WO2002021287A1

WO2002021287A1 - Transmission terminal, data server device and reception terminal used in electronic message transmission/reception system

Info

Publication number: WO2002021287A1
Application number: PCT/JP2001/007663
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tetsuya Matsuyama
Original assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 2000-09-06
Filing date: 2001-09-04
Publication date: 2002-03-14
Also published as: AU2001282627A1; JPWO2002021287A1

Abstract

An electronic message transmission/reception system comprises a transmission terminal (110) for transmitting an electronic message with its attributes through a communication network (140), a data server device (120) for storing the attributes and the message transmitting data related to the attributes and for transmitting the message transmitting data related to the attributes through the communication network (140), and a reception terminal (130) for receiving the electronic message through the communication network (140). The electronic message transmission termianl (110) includes an attribute input unit (111) used by the user for inputting the attributes of the message transmission data and a first transmission unit (113) connected with the attribute input unit (111) and adapted for transmitting the the reception terminal (130) the electronic message which has the attributes inputted by using the attribute input unit (111).

Description

Description Transmission terminal used in an electronic message transmission / reception system,

'' Data server device and receiving terminal

Technical field

The present invention relates to an electronic message transmission / reception system capable of transmitting an electronic message such as an electronic mail with relatively large data such as animation data. More specifically, the present invention relates to a terminal used in an electronic message transmitting / receiving system capable of transmitting and receiving such data substantially without storing relatively large data such as image data in the terminal. And data server equipment. Background art

With the spread of personal computers and mobile phones, e-mail systems are becoming widely used as communication tools. E-mail basically can only extract character data. For this reason, it is hard to say that the recipient can immediately and easily understand the intention and emotion of the sender by looking at the content. Therefore, in recent years, services using still images and animations in addition to character data in e-mail have been implemented.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-16063337 discloses such a technique. According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-1600-337, the attribute value of the body is added to the transmitted e-mail by the user. This attribute represents behavior, emotion, character or personality. The receiving terminal stores animation data corresponding to these attribute values in advance. When the receiving terminal receives the mail to which the attribute is added, it searches the stored animation data based on the received attribute value and displays the animation on the screen.

According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-2006—1633337, a character with a pseudo personality is displayed or its behavior is controlled in accordance with the display of the body data of an e-mail. Can be As a result, it is possible for the sender to convey the sender's emotions more accurately and easily to the recipient.

However, according to the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-163633, the animation data displayed on the receiving side is limited to the data stored in the receiving terminal in advance. For this reason, the expression capability is limited by the storage capacity of the receiving terminal.

Also, due to the nature of the e-mail medium, more people in different regions will exchange e-mail with each other. Different regions have different cultures. Different cultures have different ways of expressing emotions. Therefore, if you want to send an accurate description of your emotions to someone living in a distant area, you need to be familiar with the cultures of the different areas. It is very difficult.

If you choose an animation to attach to an email without knowing the local culture, you may not be able to convey your emotions accurately to the other person. On the contrary, there is a possibility that the opponent misunderstands the intention of the sender and a dispute may occur. Such fears can arise not only from differences in cultural spheres, but also from differences in each other's preferences. These problems are not limited to so-called e-mail, but are common to all systems that can send and receive electronic messages regardless of the distance between each other. Such problems are not limited to animation, but are common to all systems that have the function of sending and receiving message transmission data, such as music, still images, and combinations thereof, attached to the message body or transmitted independently. I do.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic message transmission / reception system capable of transmitting a variety of message transmission data without being limited by the storage capacity of a terminal. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic message transmission / reception system capable of receiving message transmission data according to a recipient's preference and cultural sphere. Disclosure of the invention

A transmitting terminal of an electronic message transmitting / receiving system according to an aspect of the present invention associates a transmitting terminal that attaches an attribute value to an electronic message and transmits the electronic message via a communication network, and associates the attribute value with message transmission data. Remember, the message corresponding to the attribute value An electronic message transmitting terminal used in an electronic message transmitting / receiving system including a data server device for transmitting transmission data via a communication network, and a receiving terminal for receiving an electronic message via the communication network. And the attribute of message transmission data ^! : An attribute input unit used by the user to input a character string, and an electronic message connected to the attribute input unit and attached to the attribute value input using the attribute input unit and transmitted to the receiving terminal. 1 transmission unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the transmitting terminal is connected to the attribute input unit used by the user to input the attribute value of the message transmission data, and is input using the attribute input unit. A first transmitting unit for transmitting an electronic message with an attribute value to the data server device, a receiving unit for receiving message transmission data matching the attribute value from the data server device, and a receiving unit connected to the receiving unit; A data selection unit used by the user to select the message transmission data desired by the user from the received message transmission data, and a data transmission unit connected to the data selection unit for transmitting the selected message. A second transmitting unit that transmits an electronic message with data to the receiving terminal.

A data server device according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a database that stores message transmission data in association with an attribute value, and is connected to the database and searches the database for message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value. A search unit connected to a communication network and a search unit that extracts attribute values from an electronic message received via the communication network, passes the attribute values to the search unit, and responds to the attribute values by using the database by the search unit. And a transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting the message transmission data extracted from the electronic mail to a destination determined by the received electronic message. .

Also, a receiving terminal according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first receiving unit that receives an electronic message to which an attribute value has been added, and an attribute of the electronic message received by the first receiving unit. A transmitting unit that transmits the value to the data server device; and a transmitting unit that receives the message transmission data transmitted in response to the attribute {Φ} transmitted by the transmitting unit from the data server device.

2 receiving sections.

The message transmission data is stored in the data server device. For this reason, neither the transmitting terminal nor the receiving terminal stores the message transmission data in advance, and The corresponding message transmission data can be transmitted to the receiving terminal. In particular, when the message transmission data is a large amount of data such as animation data, the effect is remarkable.

Preferably, the receiving terminal further includes a server storage unit connected to the transmission unit and storing an address of the data server device, wherein the transmission unit is specified by the address stored in the server storage unit. Send attribute value to.

The data server device can be selected at the receiving terminal. Therefore, even with message transmission data having the same meaning, it is possible to display data of a type according to the recipient's preference or to display data according to the cultural sphere to which the recipient belongs.

More preferably, the receiving terminal includes: a display unit for displaying a text of the electronic message and data for transmitting the message; a first receiving unit for receiving the attribute value and the text of the electronic message from the transmitting terminal; A data storage unit for storing data in association with attribute values, a search unit connected to the reception unit and the data storage unit, for searching message transmission data corresponding to the received attribute values in the data storage unit; In response to the determination that the message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value received by the search unit is not present in the data storage unit, the received attribute value is transmitted to the data server device. A transmission unit that requests transmission of the corresponding message transmission data, and a data server device that responds to the request from the transmission unit. A second receiving unit that receives the received message transfer data and stores the data in the data storage unit in association with the attribute value transmitted by the transmitting unit, a search unit, and a second receiving unit. Based on the search result of the search unit, the search unit selectively selects either the message transmission data retrieved from the data storage unit or the second reception unit for the message transmission data received from the data server device. And a control unit for controlling the display unit so as to display.

When the desired data for message transmission is stored in the data storage unit, there is no need to download the data for message transmission from the data server device. Therefore, communication traffic can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic mail transmitting / receiving system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an e-mail transmission process performed by the transmission terminal. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting a gender of an animation character.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting the age of the animation character.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting the meaning of the animation. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an e-mail receiving process by the receiving terminal. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an animation displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the text of an e-mail displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining a flow of data transferred between the transmitting terminal, the receiving terminal, and the animation server.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of data transmitted from a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data transmitted from the receiving terminal to the animation server.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic mail transmitting / receiving system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an e-mail transmission process performed by the transmission terminal. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an e-mail receiving process by the receiving terminal. FIG. 15 is a timing chart for explaining the flow of data passed between the transmitting terminal, the receiving terminal, and the animation server.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic mail transmission / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an e-mail receiving process by the receiving terminal. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of data obtained by combining animation data and the text of an e-mail.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the hardware of an e-mail transmission / reception system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows a hardware structure.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an electronic mail transmission process performed by the transmission terminal. FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the process of selecting the display timing of the animation.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of data transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal. FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an e-mail receiving process by the receiving terminal. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic mail transmission / reception system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of an e-mail receiving process by the receiving terminal. FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic mail transmission / reception system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of an e-mail transmission process performed by the transmission terminal. FIG. 28 is a diagram in which a plurality of animations having the same attribute value are displayed.

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining a process of prompting the user to confirm the animation.

FIG. 30 is a timing chart for explaining the flow of data passed between the transmitting terminal, the receiving terminal, and the animation server.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmitted from the transmission terminal to the animation server.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an example of data transmitted from the animation server to the transmission terminal.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of data transmitted from a transmitting terminal to a receiving terminal. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an electronic mail system that transmits and receives animation data by attaching animation data to the electronic mail will be described as an embodiment of an electronic message transmitting and receiving system according to the present invention. However, the system according to the present invention is not limited to a system that sends and receives e-mail, but is applicable to all systems that can send and receive electronic messages between remote locations. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is applicable. In the following description, animation data is used as an example of message transmission data. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is applicable to general message transmission data other than animation data.

In this specification, “message transmission data” means that when processed by a computer, it gives a certain stimulus to the sensory organ of the message recipient, thereby causing some emotion to the message recipient. Data that can be handled by a computer. For example, using data for displaying animations consisting of continuous images, data for generating and displaying animations by calculation, music data obtained by sampling music, and using the sound source of the terminal Examples of the message transmission data include music data for playing music, still image data, text data, and so-called multimedia data or hypertext data in which these are combined. Message transmission data can include more than just visual and auditory data.

[First embodiment]

Referring to FIG. 1, an e-mail transmission / reception system according to a first embodiment of the present invention creates an e-mail text, and further creates an animation attribute value to be presented to an e-mail recipient. A sending terminal 110 for sending, an animation server 130 for providing animation data as message transmission data, and an animation determined by an email and an attribute value attached to the email. Communication network typified by the Internet, which interconnects the receiving terminal 120 that receives video from the animation server 130, the transmitting terminal 110, the animation server 130, and the receiving terminal 120. 0 is included.

The transmitting terminal 110 is assumed to be a small electronic terminal called a so-called PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a text input unit 112 used by a user to input a text of an e-mail; It is connected to the animation attribute input unit 111 used by the user to input the attribute value of the animation attached to the email, the animation attribute input unit 111, the text input unit 112, and the communication network 140. The receiving end of the e-mail text and animation attribute values via the communication network 140 To the terminal 120.

The text input unit 112 and the animation attribute input unit 11.1 each use a hardware button provided on the terminal, a display device, and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) provided by software on the display device. , Is realized. The transmission unit 113 may be a modem connected to an Internet service provider (ISP) via a public telephone line, or an adapter for connecting to the communication network 140 by a PHS (Personal Handyphone System). Good.

In a small device such as a PDA, the capacity of a storage device that can be mounted is limited, and it is difficult to store a relatively large amount of data such as animation data in a large amount. Therefore, in the present embodiment, such data is stored in the animation server 130 external to the terminal device, and the data stored therein is used by both the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal. Although the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal are assumed to be PDAs, the terminal device of the present embodiment can be realized by using a desktop computer, a notebook computer, and a smaller pocket computer. Can be.

The receiving terminal 120 is connected to the communication network 140 and exchanges data with the communication network 140. The transmitting / receiving unit 121 and the text storage unit 125 for storing the text of the e-mail received from the transmitting terminal 110 are provided. The server storage unit 123 that stores the address (actually URL: Uniform Resource Locator) of the animation server 130, and is connected to the server storage unit 123 to set the address of the animation server 13 ° in the server storage unit 123. A server setting section 124 used by the user, a display section 126 composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying the text and animation of the e-mail, a control section 122 for controlling each section of the receiving terminal 120, and a transmitting / receiving section 121 , A control unit 122, a server storage unit 123, a text storage unit 125, and a bus 127 for interconnecting the display unit 126.

The transmission / reception unit 121 includes the above-described adapter for the modem or the PHS. Each of the text storage unit 125 and the server storage unit 123 is configured by a built-in backup memory. The server setting unit 124 is also implemented using a GUI provided by a program executed in the display unit 126 and the control unit 122. You.

The animation server 130 includes an animation DB (database) 133 that stores attribute values and animation data in association with each other, and a search unit 13 that is connected to the animation DB 133 and searches for a matching animation with the attribute. And the attribute value received from the receiving terminal 120 via the communication network 140 is supplied to the search unit 132, and the search unit 132 is connected to the search unit 132 and the communication network 140. 3 includes a transmission / reception unit 13 1 for transmitting the received animation to the receiving terminal 120 via the communication network 140.

The animation server 130 is realized by a server computer incorporating a network card having a sufficient traffic processing capability, and a server program running on the computer. The animation DB133 is realized by data stored in the hard disk of the server computer in association with the attribute value. The search unit 132 is realized by a program that searches the animation DB 13 3, extracts animation data that matches the given attribute value, and provides a function to the transmission / reception unit 13 1.

With reference to FIG. 2, an e-mail transmission process performed by software executed on the transmission terminal 110 will be described. First, it is assumed that the transmitting terminal 110 is in the initial state (S200).

The user selects the character of the animation by using the animation attribute input unit 111 (S201). For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the gender and age of the animation character may be selected from a menu. Also, a plurality of famous animation characters may be displayed as small images so that they can be selected. In this case, in order to provide such services as a business, it is assumed that the owner of the predetermined right (copyright, etc.) for the character has obtained a license to use the character. It is preferable to use the character-based GUI as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 for efficient use of PDA resources. However, when displaying graphics instead of character-based, there is also the advantage that the operation is easier to understand.

Figure 5 shows the meaning of the animation you want to convey by e-mail. (S202). The user determines the attribute value of the animation by the processing of S201 and S202. In Fig. 5, the emotions that the sender wants to express to the recipient are listed in the menu as attribute values of the animation. However, the attribute value in the present invention is not limited to such an emotion. Any attribute value can be selected according to the design, as long as the message transmission data can be classified into a certain category.

The user inputs the text of the e-mail using the text input section 112 (S203). The transmitting unit 113 transmits the text of the e-mail and the attribute value of the e-mail to the receiving terminal 120 via the communication network 140 (S204).

With reference to FIG. 6, a process of receiving an e-mail by the receiving terminal 120 will be described. Prior to the processing, the user previously stores the address of the animation server 130 for downloading the animation in the server storage unit 123 using the server setting unit 124. It is assumed that the receiving terminal 120 is in the initial state (S300).

The transmission / reception unit 121 waits for an e-mail from the transmission terminal 110 (S301). When the transmission / reception unit 122 receives an e-mail composed of the text and the attribute value of the animation ("received" in S301), the control unit 122 stores the text of the received e-mail in the text. The information is stored in the section 125 (S302).

The control unit 122 sends the attribute value of the received configuration to the configuration server 130 specified by the address stored in the server storage unit 123 together with the transmission request of the configuration. Transmission is performed via the transmission / reception unit 121 (S303). Thereafter, the transmission / reception unit 121 waits for reception of the animation data from the animation server 130 (S304). ^{! When the} animation data is received from the animation server 130 ("received" in S304), the control unit 122 displays the animation as shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 126 (S3). 0 5). The control unit 122 further displays the text of the e-mail on the display unit 126 as shown in FIG. 8 (S3◦6). Thereafter, control returns to S300. The animation displayed at this time is searched using the attribute value as a key in the animation server and returned to the receiving terminal 120 as described later. It is a thing.

With reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. 9, a description will be given of a flow of data transferred between the transmitting terminal 110, the receiving terminal 120, and the animation server 130.

First, the attribute values of the animation and the text of the e-mail as shown in FIG. 10 are transmitted from the transmitting terminal 110 to the receiving terminal 120 (S401). The receiving terminal 120 sends an animation attribute value as shown in FIG. 11 together with the animation transmission request to the animation server 130 specified by the address stored in the server storage unit 123. (S402). The animation server 130, which has received the attribute value of the mechanism and the transmission request in the transmission / reception unit 131, searches the animation DB 1333 for an animation matching the attribute value by the search unit 132, The animation found as a result of the search is transmitted to the receiving terminal 120 (S403).

The service provider of the animation server 130 previously stores in the animation DB 133 the animations that he / she considers suitable for expressing various emotions, etc., and attribute values indicating the emotions. Is stored in association with. Therefore, the animation returned by animation DB 133 in response to the transmission request is an animation corresponding to the attribute value included in the e-mail received by the receiving terminal. By displaying this animation on the receiving terminal, it is possible to convey the emotion and meaning intended by the sender more easily than in the case of characters.

According to the first embodiment, it is not necessary to store various animations in the receiving terminal 120 in advance. Therefore, it is possible to send e-mail using various animations without being limited by the storage capacity of the terminal. ^{With one} receiving terminal 120, the animation server 130 can be selected. For this reason, even animations with the same meaning can display animations of characters according to the recipient's preference or animations according to the cultural sphere to which the recipient belongs.

In addition, a server setting unit 124 is provided in the transmission terminal 110, and a user on the transmission side can download an animation from the animation server 130 from there. May be specified. In this case, the data transmitted in the processing of S401 in FIG. 9 is the data shown in FIG. 10 with the address of the animation server 130 added.

The attribute value of each animation may consist of only one or more keywords indicating the meaning of the animation. In this case, which character's animation is displayed depends on the animation data stored in the animation server 130. The attribute value may also consist of a group of words in a particular language or of a predetermined code. Alternatively, the terminal may display a natural language word group as an attribute value to the operator and convert the specified word group into a corresponding code system for processing.

Furthermore, the receiving terminal 120 may be configured to be able to specify a different application server 13 ° depending on the sender. That is, the mail address of the transmission source and the address of the animation server 130 are stored in the server storage unit 123 in association with each other. When sending the animation attribute value to the animation server 130, the control unit 122 selects the address of the animation server 130 corresponding to the mail address of the sender.

In this configuration, the receiver can specify in advance the desired animation server in relation to the sender. For the recipient, it is possible to associate the displayed animation with the sender of the electronic mail.

[Second embodiment]

In the first embodiment, the transmitting terminal transmits the electronic mail with the attribute value attached to the body. Instead of explicitly attaching the attribute value separately from the text in this way, as in the second embodiment described below, the receiving terminal extracts the keyword corresponding to the attribute value from the email text, and It can be handled in the same way as the attribute values in the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12, an electronic mail transmitting / receiving system according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes a transmitting terminal 1610 for creating and transmitting the body of an electronic mail, and an animation server for providing animation. 1 6 3 0, receiving terminal 1 6 2 0 that receives animation and e-mail, transmitting terminal 1 6 1 0, animation server 1 6 3 0 And a communication network 140 typified by the Internet for interconnecting the receiving terminals 1620.

The sending terminal 1610 is connected to a text input section 1612 used by the user to input the text of the e-mail and a text input section 1612 to input the text of the input e-mail. And a transmission unit 1613 for transmitting to the animation server 1630 via the communication network 140. The text input unit is realized by using hardware buttons provided on the terminal, a display device, and a GUI provided by software on the display device, as in the first embodiment.

The receiving terminal 1620 is connected to the receiving section 1621, which receives the text of the animation and the e-mail, and the display section 12, which is connected to the receiving section 1621 and displays the text of the received animation and the e-mail. Including 6.

The animation server 1630 stores the transmitting and receiving unit 131, which transmits and receives data to and from the transmitting terminal 1610 and the receiving terminal 1620, in association with the attribute value and the animation data. Animation DB 13 3, connected to animation DB 13 3, search unit 13 2 to search for animation matching the attribute value, transmission and reception unit 13 1 and connected to search unit 13 2, transmission and reception unit An attribute extraction unit 1634 extracts attribute values from the body of the e-mail received from the sending terminal 1610 in 131, and supplies the extracted attribute values to the search unit 1332.

The attribute extraction unit 1634 is composed of a text input unit 1635 that receives the body of the e-mail from the transmission / reception unit 131, and a correspondence table between the preset keyword and the attribute value of the animation (hereinafter referred to as "keyword" Attribute correspondence table ”) is connected to the keyword 'attribute correspondence table storage section 1 638, the text input section 1 6 3 5 and the keyword / attribute correspondence table storage section 1 6 3 8 Keyword 'attribute correspondence table Searches and extracts the keyword included in the keyword and extracts the attribute value corresponding to the keyword. The search and extraction unit is connected to the search and extraction unit and the extracted attribute is connected. And an attribute output unit 1637 for outputting a value to the search unit 132.

The animation server 16'30 has a configuration similar to that of a normal personal computer having a communication function. Each of the above-described units is realized by a hardware of the computer and software executed on the hardware. For example, the key The one-way attribute correspondence table storage unit 1638 is realized by a hard disk and a memory.

With reference to FIG. 13, an e-mail transmission process performed by the transmission terminal 1610 will be described. First, it is assumed that the transmitting terminal 1610 is in the initial state (S17 ° 0). The user who wants to send the e-mail inputs the e-mail text using the text input section 1612 (S1701). At this time, the user also specifies the final recipient address. The transmitting unit 1613 transmits the text of the input e-mail to the animation server 1630, not to the receiving terminal (S1702). That is, the transmitting terminal 1610 does not input the attribute of the e-mail separately from the text.

Referring to the timing chart shown in FIG. 15, when the animation server 1630 transfers the data received from the transmitting terminal 1610 to the receiving terminal 1620, the animation server 1630 Works as follows.

The animation server 1630 receives the e-mail text from the sending terminal 1610 (S1901). If the keyword stored in the keyword / attribute correspondence table storage unit 1638 exists in the body of the received e-mail, the keyword Is extracted. Further, the attribute extracting unit 1634 extracts the attribute values corresponding to these keywords from the keyword-attribute correspondence table, and provides the attribute values to the searching unit 1332.

The search unit 13 searches for animation data corresponding to the attribute value. If there are multiple attributes extracted from the e-mail text, how to determine the animation data is determined in advance. For example, among the attribute values obtained from the keyword, animation data corresponding to only the attribute value with the highest frequency of appearance may be extracted. Alternatively, a combination of attribute values may be assigned to each animation data in advance, and animation data to which the combination of attribute values that best matches the attribute value set obtained from the keyword may be extracted. Good. The animation server 1630 sends the animation data retrieved by the search unit 132 and the text of the e-mail received from the sending terminal 1610 to the receiving terminal 1 according to the destination assigned to the e-mail. It is transmitted to 620 (S1902). Referring to FIG. 14, receiving terminal 1620 operates as follows when receiving an e-mail. It is assumed that the receiving terminal 1620 is in the initial state (S1800). The receiving unit 1621 waits until an e-mail including the animation data and the text is received (S1801). When the receiving unit 1621 receives the e-mail ("Received" in S1801), the display unit 126 displays the animation data attached to the e-mail (S18002). ). Thereafter, the display unit 126 displays the text of the e-mail (S1803).

According to the second embodiment, it is not necessary to store animation data in the receiving terminal 120 and the transmitting terminal 110 in advance. For this reason, communication using a wide variety of animations is possible without being limited by the storage capacity of the terminal.

Note that the keyword and the animation data may be stored in the animation DB 133 in association with each other. In this case, the search unit extracts animation data based on the keyword extracted from the body of the e-mail by the extraction unit 1636.

Further, a thesaurus extraction unit (not shown) and a thesaurus storage unit (not shown) may be provided in the attribute extraction unit 1634. In this case, the thesaurus related to the keyword extracted by the search / extracting unit 1636 can be searched in the thesaurus. In addition to the attribute values corresponding to the keywords extracted from the body of the e-mail, attribute values corresponding to the terms searched by the thesaurus are further extracted from the keyword / attribute correspondence table storage unit 1638.

The attribute extracting unit 1634 may be provided in the transmitting terminal 1610 instead of the fusion server 1630. In this case, the extracted genus individual is sent to the animation server 1630 together with the text. In the search unit 1332 of the animation server 1630, the animation is extracted based on the attribute value, and the extracted animation and the text of the e-mail are transmitted to the receiving terminal 1620. The attribute values may be further coded according to a predetermined code table and transmitted from the transmitting terminal to the animation server.

Furthermore, the attribute extracting unit 1634 may be provided in the receiving terminal 1620. No. In this case, the body of the e-mail is transmitted from transmitting terminal 1610 to receiving terminal 1620. The attribute value is extracted from the body of the e-mail in the attribute extracting unit 1632 of the receiving terminal 1620, and animation data is received from the animation server 1630 based on the extracted attribute value. Sent to 0.

In each of the above variations, it goes without saying that various combinations can be used for the method of extracting the keyword, the method of determining the attribute value from the keyword, and the method of determining the animation data based on the determined attribute value. ,.

[Third embodiment]

In the first and second embodiments, the animation is displayed separately from the body of the e-mail. However, the invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the animation and the e-mail text may be combined and displayed. This third embodiment relates to such an apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 16, an e-mail transmission / reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a transmission terminal 110, an animation server 130, and a reception terminal 202 for receiving animation and e-mail. 0, and a communication network 140 that interconnects the transmitting terminal 110, the animation server 130, and the receiving terminal 220.

The hardware configurations of the transmission terminal 110 and the animation server 130 are the same as those of the transmission terminal 110 and the animation server 130 of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the detailed description is not repeated here.

The receiving terminal 202 combines the hardware connected to the bus 127 with the hardware of the receiving terminal 120 of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. The addition of a synthesizing unit 2027 to be performed. Other components are the same as those of the receiving terminal 120. The transmission processing of the e-mail by the transmission terminal 110 is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the detailed description will not be repeated here.

Referring to FIG. 17, receiving terminal 202 of the present embodiment operates as follows when receiving an electronic mail. Before processing, the user uses the server setting unit 124 in advance. It is assumed that the address of the animation server 130 for downloading the animation is stored in the server storage unit 123.

First, the receiving terminal 120 is in the initial state (S300). The transmission / reception unit 121 waits until an e-mail is received from the transmission terminal 110 (S301). When the transmission / reception unit 122 receives an e-mail composed of the attribute value of the body text animation ("received" in S301), the control unit 122 stores the body of the received e-mail in the body storage unit. It is stored in 1 25 (S 302).

The control unit 122 displays the body of the e-mail on the display unit 126 (S306). The control unit 122 transmits the attribute value to the animation server 130 via the transmission / reception unit 121. As a result, the transmission / reception unit 121 waits for reception of animation data from the animation server 130 (S210). Upon receiving the animation data from the animation server 130 ("received" in S210), the synthesizing unit 207 sends the animation data received from the animation server 130 to the electronic data. The body of the mail is synthesized, and the data synthesized by the control unit 122 is displayed on the display unit 126 (S2105). Fig. 18 shows an example of data obtained by combining the e-mail and the e-mail data.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the animation and the body of the e-mail are combined and displayed.

In the configuration of the e-mail transmission / reception system according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 12, a combining unit 2◦27 is provided in the receiving terminal 202, and animation and electronic You may make it display by combining with the mail text.

Also, the attribute value of the animation may consist only of the meaning of the animation. In this case, which character animation is displayed depends on the animation data stored in the animation server 130. Furthermore, in the receiving terminal 220, a different animation server 130 may be designated depending on the sender. That is, the address of the transmission source and the address of the application server 130 are stored in the server storage unit 123 in association with each other. When sending the attribute value of the animation to the animation server 130, the control unit 122 sends the animation server corresponding to the e-mail address of the sender. Select the address of server 130.

In the above example, the receiving terminal 202 displays this animation after completely receiving the animation data from the animation server 130. However, if the transmission / reception speed is fast enough, animation can be received using so-called streaming. That is, the receiving end 202 can also play back the animation data while receiving the animation data.

[Fourth embodiment]

In the first and second embodiments described above, the animation is displayed before displaying the text. However, it is not necessary to fix the display timing of the text and the animation as such. The sender may select the timing of the display. The fourth embodiment is such an example.

Referring to FIG. 19, the e-mail transmission / reception system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a transmission terminal 7 1 for creating and transmitting an animation attribute value expressing emotions and the like and a text of an electronic mail. 0, an animation server 13 0 that provides animation data, a receiving terminal 7 20 that receives animation data and e-mail, a transmitting terminal 7 10, an animation server 13 0, and a receiving terminal 7 20 And a communication network 140 typified by the Internet connected to the Internet.

The hardware configuration of the animation server 130 is the same as the hardware configuration of the animation server 130 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the description will not be repeated here.

The sending terminal 710 is composed of a text input unit 112 used by the user to input the text of the e-mail and an animation attribute input unit used by the user to input the attribute value of the animation attached to the e-mail. 1 1 1, display timing input section 7 1 4 used by the user to input the timing of displaying the animation, animation attribute input section 1 1 1, text input section 1 1 2, display timing input section 7 1 4 And a transmitting unit 711 that transmits the text of the e-mail, the attribute value of the animation, and the display timing of the animation to the receiving terminal 720 through the communication network 140 and is connected to the communication network 140. .

The receiving terminal 720 is connected to the communication network 140, and exchanges data with the communication network 140. A transmitting / receiving unit 1 2 1 for exchanging data, a text storing unit 1 25 for storing the text of the e-mail received from the transmitting terminal 110, and a server storing unit 1 2 for storing the address of the animation server 130. 3 and connected to the server storage 1 2 3

A server setting section 124 used by the user to set the address of the animation server 130 in the section 123, a display section 126 for displaying the text and animation of the e-mail, and a receiving terminal 120 Control unit for controlling each part of the

2 1, control unit 7 2 2, server storage unit 1 2 3, text storage unit 1 2 5 and display unit 1 2

6 interconnecting the buses 1 2 7. '

Referring to FIG. 20, transmitting terminal 7110 operates as follows when transmitting an e-mail. First, it is assumed that the transmitting terminal 7100 is in the initial state (S800). The user uses the animation attribute input unit 111 to select the character and meaning of the animation to be transmitted to the receiving terminal 720, that is, the attribute value of the animation (S801).

The user inputs the body of the e-mail using the body input section 1 1 2 (S 8 0

2). Referring to FIG. 21, the user uses display timing input section 714 to display the animation after the force text displayed before the text or by combining with the text. Select (S803). Referring to FIG. 22, transmission unit 7 1

3 transmits data indicating the text of the electronic mail, the attribute values of the animation, and the display timing of the animation to the receiving terminal 720 via the communication network 140 (S

804).

Referring to FIG. 23, receiving terminal 720 operates as follows when receiving an e-mail. Before the processing, the user previously stores the address of the animation server 130 from which the animation data is downloaded from the server storage unit 123 using the server setting unit 124.

First, the receiving terminal 720 is in an initial state (S900). The transmission / reception unit 121 waits until an e-mail is received from the transmission terminal 710 (S910). When the transmission / reception unit 122 receives an e-mail having the configuration shown in FIG. 22 (“received” in S901), the control unit 722 displays animation data included in the received e-mail. The data representing the timing is checked (S902). If the display timing is before the text (before the text in S902), the control unit 722 stores the text of the received e-mail in the text storage unit 125 (S903). . The control unit 722 transmits the attribute value of the animation to the animation server 130 specified by the address stored in the server storage unit 123 via the transmission / reception unit 122 (S 904).

The transmission / reception unit 1221 waits until an animation is received from the animation server 130 (S905). When an animation is received from the animation server 130 ("received" in S905), the control unit 722 displays the animation on the display unit 126 (S906). The body of the e-mail is displayed on the display section 126 (S907). Thereafter, the process returns to the initial state (S900).

If the display timing of the animation is after the text (after the text in S 902), the control unit 722 displays the text of the e-mail on the display unit 126 (S 908). The control unit 722 transmits the animation attribute value to the animation server 130 specified by the address stored in the server storage unit 123 via the transmission / reception unit 121. Yes (S909).

The transmission / reception unit 121 keeps waiting until an animation is received from the animation server 130 (S910). When an animation is received from the animation server 130 ("received" in S910), the control unit 722 displays the animation on the display unit 126 (S911), and then returns to the initial state. Return to (S900).

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the display timing of the animation can be freely specified by the user.

Note that the combining section 2027 of FIG. 16 may be provided in the receiving terminal 72 °. In this case, it is assumed that there are three types of display timing of the animation set in the display timing input section 714: “before text”, “after text”, and “combination of text and animation”. Accordingly, in the receiving terminal 720, if the display timing of the animation is “composite of the text and the animation”, the control unit 722 sets the text and the animation in the same manner as in the third embodiment. Are combined and displayed in the display section 126.

Also, animation attribute values consist only of the meaning of animation. You may. In this case, the animation of which character is displayed depends on the animation data stored in the animation server 130. Further, in the receiving terminal 720, a different animation server 130 may be designated depending on the sender. That is, the e-mail address of the transmission source and the address of the animation server 130 are stored in the server storage unit 123 in association with each other. When transmitting the animation attribute value to the animation server 130, the control unit 722 selects the address of the animation server 130 corresponding to the sender's mail address.

[Fifth embodiment]

Referring to FIG. 24, an e-mail transmission / reception system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention includes a transmission terminal 110, an animation server 130, and a reception terminal 102 for receiving animation and e-mail. 0 is included.

The hardware configuration of the transmission terminal 110 and the animation server 130 is the same as the hardware configuration of the transmission terminal 110 and the animation server 130 of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Having. Therefore, the detailed description will not be repeated here.

The receiving terminal 120 0 is connected to the communication network 140 and transmits and receives data to and from the communication network 140. The main body storage section 125 for storing the main body, the server storage section 123 for storing the address of the animation server 130, and the server storage section 123 connected to the animation server 1 are connected to the server storage section 123. A server setting section 124 used by the user to set the address of 30; a display section 126 for displaying the body of the e-mail and the e-mail message; and an animation received from the animation server 130 in the past. An animation storage unit 102 that stores the scene data together with the genus, and a retrieval unit 102 that retrieves the animation from the animation storage unit 108 based on the genre 'I' of the animation. 7 and receiving terminal 1 0 2 0 Control section 102 to control each section, transmitting and receiving section 121, body storage section 125, server storage section 123, server setting section 124, display section 126, animation storage section 110 28, and a bus 127 for interconnecting the search unit 102 and the control unit 102. The processing of the transmitting terminal 110 is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the detailed description will not be repeated here.

Referring to FIG. 25, receiving terminal 1020 operates as follows when receiving an e-mail. Prior to this processing, the user uses the server setting unit 124 to store the address of the animation server 130 for downloading the animation in the server storage unit 123 in advance.

The receiving terminal 1020 is first in an initial state (S1 100). The transmission / reception unit 121 'waits until an e-mail is received from the transmission terminal 110 (S1101). When the transmission / reception unit 121 receives an e-mail composed of the text and the attribute value of the animation (“received” in S1101), the control unit 1022 stores the text of the received e-mail in the text storage unit 125 ( S 1102).

The retrieval unit 1027 retrieves the animation data corresponding to the attribute value of the received animation from the animation storage unit 1028 (S1103). The animation data corresponding to the attribute value is stored in the animation storage unit 1028. If the animation data is stored in the storage unit (“YES” in S1103), the control unit 1022 reads out the animation data from the animation storage unit 1028 and displays it on the display unit 126 (S1105). Thereafter, the body of the e-mail is displayed (S1105), and the state returns to the initial state (S1100).

If the animation data corresponding to the attribute value is not stored in the animation storage unit 1028 (“none” in S1103), the control unit 1022 executes the animation specified by the address stored in the server storage unit 123. The received attribute value of the animation is transmitted to the server 130 via the transmission / reception unit 121.

(S 1 106). The transmission / reception unit 121 waits for reception of animation data from the animation server 130 (S1107). Upon receiving the animation data from the animation server 130 ("Received" in S1107), the control unit 1022 displays the text of the animation and the e-mail on the display unit 126 (S1108 and S1109). ). Thereafter, the control unit 1022 stores the animation data together with the attribute value in the animation storage unit 1028 (S11110). Control returns to the initial state (S1100). As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when animation data is stored in the animation storage unit 128, the receiving terminal 10020 transmits the animation data from the animation server 130. There is no need to download Therefore, communication traffic can be reduced.

The animation data stored in the animation storage unit 108 may be only the data prepared in advance. In this case, of the processing of the receiving terminal 102 shown in FIG. 25, the processing of S111 in which the animation data is stored in the animation storage unit 102 can be omitted.

At S111 in FIG. 25, the user may be able to determine whether to store the animation data in the animation storage unit 128.

Animation attribute values may consist only of the meaning of the animation. In this case, which character's animation is displayed depends on the animation data stored in the animation server 130.

In the receiving terminal 100, a different animation server 130 may be specified depending on the sender. That is, the mail address of the transmission source and the address of the animation server 130 are stored in the server storage unit 123 in association with each other. When sending the attribute of the animation to the animation server 130, the control unit 102 selects the address of the animation server 130 corresponding to the mail address of the sender.

[Sixth embodiment]

Referring to FIG. 26, the e-mail transmission / reception system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention generates an animation attribute value expressing emotions and the like and a text of the e-mail, and transmits the e-mail. 0, animation server 1 230 providing animation, receiving terminal 122 0 receiving animation and e-mail, transmitting terminal 1 210, animation server 1 230 and receiving end And a communication network 140 typified by the Internet that interconnects the LEIs 122.

The sending terminal 1 210 has a text input section 112 used by the user to input the text of the e-mail, and an animation used by the user to input the attribute value of the animation attached to the e-mail. Connect to attribute input section 1 1 1 and communication network 1 4 0 The transmission / reception unit 1 2 1 3 that transmits and receives data, the display 1 2 1 5 that displays data such as animation, and the animation used by the user to select the animation displayed on the display 1 2 15 Selector 1 2 1 6 and transmitting terminal 1 2 1

Control section 1 2 1 4 to control each section of 0, body input section 1 1 2, animation attribute input section 1 1 1, transmission and reception section 1 2 1 3, display section 1 2 1 5, animation selection section 1 2

16 and a bus 1 2 17 connecting the control sections 1 2 1 4 to each other.

The receiving terminal 122 0 is connected to the communication network 140 and transmits and receives data.

1 2 1 and display section 1 2 1 5 Body storage section for storing the body of the email received from 1 2 5

1 2 5, display 1 2 6 for displaying the text and email of the e-mail, control 1 2 2 2 for controlling each part of the receiving terminal 1 2 2 0, transmission and reception 1 2 1, text And a bus 127 that interconnects the storage unit 125, the display unit 1'26, and the control unit 122.

The animation server 1230 is connected to the animation DB 13 3 that stores attribute values and animation data in association with each other, and searches for animations and animation URLs that match the attribute values. The search unit 1 2 3 2 is connected to the search unit 1 2 3 2 and the communication network 1 40, and data is transmitted between the sending terminal 1 2 1 0 and the receiving terminal 1 2 2 0 and the animation server 1 230 Transmission / reception unit 1.31

With reference to FIG. 27, the process of sending an e-mail by the sending terminal 1210 will be described.

First, the transmitting terminal 1210 is in the initial state (S1300). The user uses the animation attribute input unit 111 to select the attribute value of the animation, that is, the character and meaning of the animation (S1301). The control unit 1224 sends the animation's attribute value to the animation server 123 through the transmission / reception unit 123 (S1302). The transmitting terminal 1210 keeps waiting for reception of the animation data and its URL from the animation server 1230 (S1303).

Upon receiving the animation data and its URL from the animation server 1 230 (“received” in S 1303), the control unit 1 2 It is determined whether or not there are a plurality of pieces of session data (S1304).

If there are a plurality of received image data (a plurality of pieces in S1304), referring to FIG. 28, the control unit 1214 displays a plurality of animations on the display unit 1215, and the animation selection unit 1216 Then, the user selects one of them (S1305). Referring to FIG. 29, control unit 1214 displays the selected animation on display unit 1215, and prompts the user to confirm (S1306).

After the user inputs the text of the e-mail (S1307), the control unit 1214 transmits the text and the URL of the selected animation data to the receiving terminal 1220 via the transmission / reception unit 1213 (S1307). 1308).

The receiving process of the email by the receiving terminal 1220 is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 6, except for the process of S303. In the present embodiment, the received URL is transmitted to the animation server 1230 instead of the process of S303 in FIG.

Referring to the timing chart shown in FIG. 30, the flow of data transferred between transmitting terminal 1210, receiving terminal 1220 and amation server 1230 will be described.

The attribute values of the animation as shown in FIG. 31 are transmitted from the transmitting terminal 1210 to the animation server 1230 (S1401). The transmission / reception unit 131 of the fusion server 1230 receives the attribute IS. The search unit 1232 searches for animation data matching the attribute value and its URL. The extracted animation data and its URL are transmitted from the animation server 1230 to the transmission terminal 1210 (S1402). Fig. 32 shows an example of the transmitted data.

In the transmitting terminal 1210, one of the received image data is selected by the user. The transmitting terminal 1210 transmits the URL of the selected animation and the text of the e-mail to the receiving terminal 1220 (S1403). Figure 33 shows an example of the transmitted data.

The receiving terminal 1220 requests the animation server 1230 to transmit animation data based on the received URL (S1404). Animation The server 123 transmits the animation data specified by the URL to the receiving terminal 122 (S1405).

According to the present embodiment, the transmission terminal 1210 can select an animation to be transmitted to the reception terminal 122. In other words, an animation that the transmitting user considers most appropriate for the message can be transmitted to the receiving terminal. Instead of transmitting the animation URL from the transmission terminal 1210 to the reception terminal 122, animation data may be transmitted directly.

As described above, the electronic message transmission / reception system represented by e-mail described in the first to sixth embodiments is, for example, one of services provided by an ISP (Internet Service Provider) (for example, homepage creation). (Provision of a storage area for the service), and a certain amount of usage fee may be collected from the user of the service.

The payment of the usage fee may be performed by the ISP, and the obtained revenue may be distributed by the ISP, the service provider, and the animation data provider. According to the present invention, relatively large-capacity data such as animation data is stored in a data server (animation server). Therefore, desired data having a relatively large capacity corresponding to the attribute value can be transmitted without storing such data in the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal in advance.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims. Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, an electronic message with a desired one of such data can be transmitted to the other party without storing relatively large-capacity data in the terminal in advance. Therefore, it is suitable for an electronic message transmission / reception system in which multimedia data such as animation data can be attached to an electronic message and transmitted using, for example, a portable PDA.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. The transmitting terminal that transmits the electronic message with the attribute value to the electronic message via the communication network, stores the attribute value and the message transmission data in association with each other, and stores the message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value. An electronic message transmitting terminal used in an electronic message transmitting / receiving system, comprising: a data server device transmitting the electronic message via a communication network; and a receiving terminal receiving the electronic message via the communication network. And

An attribute input unit used by a user to input an attribute value of the message transmission data;

A first transmitting unit connected to the attribute input unit and configured to transmit an electronic message to which the attribute value input using the attribute input unit is attached to the receiving terminal.

2. It further includes a body input part used by the user to enter the body of the electronic message,

The first transmission unit is connected to the attribute input unit and the text input unit, includes a text input by the text input unit, and has an attribute value input using the attribute input unit. The electronic message transmitting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the electronic message transmitting terminal transmits an electronic message to the receiving terminal.

3. A display timing input unit used by a user to input a display timing of the text of the electronic message and the data for message transmission, wherein the first transmission unit includes the attribute input unit, the text input. And an electronic control unit that is connected to the display timing input unit and includes a text input using the text input unit and display timing specific data indicating display timing input using the display timing input unit. 3. The transmitting terminal according to claim 2, wherein an attribute value input using the attribute input unit is attached to a message, and the message is transmitted to the receiving terminal.

4. The transmitting terminal that sends the electronic message with its attribute value and transmits it via the communication network, stores the attribute value and the message transmission data in association with each other, and transmits the message corresponding to the attribute value. A data server device for transmitting data via the communication network; A receiving terminal for receiving the electronic message via the communication network, and a transmitting terminal for the electronic message used in the electronic message transmitting / receiving system,

A first transmission unit connected to the attribute input unit and transmitting an electronic message to which the attribute value input using the attribute input unit is attached to the data server device; and A receiver for receiving message transmission data matching the attribute value;

A data selection unit connected to the reception unit and used by the user to select the message transmission data desired by the user from the received message transmission data;

A second transmitting unit connected to the data selecting unit and transmitting an electronic message with the selected message transmission data to the receiving terminal.

5. Includes a text input section that is used by the user to enter the text of the electronic message,

The second transmission unit is connected to the data selection unit and the text input unit, includes the text input by the text input unit, and transmits message transmission data selected by using the data selection unit. The transmission terminal according to claim 4, wherein the transmission terminal transmits an electronic message including the electronic message to the reception terminal.

6. The receiving unit receives, from the data server device, message transmission data that matches the attribute value and information specifying the position of the message transmission data.

■ Including the first receiving unit

The second transmission unit is connected to the data selection unit and the text input unit, and transmits an electronic message including information for specifying the position of the selected message transmission data and the text. The transmitting terminal according to claim 5, wherein the transmitting terminal transmits the signal to the receiving terminal.

7. The receiving unit receives, from the data server device, message transmission data that matches the attribute directly and information for specifying the position of the message transmission data. Including a first receiving unit

The second transmission unit is connected to the data selection unit, and transmits an electronic message including information for specifying a position of the selected message transmission data to the reception terminal. Sending terminal.

8. The transmitting terminal that transmits the electronic message with the attribute value via the communication network, stores the attribute value and the message transmission data in association with each other, and stores the message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value as described above. A data server device used in an electronic message transmitting / receiving system, comprising: a data server device that transmits via a communication network; and a receiving terminal that receives an electronic message via the communication network,

A database that stores message transmission data in association with attribute values, a search unit connected to the database, and searches the database for message transmission data corresponding to the attribute values;

An attribute value is extracted from an electronic message received through the communication network and connected to the communication network and the search unit, and is passed to the search unit. In response to the attribute value, the search unit responds to the attribute value from the database. A transmitting / receiving unit that transmits the extracted message transmission data to a destination determined by the received electronic message.

9. The transmission / reception unit

A receiving unit that receives an electronic message via the communication network;

An attribute extraction unit connected to the reception unit and extracting an attribute value corresponding to the received electronic message;

A database that stores attribute values and message transmission data in association with each other; and a message transmission data that is connected to the attribute extraction unit and the database, and that corresponds to the attribute value extracted by the attribute extraction unit. A retrieval unit that retrieves

The data server according to claim 8, further comprising: a transmission unit connected to the search unit, the transmission unit configured to transmit the message transmission data extracted by the search unit to a terminal of a source of the electronic message received by the reception unit. apparatus.

10. The search unit includes a plurality of attribute values corresponding to the attribute values extracted by the attribute extraction unit. The message transmission data from the database,

The data server device according to claim 9, wherein the transmission unit transmits the plurality of message transmission data retrieved by the search unit to a terminal that has transmitted the electronic message received by the reception unit.

11. The retrieval unit retrieves a plurality of message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value extracted by the attribute extraction unit from the database,

The transmitting unit associates the plurality of message transmission data extracted by the search unit with information specifying a position where each of the plurality of message transmission data is stored, and 10. The data server device according to claim 9, wherein the data server device transmits the received electronic message to a terminal that has transmitted the electronic message.

1 2. The attribute extraction unit,

A keyword / attribute correspondence table for storing a keyword and an attribute value in association with each other; a text input unit connected to the receiving unit for receiving a body of an electronic message; and a text input unit and a keyword / attribute correspondence table connected to the text input unit. A keyword extraction unit for searching and extracting keywords stored in the keyword / attribute correspondence table from the body of the electronic message;

An attribute value extracting unit that extracts an attribute value corresponding to the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit from the keyword / attribute correspondence table;

11. An attribute output unit connected to the attribute value extraction unit and the search unit, and an attribute output unit that supplies the attribute value extracted from the keyword-attribute correspondence table by the attribute value extraction unit to the search unit. 2. A data server device according to claim 1.

1 3. The attribute extraction unit,

A keyword / attribute correspondence table for storing keywords and attribute values in association with each other;-'a text input unit connected to the receiving unit for receiving the body of an electronic message; a text input unit and a keyword / attribute correspondence table connected A keyword extracting unit for searching and extracting keywords stored in the keyword / attribute correspondence table from the body of the electronic message;

An attribute value extracting unit that extracts an attribute corresponding to the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit from the keyword-attribute correspondence table; 10. An attribute output unit connected to the attribute value extraction unit and the search unit, and configured to supply an attribute value extracted from the keyword / attribute correspondence table by the attribute value extraction unit to the search unit. 2. A data server device according to claim 1.

1 4. The attribute extraction unit,

A keyword / attribute correspondence table for storing a keyword and an attribute value in association with each other; a text input unit connected to the receiving unit for receiving a text of the electronic message; a text input unit and a keyword / attribute correspondence table connected to the text input unit; A keyword extracting unit that searches for and extracts a keyword stored in the keyword-attribute correspondence table from the body of the electronic message;

An attribute value extracting unit for extracting an attribute value corresponding to the keyword extracted by the keyword extracting unit from the keyword-attribute correspondence table;

10. An attribute output unit connected to the attribute value extracting unit and the search unit, and supplying an attribute value extracted from the keyword / attribute correspondence table by the attribute value extracting unit to the search unit. A data server device as described in the above.

1 5. The transmitting / receiving unit

A database that stores the message transmission data in association with the attribute value, and is connected to the attribute determination unit and the database, and searches the database for the message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value extracted by the attribute extraction unit. Search section to

A transmitting unit that is connected to the searching unit and that transmits message transmission data extracted from the database by the searching unit to a terminal specified by destination information included in the electronic message received by the receiving unit; 9. The data server device according to claim 8, comprising:

1 6. The attribute extraction unit

A keyword-attribute correspondence table that stores a keyword and an attribute value in association with each other; a text input unit that is connected to the receiving unit and receives a text of an electronic message; A keyword extraction unit connected to the text input unit and the keyword / attribute correspondence table, for searching and extracting the keywords stored in the keyword / attribute correspondence table from the body of the electronic message;

13. An attribute output unit connected to the attribute value extracting unit and the searching unit, and supplying an attribute value extracted from the keyword-attribute correspondence table by the attribute value extracting unit to the searching unit. 2. A data server device according to claim 1.

17. A transmitting terminal that transmits an electronic message with an attribute value via a communication network, stores the attribute value and the message transmission data in association with each other, and stores the message transmission data corresponding to the attribute value. A receiving terminal used in an electronic message transmitting / receiving system, comprising: a data server device transmitting the communication message via the communication network; and a receiving terminal receiving the electronic message via the communication network.

A first receiver for receiving an electronic message with an attribute value,

A transmitting unit that transmits the attribute value of the electronic message received by the first receiving unit to the data server device;

A second receiving unit that receives the message transmission data transmitted from the data server device in response to the attribute value transmitted by the transmitting unit.

18. The receiving terminal further includes a server storage unit connected to the transmission unit and storing an address of the data server device.

18. The receiving terminal according to claim 17, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the attribute value to a data server device specified by an address stored in the server storage unit.

1 9. The electronic message includes information for specifying an attribute value, a text of the electronic message, and display timing of the attribute value,

The receiving terminal further includes:

A display unit for displaying a text of the electronic message and message transmission data, the display unit being connected to the second receiving unit and the display unit, and receiving the received data in an order specified by the information for specifying the display timing; A control unit for displaying the text of the electronic message and the data for message transmission on the display unit. Item 18. The receiving terminal according to Item 18.

2 0. The receiving terminal:

It further includes a display for displaying the body of the electronic message and the data for message transmission.

The first receiving unit receives an attribute value and a text of an electronic message from the transmitting terminal,

The receiving terminal further includes:

A data storage unit that stores the message transmission data in association with the attribute value, and is connected to the first receiving unit and the data storage unit, and corresponds to the attribute value received by the first receiving unit. A search unit for searching message transmission data in the data storage unit;

Connected to the search unit, and in response to the search unit determining that message transmission data corresponding to the received attribute value does not exist in the data storage unit, A transmission unit for transmitting to the data server device and requesting transmission of corresponding message transmission data,

The second reception unit receives message transmission data transmitted from the data server device in response to a request from the transmission unit, and associates the data with the attribute value transmitted by the transmission unit. Store it in the storage unit,

The reception terminal is further connected to the search unit and the second reception unit, and based on a search result in the search unit, the search unit retrieves the message transmission data or the message transmission data extracted from the data storage unit. 19. The receiving terminal according to claim 18, further comprising a control unit that controls the display unit such that the second receiving unit selectively displays any of the message transmission data received from the data server device.