KR19990015747A - e-mail - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention accesses the e-mail server at regular intervals and checks the mail received. When a new mail arrives, the mail is automatically notified to the recipient (subscriber), and the subscriber terminal automatically receives the received mail. The present invention relates to an automatic e-mail receiving and alarm device and method for receiving a message.

In the related art, when a user attempts to access a communication and successfully accesses an e-mail server, it is inconvenient to repeatedly check the mail arrival and then release the communication connection.

The present invention attempts to connect to an e-mail server at regular time intervals, and if the connection is successful, retrieves the newly arrived mail, receives the newly arrived mail, stores it in memory, and notifies the arrival of the mail. Also, the display is confirmed through a TV receiver display, a voice alarm, or the like, and a process such as mail display or continuous storage is performed according to a user's response.

In addition, when the TV is turned on, the unread mail is determined to be present, and if there is an unread mail, the fact is processed in the same manner as above to confirm the user.

Description

E-mail (ｅ－ｍａｉｌ) automatic confirmation and notification device and method

The present invention accesses the e-mail server at regular intervals and checks the mail received. When a new mail arrives, the mail is automatically notified to the recipient (subscriber), and the subscriber terminal automatically receives the received mail. The present invention relates to a device and a method for automatically checking and notifying an e-mail.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional e-mail processing apparatus, which is provided in a PC or other terminal including PC communication related components.

The communication connection unit 1 is a circuit for connecting to a server using a telephone line as a modem or a LAN card, and for receiving data from the server and providing the data to the terminal. The microcomputer unit 2 connected to the communication connection unit 1 is e. Control related to the transmission of e-mail, that is, an e-mail client program is executed to communicate with a server through a communication connection to send and receive e-mail, and the memory unit 3 is connected to the microcomputer 2 to receive from the server. Stores one e-mail, and the video unit 4 is connected to the microcomputer 2 to convert the received e-mail into an analog signal, and the display unit 5 outputs the e-mail output from the video unit 4. -mail is displayed as a video signal on the screen.

According to the conventional e-mail processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, even if a new mail arrives at the server, the mail cannot be confirmed unless the user directly accesses and confirms.

In other words, the user is inconvenient to check the arrival of the mail at any time by paying special attention during the operation of the terminal.

To do this, you need to connect to an e-mail server, check whether there is mail coming to you, and if there is an e-mail, receive it and store it in the memory. Even through the above operation was able to check whether the mail was received.

In the present invention, by connecting to the e-mail server at regular time intervals to check whether there is a newly arrived e-mail, and to display the confirmation result to the user to automatically check whether the e-mail received Provides a device and method for automatic e-mail confirmation and notification.

In addition, the present invention is connected to the e-mail at regular intervals, check whether there is a newly arrived e-mail, and if a new e-mail arrives as a result of the check, receive the e-mail and store it in the memory, The present invention provides a device and method for automatic e-mail confirmation and notification to indicate receipt of new e-mail and to automatically receive and confirm e-mail.

In addition, the present invention is connected to the e-mail at regular intervals, check whether there is a newly arrived e-mail, and if a new e-mail arrives as a result of the check, receive the e-mail and store it in the memory, E-mail that indicates the arrival of new mail by text or voice alarm, and the user can be notified by text or voice alarm if there is an unread message among the received mails. Provides an automatic confirmation and notification device and method.

In addition, in the present invention, by accessing the e-mail at regular intervals, it is possible to check whether there is a newly arrived e-mail, and to inform the user of the arrival of the new mail through a promised medium such as a wireless pager. Provides a device and method for automatic e-mail confirmation and notification.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional e-mail processing apparatus

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the automatic e-mail confirmation and notification device of the present invention

3 and 4 is a flowchart of the automatic e-mail confirmation and notification method of the present invention

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an automatic e-mail receiving and alarm device applying the present invention to a TV receiver as an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 2, the present invention relates to a communication connection unit 1 for connecting a communication line and a terminal (client), a first microcomputer 2a for controlling TV functions, and a first microcomputer 2a and information. A second microcomputer 2b for controlling e-mail acknowledgment and mail transmission and display through the communication connection unit 1, and an ID of a server to be connected by the second microcomputer 2b, Memory unit 3 for storing mail information and the like, and a video unit for displaying, on the display unit 5, text information indicating a mail message or mail arrival or unread mail presence under the control of the second microcomputer 2b. (4) and an audio unit 6, which performs a voice alarm for notifying the arrival or unread mail existence of the mail through the speaker 7, under the control of the second microcomputer 2b.

3 and 4 show the procedure of automatic e-mail receiving and alarm control performed by the automatic e-mail receiving and alarming apparatus of the present invention configured as described above.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the power of the TV is turned on from the off state (power on / off information is transmitted from the first microcomputer 2a to the second microcomputer 2b), the second microcomputer 2b is unread by the user. If there is an unread mail by searching whether it exists in this memory part 3, this is notified by a text or voice alarm.

This process is described as routine C below.

On the other hand, the second microcomputer 2b sets the time count value CNT of the timer counter inside the second microcomputer 2b to '0' in order to connect to the e-mail server at a constant time interval ST, for example, every hour. It is initialized to 'and the count is started to determine whether the set time interval (ST) has been reached.

When the time interval ST is reached, the second microcomputer 2b reads the telephone number or IP address of the e-mail server stored in the memory unit 3 and attempts to access the e-mail server with this information. do.

In the memory unit 3, information such as a telephone number, an IP address of the e-mail server, a user's wireless call number, and the like are stored in advance, and an e-mail message for receiving new mail connected to the e-mail is also stored.

The communication connection unit 1 under the control of the second microcomputer 2b is connected to a telephone line or a LAN line, a switching unit for switching the telephone line or a LAN line, a tone generator for generating a dial tone, and detecting an incoming call. Control of the second microcomputer 2b, including a tone detector for the data, a digital analog converter for data transmission and reception, an analog digital converter and a communication modem, a controller for controlling them appropriately, and an interface with the second microcomputer 2b. Accordingly, a communication line is established with the telephone number or the IP address.

Under the control of the second microcomputer 2b, when the communication connection unit 1 succeeds in the communication connection with the e-mail server, it is searched whether there is a newly arrived mail.

However, if the communication connection unit 1 fails to communicate with the e-mail server under the control of the second microcomputer 2b, for example, three reconnection attempts, which have been set in advance, are performed using the connection attempt count counter TRY. Repeat it.

If the connection is successful during this operation, the system checks whether there is a new mail.

If the mail arrives as a result of the search, the mail message is received through the communication connection unit 1, stored in the memory unit 3, and the user is informed that a new mail has arrived.

On the other hand, if there is no new mail, the user searches whether there is an unread mail, and if there is an unread mail, the user is informed that an unread mail exists.

As a method of notifying that the new mail or the unread mail is present, the portable terminal of the user may be called or information may be transmitted to the portable terminal.

As an example, a user may be a wireless call in the case of a wireless pager subscriber.

The radio call also calls the call number stored in the memory unit 3 through the communication connection unit 1, and increases the call success rate by repeating the call attempt a predetermined number of times, for example, three times.

The method of notifying the arrival of an e-mail by using a pager may inform the arrival of the e-mail by the promised numeric information, or in the case of a text (Korean, English, etc.) pager subscriber, only the e-mail subject by text or the VMS subscriber. In this case, the voicemail may be a method of recording a voice message informing the arrival of the mail.

In addition, information on receiving mail can be retransmitted through a medium that can be immediately recognized by the user.

After that, depending on the TV's power status, it will notify you of the arrival of mail and the presence of unread mail.

Receiving TV power on / off information from the first microcomputer 2a, the second microcomputer 2b performs the routine C of FIG. 4 when the TV power is on, and the first microcomputer (2) when the TV power is currently off. It is required to turn on the TV power supply 2a), and in response to this, the TV microcomputer 2a turns on the TV power supply through a normal power supply control circuit.

The second microcomputer 2b performs the routine C and then causes the first microcomputer 2a to turn off the TV power.

The routine C is a process for displaying mail-related information to the user through video and audio through the TV display unit 5 or the TV speaker 7, depending on the arrival of the mail, the arrival of the mail, and the unread mail.

A description with reference to FIG. 4 is as follows.

The second microcomputer 2a receives a message indicating that there is an e-mail newly received and received in the memory unit 3 or a message indicating that there is an unread mail by the user through the video unit 4 on the display unit 5. Mark it as information.

For example, it displays an image of a sender, a mail list, a key input message, and the like, and controls the audio unit 6 to output an alarm sound (alarm) for the existence of a mail through the speaker 7.

The user waits for a key input for a predetermined time (WT) to determine the user's response. If the user does not respond for more than a predetermined time, the newly arrived mail is also designated as an unread mail, and then the alarm output is turned off and returned.

However, in response to the user's response, the content of the selected mail is displayed on the display unit 5 via the video unit 4 in response to a request of the user's key input, or the message is designated as an unread message and then the alarm output is turned off. And return.

On the other hand, as another embodiment of the present invention, the memory unit 3 stores a telephone number to be called, that is, a telephone number that can be received at a remote location by using a facsimile or a communication terminal. When receiving a new mail, the second microcomputer 2b controls the communication connection unit 1 to perform a connection with the call destination and then transfers the mail stored in the memory unit 3 to the call destination. Perform.

This ensures the convenience of checking incoming mail from a remote location.

As above, it attempts to connect to e-mail server at regular time intervals. If the connection is successful, it checks whether there is a new mail and receives the newly arrived mail and stores it in memory. It confirms through a setting communication terminal (wireless pager, etc.), a TV receiver display, a voice alarm, etc., and performs a process of displaying a mail or continuously storing it according to a user's response.

In addition, when the TV is turned on, the presence of unread mail is determined, and if the unread mail exists, the fact can be processed and confirmed to the user in the same manner as described above.

On the other hand, the user can designate the user to selectively perform the functions such as the user preset communication terminal (represented by the numeric information, recording the arrival notification message to the VMS, the character information), or TV image or voice alarm output through key input. By doing so, unnecessary or excessive acknowledgment operation can be excluded.

According to the E-mail automatic reception and alarm device and method of the present invention, it is convenient to automatically check whether new mail has arrived, and to automatically receive and remember the newly arrived mail, and to notify the user. Whether or not it is provided in various forms such as a user preset communication terminal, a video display, a voice alarm, etc., it is possible to give a high reliability in confirming mail arrival.

In addition, when applied to a TV receiver, it is convenient to notify whether or not the mail arrives, as well as the presence of unread mail according to the on and off of the TV power supply.

Claims (12)

Communication connection means for connecting the subscriber to the e-mail server through the communication line, and attempts to automatically connect to the e-mail server through the communication connection means, and confirms the existence of the newly arrived e-mail upon successful connection. And control means for displaying the e-mail newly arrived by the control means, and a display means for informing the user of the e-mail newly arrived. Communication connection means for connecting the subscriber to the e-mail server through the communication line, and attempts to automatically connect to the e-mail through the communication connection means and check the existence of the newly arrived e-mail upon successful connection. Control means for receiving and storing the newly arrived mail and for notifying the arrival of the mail, storage means for storing the mail received by the control means, and presence of the mail confirmed by the control means. An automatic e-mail confirmation and notification device, characterized in that it comprises a display means for notifying the user and displaying the stored mail. In the TV receiver which outputs the TV broadcast signal of the selected channel through the video display means and the audio output means by video and audio processing, Communication connection means for connecting the subscriber to the e-mail server through the communication line, and attempts to automatically connect to the e-mail through the communication connection means and check the existence of the newly arrived e-mail upon successful connection. Control means for performing control for receiving and storing newly arrived mail and for notifying the arrival of mail, and for controlling on / off of the TV power supply; storage means for storing mail received by the control means; And a video output means for informing the user of the existence of the mail identified by the control means and the mail message as image information, and a voice output means for informing the user of the confirmed mail as voice information. E-mail automatic check and notification device characterized in that. 4. The electronic mail according to claim 3, wherein, when the TV power is turned on, the control means checks the existence of an unread mail among the mails stored in the storage means, and outputs the confirmation result as a video or audio. (e-mail) Automatic confirmation and notification device. 4. The automatic e-mail confirmation and notification device according to claim 3, wherein the e-mail acknowledgment is repeatedly performed at a predetermined number of times at a predetermined time interval. 4. The automatic confirmation of an e-mail according to claim 3, wherein, upon arrival of the new e-mail, a user attempts to access a preset communication terminal (wireless pager, mobile phone, etc.) to notify the arrival of the e-mail. And notification device. 4. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the storage means has a forwarding station information determined by a user and, when a new mail is received, performs a communication connection to the forwarding station and transmits the received mail. Automatic e-mail confirmation and notification device. 7. The automatic e-mail confirmation and notification device according to claim 6, wherein the information notified to the communication terminal preset by the user is a text or a voice. The e-mail server is connected to the e-mail server at regular intervals to check the existence of the newly arrived mail. If the mail arrives as a result of the check, the mail message is received and stored. And a notification process of notifying the user of the fact that the new mail has been received by video and audio alarms. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of accessing the receiver information stored in the memory means. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: distinguishing between read and unread mails after outputting mails according to a user's request. 12. The method of claim 11, comprising determining whether to store the read mail.