KR20040074118A - An Internet Mail Method and System based on Sender Mailbox - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and a system for an Internet mail based on a mailbox of a sender are provided to download an original copy of the mail from the mailbox of the sender by storing the original copy in the mailbox of a sender mailbox equipped to each sender ID. CONSTITUTION: A sender down mail server(202) receives the mail sent from the sender(201) and stores the original copy in a sender mail box(209). The sender down mail server makes/transfers a delivery informing message to a recipient down mail server(203) or a recipient mail server(213). If the recipients(204,214) want to receive the mail, the original copy is received from the sender down mail server.

Description

An Internet Mail Method and System based on Sender Mailbox

[Brief Description of Drawings]

1 is a conceptual diagram of the mail communication of the down-mail method

2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the download method

Figure 3 Format of sending notification mail

4 is a flowchart of processing of the MTA_n 205.

5 is a flowchart of the mail source down function of the SMM 208;

6 is a flowchart of the receiver 204.

Detailed description of the invention

[Purpose of invention]

[Technical Field to which the Invention belongs and Prior Art in the Field]

The present invention technically suppresses the occurrence of spam mail by improving the structural problem of the conventional mail system based on the receiving mail mailbox such as wired / wireless internet mail or web mail, and the sender sends the mail sent without the help of the receiving party. The present invention relates to a sender's mail mailbox-based Internet mail, that is, a down-mail method and a system, which can check whether the recipient has read the mail, save mail mailbox space, and reduce mail traffic on the Internet.

The conventional mail delivery system uses a personal computer connected to the wired and wireless Internet to create a mail and send it to a sending mail server, and a sender that receives a mail requested by the sender to send it to the receiving mail server. It consists of a mail server, a receiving mail server that receives mail from the sending mail server, stores it in the receiving mail mailbox, delivers the mail stored at the request of the recipient to the recipient, and a recipient receiving mail from the receiving mail server. . The sender sends mail to the sending mail server, and the sending mail server delivers the mail to the receiving mail server by using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and the recipient receives the mail from the receiving mail server. The communication procedure to be read is performed by the Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) or the Post Office Protocol (POP) 3. The mail sent by the sender is stored in the receiving mailbox on the receiving mail server until the recipient reads it.

Recently, a lot of web mails integrating a mail server and a web server have been widely used. In the case of web mail, a sender sends a mail through a HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) procedure instead of a conventional SMTP communication procedure. It delivers to the server and the receiver receives its own mail from the receiving mail server through HTTP procedure instead of the conventional communication procedure such as IMAP or POP3.

Looking at the conventional mail system, the following three problems are largely caused by the structural characteristics of the receiving mail mailbox based on the receiving mail mailbox of the receiving mail server and filling the receiving mail mailbox of the receiving mail server regardless of the recipient's intention. do; First, in receiving mail, the receiving party has to put a lot of burden on the mail communication such as having to keep the forwarded mail in the mailbox and to read or delete the archived mail. Moral hazards are rampant in the use of e-mail, such as sending spam or bomb mail. Second, since the sender cannot access the receiving mail mailbox, the sender cannot know about the subsequent processing result of the mail sent by him is stored in the receiving mail mailbox. As a result of this, if the receiving party does not send a response mail or a separate signal, the sender cannot confirm whether the recipient has read the mail sent by him, that is, the mail reception confirmation. Third, due to the excessive spam mails, mail traffic is congested and the Internet is congested, and the receiving mailbox is filled with spam mail, and the mailbox space is wasted, and the receiving mail server is overloaded, which greatly affects the communication of necessary mail. It causes a lot of damage. In particular, commercial spam mails and virus distribution mails have characteristics of multiple mails in which mails are sent to a plurality of recipients. These unwanted mails fill the receiving mailboxes of a plurality of recipients, thereby increasing waste of mailbox space.

[Technical problem to be achieved]

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention improves the structure of the conventional mail system based on the receiving mail box so that an original mail box sent by the sender is provided at the receiving mail server by the receiver ID (identifier). Rather, the present invention devises a down-mail method and system for storing a mail box provided by sender ID (identification section) in the sender mail server and downloading a mail source from the sender mail mailbox only when the receiver desires it. In the down-mail method, when a sender sends a mail, the sender's mail server keeps the original mail in the sender's mailbox, generates a sending notification mail indicating that the mail has been sent, and delivers it to the receiver as in the conventional mail method. The mail is communicated in the form of downloading the original mail by the intention of the recipient who read the mail. The technical problem of the present invention is to propose such a mail-based down-mail method based on the sender's mail box, and to devise a mail linking device to be able to interwork with a conventional mail method and a system.

[Configuration and Function of Invention]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, let's look at the mail communication behavior of the downmail method. 1 illustrates a mail communication concept of a down-mail method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As with the conventional mail method, the down mail method has a basic configuration of a sender 101, a sender down mail server 102, a receiver down mail server 103, and a receiver 104, and the down mail user and the conventional mail user. Has a mail interlock device for mail communication. The mail mailbox is composed of a receiving mail mailbox 105 which holds a sending notification mail and a sending mail mailbox 106 which stores a mail source. The main difference from the conventional mail system is that the space for storing mail to be read by the receiver is not the receiving mail mailbox but the sending mail mailbox provided for each sender ID in the sending downmail server. The behavior of mail traffic is as follows; The sender keeps the original mail sent to the sender's mailbox, creates a sending notification mail, and delivers it to the recipient. The recipient reads the send notification mail and receives the original mail in the sender's mailbox if desired. In other words, the sender accesses his or her mail box and checks whether the recipient has read the mail source. In this case, the sending notification mail is a very short mail containing important information about the sent mail and the mailbox information of the archived mail source, and contains a meaning of a request for permission to send mail. The mailbox information of the mail source in the sending notification mail is set as a hyperlink. When this section is clicked, the mail source stored in the sending mail box is read in the form of webmail. Access the mail server and retrieve the mail source. The original request, where the recipient clicks on the hyperlinked portion of the sending notification mail, contains the permission "You may send mail." As a result, when the recipient receives the mail source, the sender sends the email to the recipient. Means that.

Figure 2 shows a detailed configuration of the down-mail method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As a whole, it is composed of a conventional mail area and a downmail area, and a mail interlocking device 200 which interconnects the two areas. First, look at the functional blocks mounted in each device as follows.

o MTA (Message Transfer Agent): A message transfer agent that is responsible for the communication of mail, which is used in the conventional mail area is MTA (215), the down-mail area and the mail interlocking device 200 is called MTA_n (205)

o UA (User Agent): It is a user agent installed in a personal computer or portable terminal connected to wired / wireless Internet to help the sender (201, 211) and the receiver (204, 214).

RMB (Recipient MailBox) (207): Recipient mailbox for storing mail that has arrived at the recipient.

o SMB (Sender MailBox) 209: The sender's mail mailbox which holds the original, i.e., the origin of the general mail sent by the sender (201, 211). Herein, the general mail means a mail whose length of the mail body is longer than a predetermined length among the mails sent by the sender 201 and 211 to the receiver 204 and 214.

Recipient Mailbox Manager (RMM) (206): Recipient Mailbox Manager who manages RMB (207).

o Sender Mailbox Manager (SMM) (208): Sender mailbox manager who manages SMB (209).

The conventional mail area includes a sender 211 which composes a mail in a device equipped with a UA and sends it to the sender mail server 212; A sender mail server 212 which receives the mail requested by the sender 211 to send and sends the mail to the receiver mail server 213; A receiving mail server 213 which receives the mail from the sending mail server 212 and stores the mail in the RMB 207 and delivers the mail to the recipient 214 upon request of the recipient 214; And a receiver 214 for receiving mail from the receiving mail server 213. The sending mail server 212 is composed of only the MTA 215, but the receiving mail server 213 is equipped with an MTA 215, an RMM 206, and an RMB 207.

The down-mail area includes a sender 201 which composes a mail in a device equipped with a UA and sends it to the sender down-mail server 202; Receives the mail requested by the sender 201 to send it and stores it in the SMB 209 provided for each sender ID, generates a sending notification mail, and sends the mail to the receiving side down mail server 203, upon request of the receiver 204. A sending side down mail server 202 for sending a mail source stored in the SMB 209 to the receiver 204; A receiving side down mail server 203 which receives the sending notification mail from the sending side down mail server 202 and stores it in the RMB 207 and delivers the sending notification mail to the receiver 204 upon request of the recipient 204; And a receiver 204 which receives the sending notification mail from the receiving mail server 203 and downloads the mail source stored in the SMB 209 of the sending mail server 202 by its own selection. It is characterized by.

The mail interlocking device 200 transmits the request of the SMB 209 and the recipient 204 which hold the originals of the general mail sent by the MTA_n 205, the sender 211 of the conventional mail area to the recipient 204 of the down mail area. SMM 208 is characterized in that it consists of receiving and sending the original mail stored in the SMB (209). The MTA_n 205, SMB 209, and SMM 208 mounted on the down-mail servers 202 and 203 and the mail interlock device 200 are all designed in the same manner and have flexibility in device configuration.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, mail is classified into general mail and signal mail, wherein general mail is mail that a sender wants to send to a recipient whose length is longer than a predetermined length. It is used as an assistant for smooth communication of general mail, such as notifying the recipient or notifying the sender that the recipient has received the mail. The difference between a signal mail and a normal mail is the length of the mail body. The length of the body is considered to be a fixed length, for example, 100 bytes, if it is less than or equal to the signal mail, and if it is a normal mail, it is long. Therefore, a mail having a body shorter than a predetermined length is treated as a signal mail and can be delivered in a conventional mail manner. Mail can also be divided into individual mail with a single recipient and multiple mail with multiple recipients.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, general mail communication between a conventional mail user and a downmail user is performed as follows; When the conventional mail sender 211 sends a mail to the downlink recipient 204, the sender mail server 212 receives the mail sent by the sender 211 to the receiving mail server 203, but notifies the sender. Receiving side down mail server 203, which handles only the signal mail, such as such, passes it to the mail interlocking device (200). The mail interlocking device 200 stores the original mail received in its own SMB 209, generates an outgoing notification mail 301, and delivers it to the receiving side down mail server 203, and receives the receiving side down mail server. Recipient 204 who receives the sending notification mail 301 from 203 approaches the mail interlocking device 200 by his intention and receives the mail original stored in SMB 209. On the other hand, when the down-mail sender 201 sends a mail to the recipient 214 of the conventional mail, the sender's down-mail server 202 receives the general mail sent by the sender 201 and stores the original mail in the SMB 209. After the delivery notification mail 301 is made and delivered to the receiving mail server 213 in the conventional mail method, the recipient 214 who receives the sending notification mail 301 from the receiving mail server 213, if he wants The sender side mail server 202 is accessed to receive the original mail stored in the SMB 209.

In FIG. 2, the communication procedure between each component has the characteristics of using the same standardized communication procedure as the conventional electronic mail method, specifically as follows; The sender 211, 201 sends a mail to the sender's mail server 212 or the sender's downmail server 202 and the MTA 215 or MTA_n (mounted to the mail server 212,213, 202,203) and the mail interlocking device 200. The mail communication procedure between 205 uses SMTP. Recipients 214 and 204 receive mail or outgoing notification mail from the RMM 206 in the receiving mail server 213 or the receiving down mail server 203, and the recipients 214 and 204 send or receive the mail interlocking device 200 or send. Receiving a mail source from the SMM 208 at the side downmail server 202 uses an IMAP, POP3 or HTTP procedure.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the SMB 209 which stores the mail source of individual mails is configured as follows; The mail source is stored in a separate directory for each sender and for each mail, and the directory structure of the SMB 209 is as follows.

Sender's Mail Mailbox / Sender ID / Recipient ID / Email Number /

The sender mail mailbox is a home directory name where the mail source is stored, and the sender ID (identifier) is an ID for distinguishing senders who send mail through the sender down mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200. . The e-mail address is "mail ID @ domain name". The sender ID can be configured by using a character string that removes a symbol or special character from the sender's e-mail address. If all the senders who send the mail through the mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200 can be identified, the sender ID may be configured with only the mail ID. Recipient ID is composed by using a character string that removes symbol or special character from recipient's mail address. A mail number is an identifier for distinguishing each mail when there are a plurality of mails that a specific sender wants to deliver to a specific receiver.

Two files are stored in the "/ Sender's Mailbox / Sender ID / Recipient ID / Mail Number /" directory where the mail source is stored. One is the file containing the mail source, and the other is the recipient of the mail source. This file contains the password used to authenticate. The directory storing the mail source is, in principle, deleted after the recipient receives the mail source.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the case of multiple mails, the configuration of the SMB 209 is as follows; Information to be delivered to all recipients with the same content, for example, mail subject, sender's name, mail body, etc., is common information, and information to be delivered differently for each recipient, for example, recipient's mail address, is referred to as individual information. A directory system for storing common information of multiple mails is " / mailing side mail mailbox / sender ID / multimail //." When storing the mail source of multiple mails, create a directory to store the common information of the multi-mails in the common information storage space, that is, a common information store, and files (B files) and multi-mails having the common information of the multi-mails in the created common information store. A file with the number of recipients (C file), a file indicating the number of recipients of the mail source of multiple mails (D file), and a file with the address of the multiple mail recipients or link information of the files with these addresses (R). File). The individual information repository that stores individual information of multiple mails is composed of "/ mailing side mail box / sender ID / receiver ID / mail number /" directory like individual mails, and each repository stores individual information of the corresponding multiple mails. A file (H file), a file (O file) that stores the directory name of the common information store where the common information of the multi-mail is stored, and a file (P file) containing the password are stored.

A sender who wants to open his or her mail mailbox in the SMB 209 of the sender downmail server 202 registers his account with his SMB 209 in the sender downmail server 202. When registering such an account, the sending down-mail server 202 creates the sender's sending mail mailbox, i.e., " / sending mailing mailbox / sender ID / " directory.

On the other hand, the SMB 209 of the mail interlocking device 200 may also use a directory system in the form of "/ sending side mail mailbox / sender ID / receiver ID / mail number /" like the SMB 209 of the down mail server. However, since the mail interlock device 200 is a device for storing mail delivered from a plurality of unspecified conventional mail users to a specific down mail user, it may be advantageous that mailbox resources are allocated and managed for each recipient. Therefore, you can use a directory system in the form of "/ sending mailbox / receiver ID / sender ID / mail number /". The SMB 209 of the mail interlock device 200 may be generated only for a pre-registered recipient ID or for each sender in a header of an input mail source, which is a mailbox capacity and a mail interlock of the mail interlock device 200. It is a matter of operating policy of the device 200.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sender's down-mail server 202 for storing mail sources for all mails, such as individual mails and multiple mails, and the SMB 209 of the mail interlocking device 200 are configured using a database management system. You may.

Figure 3 shows the format of the sending notification mail 301 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is composed of a header 302 and a body as in the conventional mail, and the body includes an essential area, a mail server ID, a user ID, and a password. It consists of an access information 303 area, an optional mail size 304, a help site 305, and an extracted mail content 306 area. The header 302 is identical to the header of the mail source but is prefixed with a prefix for sending notice, for example, "No:", before the subject of the mail. The user ID and password are for authenticating the recipient, i.e., the user, who wants to receive the mail source, so that the SMB 209 can quickly find the desired mail source. The mail server ID is an Internet address indicated by a domain name or a character string of the down mail servers 202 and 203 or the mail interlocking device 200 on which the SMM 208 which manages the SMB 209 is mounted. The access information area 303 is configured using HTTP and CGI (Common Gateway Interface) syntax to allow the recipients 204 and 214 to receive the mail source in the form of web mail. The mail size 304 area is a character string indicating the size of the mail source in Kbytes to help the receiver determine whether to receive the mail source. The help site 305 is a website for providing help on the sending notification mail and the down mail method. The extracted mail content 306 area is an area that extracts and outputs some random strings in the mail source body within the range of not exceeding the maximum body length of the signal mail. The size of the body is set to 100 bytes, which can be adjusted later.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the receiving notification mail informs the sender that the recipient has received the original mail. The format of the receiving notification mail is composed of a header and a body having 100 bytes of additional information. Can be. The header is created from the header of the mail source, which is a prefix that means that the address of the mail sender and receiver has been changed and received before the subject, for example, "Rd:". The 100-byte additional information in the body is intended to inform the sender of additional information about the recipient's receipt of mail.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the MTA_n 205 mounted in the sender down mail server 202, the receiver down mail server 203, and the mail interlocking device 200 is the sender mail server 212 and the receiver mail. In the conventional MTA 215 mounted on the server 213, a function for operating the down-mail method and the mail interlocking device 200 is added. Of these, the receiving side down mail server 203 receives only the signal mail such as a sending notification, stores it in the RMM, and hands it over to the recipient's request. It is determined by the system shape data whether the MTA_n 205 operates with MTA_n of the sender downmail server 202, MTA_n of the receiver downmail server 203, or MTA_n of the mail interlocking device 200. When the MTA_n 205 operates as the MTA_n of the receiving down-mail server 203, when the MTA_n 205 receives a general mail that cannot be handled, the MTA_n 205 passes it to the mail interlocking device 200 in principle.

4 shows a process flow diagram of MTA_n 205 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Upon receiving the mail (400), it is first checked whether the user should operate as the mail interlocking device 200 with his system shape data (401). When operating as the sender downmail server 202 or the receiver downmail server 203 instead of the mail interlocking device 200, the relay is relayed from the sender information of the received mail 400 as in the conventional electronic mail system. Check whether the mail is permitted or whether the mail server on which the MTA_n 205 is loaded is the destination of the received mail (402).

If the mail is allowed to be relayed, the type of mail is examined (403). In the case of normal mail, the sender ID is obtained from the sender information in the mail header, and it is checked whether the SMB 209 is established. If opened, the individual mail is stored in the SMB 209 as follows (404); Obtain the recipient ID from the recipient information in the message header and search for the directory number, starting from the lowest number in the corresponding mailbox directory, "/ Sender's Mailbox / Sender ID / Recipient ID /", from the lowest number to the empty number. Create a directory with The mail source is stored in the created directory, that is, the "/ mailing side mail box / sender ID / receiver ID / mail number /" directory, and a password string is generated and stored as a password file. If the mail source is normally stored, the sending notification mail 301 is generated (406) and delivered according to the conventional mail method (407). If there is no SMB 209 of the sender when the mail source is stored, the relevant SMTP error code is returned. If there is no space even if the SMB 209 is established, the relevant SMTP error code is returned (408). On the other hand, in case of multiple mails, the mail source is kept in the sender's mail mailbox as follows; First, create a common information repository, and create C files and D files with O value, B files and R files for the corresponding multiple mails, and store them in the prepared common information repository. In addition, by creating and delivering a delivery notification mail for each recipient of multiple mails, O-files, H-files, and P-files for the corresponding mail source are created and stored in the relevant information store, and the value of the C-file of the related common information store is stored. Increase. In this way, once all the notification mails are sent to all recipients, the individual information for each message to be delivered to each recipient is stored in each individual information repository, and the C file of the common information repository has the number of recipients of multiple mails. It will have a value.

If the mail server loaded with the MTA_n 205 checks whether it is the destination of the received mail (402), and if the down mail server loaded with the MTA_n 205 is the destination of the received mail, the first type is checked (409). If it is a signal mail, the conventional mail reception process 410 is performed. If the mail is a normal mail, it is checked whether the mail relay device 200 exists as interlocked shape data (411). If the mail relay device 200 is prepared, the mail relay device is prepared. In step 412, if the mail is handed over to the mail (412), and the mail linking device 200 does not exist or the mail is not allowed to link to the normal mail, error processing is performed as follows (413); Sends the relevant SMTP error code indicating a grammar error, and notifies the sender by mail that daily mail cannot be delivered to the downmail recipient because the mail linkage device 200 is not used and the receiver cannot use the mail linkage device 200. .

If the mail relay device 200 is equipped with the MTA_n 205, the sender ID and the receiver ID are obtained from the header of the mail, and then the authentication is performed after the mail relay device 200 is authenticated (415). The original mail is stored in the sender's mail box as described above (416); Find the sender's mailbox directory, "/ Sender's Mailbox / Sender ID / Recipient ID /" (or "/ Sender's Mailbox / Recipient ID / Sender ID /), and if not, determine whether you are allowed to create a mailbox. And then create a directory with the number from low to empty directory number, which corresponds to the mail number, and create a directory with that number, ie "Mailbox / Sender ID / Recipient ID / Mail Number / "Or" / Sender's Mail Box / Recipient ID / Sender ID / E-mail Number / ") Store the mail source and create a password string and save it as a password file. If the mail relay cannot be used or if the mail source cannot be saved due to lack of free mailbox space, the mail is transmitted by the conventional mail method (407). I can not help deliver the mail to the mail recipient to download a reason for me to re-send the mail to the mail-down approach shall be notified by e-mail to the sender.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the SMM 208 mounted on the sender down-mail server 202 is operated by a mail source down function for delivering a mail source upon request of the receivers 204 and 214 and the sender 204. The SMM 208, which has four functions of the SMB 209 management function, its own SMB 209 management function, and a web mail sending function, is mounted on the mail interlocking device 200, and has a dual mail source down function and its own SMB 209. It has a management function.

The mail source down function of the SMM 208 performs a function similar to that of the RMM 206 of the conventional mail method, and can be configured in two ways in terms of communication with the receivers 204 and 214. The first method is a classic mail source download method using communication procedures such as POP3 and IMAP. The second method is a web-based mail source download method using HTTP procedures.

5 is a flowchart of a mail source down function of the SMM 208 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The classic original mail downloader for individual mail works as follows; When the mail source request is received from the receiver (501), the user ID and password are received, and the receiver is authenticated by checking whether there is a directory corresponding to the user ID in the SMB and whether it matches the password stored in the directory (502). If authentication is passed, mail source delivery and deletion processing is performed as follows (503); After sending the mail source in the directory corresponding to the user ID to the receiver, record the mail title, the recipient, the date and time of sending the mail, and the date and time it was sent to the recipient in the sender's log file, and the recipient deletes the mail source. When requested to do so, the SMB 209 deletes the mail source. In addition, a receiving notification mail indicating that the recipient has received the mail is sent to the sender (504). In the classic mail source downloader for multiple mails, original mail delivery and deletion works as follows; After searching and authenticating the individual information repository with the entered user ID and password, the mail source was reconstructed and delivered to the recipient with the individual information in the H file and the common information in the B file of the common information repository indicated by the O file. Record the mail title, recipient, date and time of sending mail, and the date and time it was sent to the recipient in a log file for each sender. Then, if requested by the receiver or if necessary, the corresponding individual information repository is deleted, the C file of the relevant common information repository is found, and the value is decreased by one and the value of the D file is increased by one. If the value of C file is 0, all recipients have read the mail source. Therefore, delete the common information store of the multi-mail.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the sender down-mail server 202 includes both the SMM 208 and the RMM 206, the classical mail source down function of the SMM 208 is provided in two ways as follows. Can be implemented; The first method is to configure the SMM 208 as a separate program from the conventional RMM 206 and assign a separate TCP / UDP port number. In the second method, the SMM 208 is composed of a conventional RMM 206 and one program to use the TCP / UDP port number assigned to the conventional RRM 206, and the character form of the user ID inputted when the receiver requests access. The difference is that it determines which mailbox manager requests access. For example, if the user ID is a plain character, it attempts to access the RMM 206, and if it contains a special character "/", it attempts to access the SMM 208.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the specific operation of the mail source delivery function of the web-based mail source download method of the SMM 208 is as follows; Instead of classic communication procedures such as POP3 or IMAP, the recipient receives a request for the mail source using HTTP communication procedures, and finds and authenticates the mail source using the user ID and password in the request message. If authentication is passed, the mail source appears in the recipient's web browser by sending the mail source to the recipient using HTTP communication procedures. After the mail source is delivered, information on the mail title, recipient, date and time of sending the mail source, and the date and time it is sent to the recipient is recorded in the log file for each sender, and the deletion process is performed for the mail source.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the management function of the SMB 209 of the SMM 208 that is operated at the request of the sender 201 may be configured in two ways in terms of the communication procedure with the sender 201. The first method is the classical method of using communication procedures such as POP3 and IMAP. The second method is a web-based method using HTTP procedures. When the sender 201 accesses the SMM 208 via POP3 or IMAP, the classic SMB 209 management function operates, the specific operation procedure is as follows; First, if necessary, the certification process is performed. If the authentication passes, the UA provides the SMB management menu. When the sender requests to view the archived mail in the UA's SMB management menu, the UA receives from the SMM 208 all recipients of the message sent by the sender who is watching the SMB. Receive brief information such as, title, date and time of sending and show it on the screen. When the sender selects a mail to be deleted and requests deletion, the UA requests the SMM to delete the mail source of the mail, and the requested SMM deletes the mail source from the SMB 209. In case of multi-mail, UA provides detailed menu of multi-mail deletion and delete by recipient. In case of multi-mail deletion, all individual information and common information about the multi-mail are deleted. Only the information is deleted. If there are no more recipients to read, the common information of the multiple mail is also deleted. In this classic SMB management function, both the UA requesting the SMM to view and delete archived mail and the SMM to inform the UA are implemented using POP3 or IMAP procedures.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the sender 201 accesses the SMM 208 by the HTTP procedure, the web-based SMB 209 management function operates, which is configured separately for individual mails and multiple mails. The specific operation procedure of SMB management function for individual mail is as follows; First, if necessary, the certification process is performed. If the authentication passes, the SMB management menu is provided, and when the sender clicks it, the menus such as mailbox space status, mail source management, and mail receipt confirmation are provided. Click the Mailbox Space Status submenu to display information on the allocated mailbox space, the space used, and the remaining space. If you click the submenu of mail source management, detailed menus such as list view, detail view, temporary deletion, deletion by recipient group, and individual mail deletion are provided. It informs the recipient, subject, and date and time of sending. Click on the detail view or double-click on the message to display the contents of that message. Temporarily delete allows you to delete messages belonging to a specific date and time or a specific date and time range, delete by recipient group allows you to delete messages by a specific group of recipients, and deletes specific messages by sending specific messages sent to specific recipients. Allow to delete If you click the mail receipt confirmation menu, you can refer to the log file provided by each sender and provide information on the mail title, send date and time, recipient, and time read about the original mail source.

The specific operation procedure of SMB management function for multiple mails is as follows; If you click the multi-mail management menu, detailed menus such as mail view, mail deletion, and mail confirmation are provided. Click View Mail to display the mail title, recipients, date and time, number of recipients, number of recipients who did not receive the mail source, and mail size for each multimail stored. Clicking a recipient here will show you all the recipient addresses or names of the message, clicking on the mail subject will show the contents of the message, and clicking on the number of recipients who have not accepted the mail source will result in recipients who have not yet received the mail source. Show address or name. Clicking Delete Mail provides detailed menus such as Delete by Date, Delete by Mail, Delete by Recipient, and Delete Individual Mail. Temporary deletion allows you to delete both the common information store and individual information place for multiple messages belonging to a specific date and time or a specific date and time range. Deleting by individual recipients allows you to delete all individual information repositories for all the multiple mails delivered to specific recipients, and Deleting individual mails allows you to delete individual information repositories for specific multimails delivered to specific recipients. In the case of multiple mails with no recipients to be read in the deletion of recipients and individual mails, the common information of the multiple mails is deleted. Clicking Confirm Mail Receipt allows the user to provide information on the recipients read by multiple mails and the time they were read by referring to the log files provided by each sender.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the SMM 208 of the sender down-mail server 202 and the mail interlocking device 200 performs a function of managing the SMB 209 by itself. It checks the available space, old mail source, etc. and informs the sender of the result by mail, and deletes the old mail source and sends it to the sender by mail if necessary. In the case of the SMM 208 of the mail interlocking device 200, it may additionally have an SMB 209 management function such as checking the use of the mail mailbox, the available space, the old mail source, and performing the corresponding processing. have.

The webmail sending function provided by the SMM 208 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail as a mail writing and sending function of the sender 201 by the HTTP procedure; When the sender 201 uses a UA configured as a web browser to access the sender's down-mail server containing the SMM 208 as an HTTP procedure, the SMM allows the sender to create and edit a mail to be sent by the HTTP procedure. It also allows the sender to send the prepared mail. When the sender requests that the prepared mail be sent, the SMM forwards the mail to the MTA_n 205.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a mail reception process of a receiver 204 and 214 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. After receiving the sending notification mail 301 from the computer equipped with the UA (601), the receiver decides whether to receive the mail source with information such as header information, mail server ID, mail size, and extracted mail contents (602). ). Receiving the mail source is performed by the same communication procedure as receiving the sending notification mail 301, but the mail server, user ID and password for sending the mail are different. There are two ways to get the mail source: the classical method using POP3 and IMAP, and the web-based method using HTTP. There are two classic methods: the automatic method of receiving the mail source automatically and the manual method. In the manual method, if you don't know the procedure first, you can click the help site to get help or download the plug-in or upgraded UA that automatically receives the mail source (604) and receive the mail source automatically (606). . In order to receive the original mail manually, the mail server ID (domain name or Internet address of the sending mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200) and the user ID and password required for authentication in the SMM 208 are sent from the sending notification mail. After obtaining, the user accesses the SMM 208 of the downlink server or the mail interlocking device, enters a user ID and a password, and receives and reads the mail source (605). If you use a plug-in that automatically receives the mail source or an upgraded UA, you can use the automatic method. In this method, the mail server ID and user ID are automatically sent from the sending notification mail (301) when the recipient clicks the view mail source button. And obtains the password and accesses the mail server and shows the mail source (606). In the case of the web-based method, when the access information area 303 of the sending notification mail 301 is clicked, the mail is accessed by accessing the SMM 208 of the sender down-mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200 by the HTTP procedure. After receiving the original through the HTTP procedure, the mail source appears on the screen of the recipient (607).

[Effects of the Invention]

The effects of down-mail based mailing on the sender's side can be summarized in six ways; 1) The sender bears the burden of storing mail and deleting spam mail, and detailed location information of the sender's mail box holding the spam mail is notified to the recipient by sending notification mail. Moral hazards in the use of mail can be technically suppressed. 2) The sender accesses his or her mail box and checks whether the recipient has read mail sent by him or her without the help of the recipient or the receiving mail server. Can be. 3) Since only a short notice of sending notification mail is stored in the receiving mail mailbox, the load on the receiving mail server is greatly reduced, which can reduce the interruption of mail communication due to the overload or failure of the receiving mail server. After reading the notification mail, only the desired mail source is read, so it can be helpful to avoid mail pollution such as spam mail and mail bomb. 5) Mail traffic is reduced because spam mail and acknowledgment mail are not communicated. Spam mail is not communicated, and in case of multiple mails, only one mail source needs to be stored in the sender's mailbox, saving mailbox space.

Claims (11)

In the mail communication through wired and wireless Internet, The sender 201 receives the general mail sent by the sender 201, stores the mail source in the SMB 209, creates a send notification mail 301, and receives the sender down mail server 203 or the receiver. Forwarding to the mail server 213 and receiving the mail source from the sender's down-mail server 202, if desired by the recipients 204 and 214 who have received the dispatch notification mail; And the general mail sent by the sender 211 is received by the sending mail server 212 and delivered to the receiving mail server 203, and the receiving mail server passes it to the mail interlocking device 200, and mail linking. The device stores the original in the SMB 209 and generates an outgoing notification mail 301 and delivers it to the receiving side down mail server, and the recipient 204 receiving the outgoing notification mail, the mail interlocking device 200 if desired. Down-mail method and system, characterized in that to access to receive the mail source The method of claim 1, The conventional mail receiver 214 receives the mail from the receiving mail server 213 by using POP3, IMAP, or HTTP, and the downcoming mail receiver 204 uses the sending mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device ( Receiving the original mail from the source 200 and the conventional mail recipient 214 receiving the original mail from the sending down-mail server 202; And communicating mail between the mail interlocking device 200, the down mail servers 202 and 203, and the conventional mail servers 212 and 213 using SMTP, which is a communication procedure between the conventional mail servers 212 and 213. The method of claim 1, Classify mail into general mail and signal mail, and separate signal mail and general mail by the length of mail body (403,409), and header information, mail size information, access information, and excerpt necessary to determine whether the recipient should receive the mail original. A method of notifying a sender of a general mail by using a sending notification mail (301) having an area of the contents of a mail, and using a receiving notification mail, notifying the sender that the recipient of the mail has been received. The method of claim 1, In order to keep originals of individual mails and multiple mails in the sending down-mail server 202, " / mailing side mail box / sender ID / receiver ID / mail number / " and " mailing side mail mailbox / sender ID / multiple mail / Mail directory by sender ID in the form of a directory, and in case of multiple mails, information common to all recipients is stored in a common information store, and individual information related to each recipient is stored in a separate information store to save mailbox space. In the mail interlocking device 200, a mail box of the form "/ sending mail box / sender ID / sender ID / mail number /" or "/ sending mail box / receiver ID / sender ID / mail number /" is provided. Characterized by SMB (209) The method of claim 1, The sender's down-mail server 202 receives the general mail allowed to be relayed, obtains the sender ID, stores the mail source in the sender's SMB 209 (404), and generates a send notification mail 301 ( 406, forwarding to the receiving side down mail server 203 or the receiving side mail server 213 (407), and performing related error processing if the mail source fails to be stored (408); If the receiving side down mail server 203 receives the general mail as the destination and the mail linkage is possible (411), the mail linking device 200 passes to the mail linking device 200 (412), or otherwise performs the corresponding error processing (413); And after receiving the normal mail from the mail interlocking device 200, and after authentication (415) SMB (209) to store the mail source (416) after generating the sending notification mail 301 (406) as the conventional mail method MTA_n (205), characterized in that the sender notifies the sender of the details when the mail source cannot be processed due to a failure in authentication or a mailbox creation. The method of claim 1, Mail source down function for delivering the mail source at the request of the recipient (214,204); An SMB 209 management function operated at the request of the sender 204; Own SMB 203 management function; And SMM 208 of sender down-mail server 202 characterized by webmail sending function. The method of claim 6, After authenticating with the user ID and password entered at the request of the recipient (204, 214) (502), the mail source is delivered by POP3, IMAP, or HTTP procedure. Mail source down function 503; A function of deleting the mail source in case of individual mails, deleting individual information in case of multiple mails, and deleting common information when all recipients have read the mail source after delivering the mail source to the recipients (503); And a mail source down function of the SMM 208 of the sender's downmail server 202, which leaves detailed information on the delivered mail after delivering the mail source in a log file for each sender. The method of claim 6, Providing the sender with a mail management function such as checking and deleting mails of individual mails sent by the sender stored in the SMB 209 and the mail source of multiple mails by POP3 or IMAP communication procedure at the request of the sender 201. ; And at the request of the sender 201, the sender provides a mail management function such as checking and deleting mails on the mail source of individual mails and multi-mails sent by the sender stored in the SMB 209 in the HTTP procedure and read by the receiver. SMB 209 management function of the SMM 208 of the sender's down-mail server, characterized by providing details of the inter-mail and providing a management function for the sender's SMB space. The method of claim 6, The SMM 208 based on the POP3 and IMAP communication procedures may be configured as a separate program from the conventional RMM 206 to allocate a separate TCP / UDP port number, or as a single program to be assigned to the conventional RMM 208. How to identify which mailbox administrator requests access using the TCP / UDP port number and in the form of the user ID entered when the receiver requests access The method of claim 1, A mail source down function for delivering the mail source by POP3, IMAP or HTTP procedure upon request of the recipient 204; Deleting the mail original after delivering the mail original to the recipient 204; A function 504 for notifying the sender 211 that the mail source has been received by the received notification mail after delivering the mail source; And SMB 209 examines the mail box usage, available space, and old mail source for each sender, and performs the corresponding processing, and informs the sender of the result, or the mail mailbox usage, free space, and old mail source for each recipient. SMM 208 of the mail interlock device 200, which is characterized by a function of investigating and the like and informing the recipient of the result after performing the corresponding processing. The method of claim 1, Download and install the plug-in or upgraded UA having the function of automatically receiving the mail source (604) and download the mail source from the sender's down-mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200 by POP3 or IMAP communication procedure. Receiving method 606; And recipients 204 and 214 characterized by clicking the access information area 303 of the sending notification mail and downloading a mail source from the sender down-mail server 202 or the mail interlocking device 200 by HTTP procedure.