KR20020093453A - An electronic stamp system and method for internet messaging service - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system and method for supporting an electronic postage stamp in an Internet messaging service is provided to enable a user to understand and use various transmitting/receiving methods easily and enable a service company to perform a taxation to the user conveniently. CONSTITUTION: If a user pays a predetermined amount of money through a small amount of money payment service(121), a point managing unit(112) supplies corresponding points to the user and supplies a function capable of using and managing points. A postage stamp managing unit(111) comprises a postage stamp display managing unit(301) for displaying a postage stamp on a screen and processing a postage stamp selection of users and a postage stamp function processing unit(302) for setting or checking a function to be processed in a postage stamp and calling a necessary function. In addition, the user purchases an electronic postage stamp. The user selects an electronic postage stamp in preparing a mail. The mail is delivered according to a kind of the selected electronic postage stamp. The mail is displayed or operated according to the kind of the selected electronic postage stamp.

Description

System and method for supporting electronic stamps in Internet messaging services {AN ELECTRONIC STAMP SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTERNET MESSAGING SERVICE}

The present invention is directed to a system and method for supporting electronic stamps that differentiate delivery and receipt of messages (mail) in Internet messaging services such as e-mail, matchmail, messenger, and the like. Conventional Internet-based message transmission and reception methods include electronic mail, instant messaging, matchmail, mailing lists, and the like. In the conventional method of transmitting and receiving a message, a user can select a differentiated function in delivery and reception of a message (or mail, hereinafter referred to as mail).

In this conventional method, there is a problem in that the use of such a selection function is different depending on the message transmitting and receiving method and the products, which is inconvenient or difficult for the user, and does not facilitate the charging.

The present invention provides a system and method that can support the electronic stamp to solve the above problems, so that the user can easily understand and use a variety of transmission and reception methods, and the service provider can charge the user more conveniently It is an object of the present invention to provide a method.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an Internet messaging service for supporting electronic stamps.

2 is a screen example of supporting an electronic stamp in mail writing

3 is a flow chart of components for supporting electronic stamps and processing electronic stamps in mail writing and receiving;

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

101-Message Transfer Agent (MTA): mail transfer server for e-mail systems

102-Message Store (MS): message store for email systems

103-MUA (Message User Agent): Mail sending / receiving terminal software

In order to achieve the above object, the system and method proposed by the present invention, an electronic stamp that can provide a variety of mail delivery and receiving methods to the user, a point-based billing system that can charge the user for the electronic stamp, It consists of an interface that allows users to select and use electronic stamps, as well as interworking with messaging services such as email and matchmail.

Referring to FIG. 1 as an example of such a configuration, the MTS 101, the MS 102, the MUA 103, and the WEB interface 104 are a standard structure of a system for a conventional general webmail service. The stamp manager 111 and the point manager 112 may be added to the standard configuration to make the electronic stamp available.

The electronic stamp proposed in the present invention provides a method for a user to more easily select the quality of mail delivery and reception. The concept of stamps already provides a way for the user to select the quality of delivery and reception of letters in real life. The most important feature of the present invention is the introduction of the concept of such stamps to various internet messaging. Types and features of stamps proposed by the present invention are as follows.

-Delivered Stamps: When there are multiple recipients for a particular mail, the number or amount of recipients is determined by the number or amount of stamps. The number of users who will receive the mail is determined from among the plurality of recipients who match the condition.)

-Reply permission stamp: The sender of the mail must attach this stamp in order for the other party to reply to the email.

-Express stamps: Mail can be delivered regardless of the recipient's mailbox limit.

-Top-level stamp: places the mail at the top of the mail list in the recipient's mailbox.

-Glitter Postage Stamps: In the mailing list of the recipient's mailbox, the subject of the message shows a glistening special effect.

-Reminder Stamp: You will be notified by phone if you reply to this stamped letter.

-Paid Received Stamps: When you read a letter with this stamp, you pay the designated fee from the recipient to the sender.

-Paid Reply Request Stamp: When you reply to a letter with this stamp, you pay the sender to the recipient.

The operation of the user who can use and select the electronic stamp is processed in the WEB interface 104 of FIG. 1, and a detailed screen example thereof is shown in FIG. 2. The screen shown in FIG. 2 is a screen for writing a mail, which is located at the right side of a screen for writing a mail 201 and selecting an electronic mail stamp 202. The point charging 201 allows the user to purchase points by interworking with the micro payment service 121 through the point manager 112 of FIG. 1. The micro payment service 121 is a service by a general technology provided by the existing commercial service.

3A, 3B, and 3C show the detailed configuration of the stamp manager 111 and the point manager 112 and the flow of operations related to stamps when sending mail.

The point manager 112 supplies a corresponding point to the user when the user pays a predetermined amount through the micro payment service 121. It also provides the ability to use and manage points. The stamp manager 111 shows a stamp on the screen, a stamp display manager 301 for handling the user's stamp selection and a stamp function processor 302 for setting or confirming a function to be processed in the stamp and calling a necessary function. It consists of. As an example, when a user writes and sends a delivery permit stamp, the operation of each component is described in FIG. 3B. In addition, the procedure in the case of receiving a stamped mail is described in FIG. 3C.

All types of stamps described above can be processed with this process. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to select a message (mail) delivery and reception quality by a user in an Internet message transmission service such as e-mail, matchmail, messenger, and the like, in particular in the form of an e-mail. Service providers can offer a variety of online billing methods.

Claims (6)

The user purchases an electronic stamp; Selecting an electronic stamp when the user composes a mail; Mail is delivered according to the type of electronic stamp selected; A method of supporting e-stamps in Internet messaging services such as e-mail, matchmail, messenger, comprising the steps of displaying or operating mail according to the type of e-stamp selected. The method of claim 1, The electronic postage stamp includes characteristics of delivery and reception of mail, and when there are a plurality of recipients to receive a specific mail, the number of users to receive is determined according to the number or amount of the postage; A reply permission stamp used by the sender of the mail to reply to the mail sent by the sender; Express stamps to which mail may be delivered regardless of the recipient's mailbox limit; A top-level stamp that places the mail at the top of the recipient list's mail list; In the mail list of the recipient's mailbox, the subject of the message is a shiny stamp that shows the sparkling special effect; A notification stamp to notify the mobile phone when you reply to a letter; Paid postage stamps that, upon reading the letter, result in payment made from the recipient to the sender; When you reply to a letter, a paid replies stamp that causes the sender to pay the specified fee. The type and operation method of the electronic stamp provided. The method according to claim 1 or 2, At the stage where a user purchases an electronic stamp How to purchase electronic stamps in bulk, either by wire transfer or by credit card, paying regular or irregular payments directly to the service provider. Known micropayment method is a method of purchasing points, which are a kind of cyber money, and then purchasing electronic stamps as points. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The selection of the electronic stamp may be made before or after the preparation of the mail, How to select a stamp together in the mail creation screen. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A method of interworking with an existing messaging system to support the step of delivering mail according to the type of electronic stamp selected. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A method for supporting the steps in which mail is displayed or operated depending on the type of electronic stamp selected.