distribution means 323 as it is, and is output as an image.

The message recipient is a fax machine 60.
After connecting B to the unified message server 11, F
By operating the AX machine, it is possible to send a command indicating that an electronic mail addressed to the user should be transmitted as a fax mail. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the e-mail stored in the e-mail storage means 311 is sent by the e-mail distribution means 321 to the character-to-FAX conversion means 332.
Converted to email. Then, the converted FAX mail is sent to the FAX machine 60B of the message recipient via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 and output as an image.

The message recipient is a fax machine 60
After connecting B to the unified message server 11, F
By operating the AX machine, it is possible to send a command indicating that the voice mail addressed to itself should be transmitted as a fax mail. In this case, in the message integration center 10, the voice mail stored in the voice mail storage unit 312 is sent to the voice → FAX conversion unit 334 by the voice mail distribution unit 322, and the voice → FAX conversion unit 334 transmits the FAX mail.
Converted to email. Then, the converted FAX mail is sent to the FAX machine 60B of the message recipient via the telephone line or the ISDN line 100 and output as an image.

(4) Reception of mail by radio selective calling receiver having display function The message receiver can receive an electronic mail by radio selective calling receiver 70 having display function. In this case, when the radio selective call receiver is called, the corresponding electronic mail in the electronic mail storage means 311 is read out via the electronic mail distribution means 321 and sent to the radio selective call receiver 70.

(5) Notification of E-mail Reception In the message integration center 10, an e-mail, voice mail, FAX mail, or video mail addressed to any registrant is received, and the registrant's radio selective call receiver or mobile phone When the call number of the telephone is registered in the same center, the notification means 301 calls the radio selective call receiver or the mobile phone 42 of the registrant and notifies that the mail has been received.

(6) Overseas mail reception Overseas, the message is received by the message integration center 10 in Japan by connecting to the mirror message integration center 90 in the area and performing the same operation as described above. You can receive mail addressed to yourself. Conversely, by connecting to the message integration center 10 in Japan and performing the same operation as above, the mail addressed to itself received by the overseas mirror message integration center 90 can be received. Can also.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 4 illustrating the configuration of the present embodiment, a personal computer 11 connected to the Internet 40 and a telephone 12 or a fax machine 13 connected to a telephone line or ISDN line 30 are installed on the message transmitting side. I have. The unified message server 20 installed on the network,
Group broadcasting is enabled by having a registrant group list 25 or a registrant group list 25 that indicates a group to which each registrant belongs in a BOX. Further, the unified message server 20 installed on the network has a registrant personal storage BOX 26 for storing mail for each registrant who has been registered to use the unified message service. Voice mail,
FAX mail, e-mail, video mail, etc. can be stored.
Is associated with a unified telephone number (dial-in number) assigned to each registrant from the server.

The unified message server 20 stores, for each registrant, the telephone number of the registrant (in the case of e-mail, the address indicated by the telephone number) and the BOX number of the BOX for the registrant's personal storage. When an incoming mail to a mail recipient who is a registrant delivered via a telephone line or an ISDN line 30 is detected, the voice processing board 21 and the telephone number extracting module 22 detect the incoming mail. A telephone number is extracted, or in the case of an e-mail, an e-mail address is converted into a telephone number by using an e-mail address conversion table 24, and a BOX number corresponding to the telephone number is converted by a telephone number / BOX number management module 23. BOX
The mail is stored in the BOX corresponding to the number. In the case of voice, the mail thus accumulated can be obtained at each terminal through the voice conversion module 27 in response to a request from the personal computer 51, telephone 52, or FAX machine 53 in the mail recipient 50. .

Next, in the second embodiment, a procedure for transmitting a message using an electronic mail address indicated by a telephone number will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG. S51: The mail sender 10 describes and transmits the e-mail address of the unified message server of the mail receiver (user of the unified message service) 50. S52: The information transmitted from the mail sender 10 is transmitted to the unified message center 20 using the Internet network 40. S53: Using the e-mail address / BOX management module 22 in the unified message server 20 from the e-mail address in the telephone number notation, the e-mail receiver 50 determines the registrant personal storage BOX 26 contracted with the center. Store in the BOX.

S54: In response to a request from the personal computer 51 in the mail receiver 50, the message in the registrant personal storage box 26 is transmitted to the personal computer 51 using the Internet network 40. S55: Alternatively, the telephone 52 in the mail receiver 50
Sends a message in the registrant personal storage box 26 to the telephone 52 via the voice conversion module 27 by using the telephone line or the ISDN line 30. Further, the registrant personal storage box can centrally manage not only electronic mail but also information transmitted from communication devices corresponding to various media such as voice mail and FAX.

Next, in the second embodiment, a procedure for storing a message using an electronic mail address conversion table will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG.
Here, by providing the above table, it is possible to use an e-mail address in the form of a telephone number, and by associating this address with the BOX number of the registrant personal storage BOX, a message is stored in the BOX. .

S61: The mail sender 10 transmits the mail using the mail address in the telephone number notation of the mail receiver (user of the unified message service) 40. S62: The information transmitted from the mail sender 10 is transmitted to the unified message center 20 using the Internet network 40. S63: Via the e-mail address conversion table 21 in the unified message server 20, the e-mail address in the conventional notation associated with the BOX number of the BOX storing the message from the e-mail address in the telephone number notation Convert to S64: The converted mail address is associated with the personal BOX number dedicated to the registrant.

S65: The electronic mail is stored in the registrant personal storage box. S66: The message in the registrant personal storage box 26 is transmitted to the personal computer 51 using the Internet network 40 in response to a request from the personal computer 51 in the mail receiver 50. S67: Alternatively, the telephone 52 in the mail receiver 50
Sends a message in the registrant personal storage box 26 to the telephone 52 via the voice conversion module 27 by using the telephone line or the ISDN line 30. Here, the registrant personal storage box can centrally manage not only electronic mail but also information transmitted from communication devices corresponding to various media such as voice mail and FAX.

Next, in the second embodiment, the procedure for managing the registrant personal storage BOX based on the telephone number will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG. S71: The message sender 10 unifies the message to the message receiver (unified message service user) 40 from the telephone 12, the fax machine 13, or the personal computer 11 using the telephone line, the ISDN line 30, or the Internet network 40. The message is transmitted to the message server 20.

S72: The message delivered to the unified message server 20 is a telephone line or an ISD
The call arrives on the voice processing board 21 connected to the N line 30. S73: When a message arrives on the voice processing board 21, the telephone number is extracted by the telephone number extracting module 22. S74: Regarding the e-mail address specified by the server other than the unified message server (e-mail having the normal address), the e-mail address conversion table 24 in the unified message server 20 (conversion of the conventional e-mail address to the telephone number) BOX number of the corresponding registrant personal storage box 26 is assigned.

S75: Using the telephone number / BOX number management module 23 based on the extracted telephone number, using the telephone number of the message receiver 50 written on the transmitting side as a key, the corresponding registered individual BOX26 for storage
Assign an X number. S76: The message is stored in the corresponding registrant personal storage box 26 based on the assigned BOX number. S77: In response to a request from the telephone 52 in the mail receiver 50, the message in the registrant personal storage box 26 is transmitted via the voice conversion module 27 to the telephone line or I
The data is transmitted to the telephone set 52 using the SDN line 30. S78: Alternatively, in response to a request from the personal computer 51 in the mail recipient 50, the message in the registrant personal storage box 26 is transmitted to the personal computer 51 using the Internet network 40.

Next, a procedure for performing a broadcast service in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG. S81: The message sender 10 unifies the message to the message receiver (unified message service user) 50 from the telephone 12, the fax machine 13, or the personal computer 11 using the telephone line, the ISDN line 30, or the Internet network 40. The message is transmitted to the message server 20.

S82: The message delivered to the unified message server 20 is a telephone line or IS
It is received on the audio processing board 21 connected to the DN line 30. S83: When the message is received on the voice processing board 21, the telephone number is extracted by the telephone number extracting module 22. S84: The BOX of the registrant personal storage BOX is obtained by all the procedures of 52 in FIG. 5, 63 in FIG. 6, and 74 in FIG.
Assign a number. S85: The extracted telephone number or telephone number notation E-mail address or telephone number based on the e-mail address
Using the BOX number management module 23, the BOX number of the corresponding registrant personal storage BOX is assigned using the message receiver's telephone number written on the transmission side as a key.

S86: If the recipient of the message delivered to the unified message server 20 is a group, each box number is associated with a registrant group list, and all registrants in the group are registered. The message is stored in the storage box for use. S87: The message is stored in the registrant personal storage box based on the assigned BOX number. S88: In response to a request from the telephone 52 in the mail receiver 50, a message in the registrant personal BOX is transmitted to the telephone 52 via the voice conversion module 27 using the telephone line or the ISDN line 30. S89: Alternatively, in response to the request from the personal computer 51 in the mail receiver 50, the message in the registrant personal box is transmitted to the personal computer 51 using the Internet network 40 in place of the above-described procedure S88.

[0056]

The network-provided unified message system according to the present invention has the following effects. (1) The user can use the service of the unified message without making a capital investment (claims 1 to 5). (2) Since the equipment for the unified message service is under the control of the service provider in the network, the maintenance cost of the equipment as a whole can be reduced (claims 1 to 5). (3) In the message integration center, various types of mail such as voice mail, electronic mail, and fax mail can be centrally managed (claims 1 to 5).

(4) Since voice mail, electronic mail, FAX mail, etc. can be converted into mail of any format, it is possible to meet various needs of users (claims 2 to 5). (5) Since no special equipment is required, ordinary people including students and housewives can use the unified message service (claims 1 to 5). (6) The communication cost for confirming a message from abroad can be reduced (claim 5). (7) The unified message service can be used at any place (claims 1 to 5). (8) When a user receives a mail from the message integration center via a telephone line or an ISDN line, the user is required to automatically obtain a BOX number from the telephone number and receive the mail stored in the corresponding BOX. Therefore, complicated procedures are not required (claims 4 and 5).

(9) A service provider in a network has all means for providing a unified message service, and a network-provided unified message system that can be easily used by users can be provided. (10) Phone number assigned by server and BO for mail storage
By associating with the BOX number of X and expressing the destination address of the mail using the number of the telephone number,
User contacts can be unified (claim 6). (11) For mail delivered using a server other than the unified message server, use a mail address conversion table installed on the server side to store the mail in a storage box associated in advance. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a unified message system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a unified message server in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating functions of a message integration center according to the embodiment in terms of hardware.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a unified message system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure for transmitting a message using an e-mail address indicated by a telephone number in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a procedure of message storage using an electronic mail address conversion table in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure for managing a registrant personal storage box based on a telephone number in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure for performing a broadcast service in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Message Integration Center 11 Unified Message Server 12 Personal Computer 13 LAN 90 Mirror Message Integration Center 91 Unified Message Mirror Server 92 Personal Computer 93 LAN 100 Telephone or ISDN Line 110 Internet 40 Telephone 50 Cellular Phone or PHS 60 FAX Machine 70 Wireless Selective call receiver 80 Personal computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04M 3/42 (72) Inventor Tomonaga Hara 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Yoji Yoshikawa 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Eitaro Sakata 3-2-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Kenji Fujimura Within Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-19-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Takaaki Noda Within Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation 3-2-1, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A message integration center having a unified message server is provided in a network, and the message integration center provides a service for sending and receiving a unified message via the unified message server to a telephone line, an ISDN line or A network-provided unified message system provided via the Internet. 2. The unified message server,
A mail storage unit provided with a mail storage BOX provided for each registrant who has been registered to use the unified message service; In response to a command from the person, the mail stored in the mail storage means and addressed to the registrant is sent to the message recipient, and when instructed by the message recipient, the mail stored in the mail storage means is sent. 2. The network-provided unified message system according to claim 1, wherein the mail addressed to the registrant is converted into another type of mail and sent to the message recipient. 3. The message integration center includes: means for converting the electronic mail stored in the mail storing means into a facsimile mail; means for converting the electronic mail into a voice mail; and means for converting the voice mail into an electronic mail. And means for converting a voice mail into a fax mail, means for converting a fax mail into an image, and means for converting a fax mail into a voice mail.
The network-provided unified message system according to 1. 4. The unified message server,
For each registrant, the telephone number of the registrant and B for the registrant
The BOX number of the OX is stored in association with it, and when an incoming call from a message receiver who is a registrant is detected via a telephone line, an ISDN line, or the Internet, the telephone number is extracted and the corresponding telephone number is extracted. A BOX number is obtained, the mail stored in the BOX corresponding to the BOX number is provided to the message recipient, and when the transmission of the message to the registrant is detected, the telephone number of the registrant, which is the transmission destination, is transmitted. BO corresponding to the number
3. The network-provided unified message system according to claim 2, wherein an X number is obtained, and an outgoing mail is registered in a BOX corresponding to the BOX number. 5. The message integration center having the message integration center in Japan and a mirror message integration center connected to the message integration center via a network abroad, wherein each of the message integration center and the mirror message integration center is provided. The unified message server keeps the contents of the mails held by each other, and the message receiver who has made a connection with one of the message integration center or the mirror message integration center has the other message integration center or the mirror message integration center on the other side. The network-provided unified message system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the system is configured to be able to receive the e-mail addressed to the user. 6. The unified message server,
The mail address assigned to each registrant is represented by the registrant's telephone number, which is used as the registrant's mail storage BOX number. 3. The network-provided unified message system according to claim 2, wherein the mail is stored.