JP2001257712A - Electronic mail system and transmission reception method for electronic mail by facsimile machine and telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic mail system that can transmit a mail even when a mail address of an opposite party is not given in advance and can receive a mail even when no mail address is registered in advance. SOLUTION: The electronic mail system is provided with a processing means that opens a mail box 21 where telephone numbers of electronic mail recipients are used for mail accounts to electronic mail senders independently of contract with electronic mail recipients, stores an electronic mail addressed to a prescribed telephone number account from an electronic mail sender to a mail box 21 corresponding to the telephone number account, a acquires a telephone number of the electronic mail recipient with respect to an access by the electronic mail recipient, asks entry of a password corresponding to the telephone number for a terminal 2 of the electronic mail recipient, reads the electronic mail related to the mail account of the telephone number when the cross- reference between this telephone number and the password is coincident from the mail box 21 and transmits the read electronic mail to the terminal 2 of the electronic mail recipient.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an electronic mail system and a facsimile apparatus which can use the electronic mail system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic mail on the Internet is widely used. In addition, those who intend to use the e-mail system will be notified of the e-mail address of the other party in advance,
The mail address of the other party is registered in a so-called address book of the mailer used by the user. Then, an e-mail is transmitted using the e-mail address registered in the address book.

[0003]

However, an Internet mail address is conventionally contracted with a specific Internet service provider (ISP), an address in a format defined by the provider is obtained, and a password or the like is used to validate the address. You can use it only after pre-registering. Therefore, when a mail is to be transmitted, it cannot be transmitted by the conventional method unless the notification of the mail address of the other party has been received in advance.

[0004] On the other hand, if a mail address is inadvertently disclosed, a large amount of e-mails such as direct mails are sent, and the user has to browse unnecessary information.

It is desirable that the mail address is a character string that can be easily remembered by the owner or user of the mail address. However, such mail addresses are desired by many users and are often difficult to obtain. Therefore,
The user often has to use a mail address that is difficult to remember that he does not want, and in such a case, he has to rely on an address book attached to the mailer.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to make it possible to send an e-mail even if the e-mail address of the other party is not given in advance, and to receive e-mail even if the e-mail address is not registered in advance. The purpose is to provide the convenience of both users.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a mail box having a telephone number of an e-mail receiver as a mail account is set to a contract with the e-mail receiver. Open to email senders regardless. Then, the e-mail addressed to the predetermined telephone number account from the e-mail sender is stored in the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account. On the other hand, for the access of the e-mail recipient, the user obtains the telephone number of the e-mail recipient and requests the terminal of the e-mail recipient to enter a password corresponding to the telephone number. If the correspondence between the passwords matches, an e-mail associated with the mail account of the telephone number is read from the mailbox, and the read e-mail is transmitted to the terminal of the e-mail recipient. A configuration is provided in which such processing means is provided.

[0008] In the invention according to claim 2, a mail box having a telephone number of an e-mail recipient as a mail account is opened to an e-mail sender irrespective of a contract with the e-mail recipient, An e-mail addressed to a predetermined telephone number account from the sender is stored in a mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account. And for email recipient access,
Asks the terminal of the e-mail recipient to enter a password registered in advance in association with the telephone number of the e-mail recipient, and if the password matches the registered contents, the telephone number associated with the password And a processing means for reading out the e-mail from the mailbox having the e-mail account and transmitting the read e-mail to the terminal of the e-mail recipient.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first or second aspect is provided.
The configuration is such that the electronic mail system described is provided in a system of an Internet service provider.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first or second aspect is provided.
The configuration is such that the described e-mail system is provided in a server system on the Internet.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the terminal of the e-mail sender is a facsimile apparatus, the processing means creates an image file based on the image data of the facsimile manuscript, and attaches this image file to the e-mail attachment. The file is transmitted to the e-mail recipient as a file.

According to the invention described in claim 6, one of a plurality of telephone numbers input or selected by the electronic mail sender or receiver from the input means during one communication operation is the telephone number of the call destination. And the other telephone numbers are sent to the call destination as a destination mail account for sending the fax manuscript as e-mail or as a mail account pointing to the mailbox of the e-mail recipient. Has been adopted.

Here, "one communication operation" means a facsimile operation.
This refers to the operation from the start of the operation for connecting the call to the destination to the termination of the call.

In the invention according to claim 7, when the terminal of the electronic mail sender is a telephone, the processing means converts the voice information sent from the terminal of the electronic mail sender into a character code string after voice recognition. Or stored or associated in the mailbox as an audio file of the audio information,
The configuration is adopted.

Thus, the above-mentioned object is achieved.

[0016] For example, an Internet service provider has already established in its own server mail addresses corresponding to all telephone numbers and fax numbers in all over Japan (and further around the world) without waiting for user registration each time. Waiting for ready to receive mail. For example, A's phone number (or fax number) is 03-3210-1234, and the provider's domain name is
If the sender is newprovider and an arbitrary sender wants to send an email to Mr. A, the sender will send his own email
The purpose is achieved by sending to 2101234@newprovider.ne.jp.

[0017] This means that anyone who has a telephone or fax even if you do not particularly know the e-mail address of the transmission destination, or even if the other party does not actively hold the e-mail address. It is particularly important in that you can send mail. In actual use, a friend or friend who knows the telephone number but does not know the e-mail address (this is assumed to be very common) can be communicated without asking the person for the e-mail address. Its usefulness is clear considering that it can be done.

It is necessary to register a password in order to maintain personal privacy, but this registration may be performed when a user first opens his / her own mailbox, and there is no need to prepare in advance. Absent. This is also innovative as it removes the limitations of the conventional system.

Further, the second object of this system is to enable the reception of information on a fax manuscript and telephone voice by mail. It is impossible or extremely difficult to send a paper fax or telephone call to a mail address using conventional methods. The e-mail address is usually tarokato@oldprovider.ne.jp
This is because it is hard to say that it is practical even if there is no alphabet button in fax transmission. In contrast, in this case, for example, 035
You can send a paper fax or telephone voice as an e-mail using a combination of numbers and symbols (or, if necessary, voice guidance) that a fax transmitter or telephone has conventionally, such as 6789999 # 0332101234. Become like

In the invention according to claim 8, the contents of the e-mails received by the plurality of accounts are compared with each other, and the comparing means counts the number of e-mails whose predetermined contents coincide with each other. When the number of e-mails determined to match the predetermined contents exceeds the predetermined number, transmission of the e-mails matching the predetermined contents is prohibited.

Here, "matching of predetermined contents" means source information, creation date information,
Either the file size or the partial character string of the text, or two or more of them match.

Also, "prohibition of transmission of e-mail"
The processing is not limited to rejection of the transmission processing, and processing for deleting the file of the electronic mail may be performed.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the junk e-mail prevention system according to the eighth aspect, the e-mail which is determined to have a predetermined content and whose transmission is prohibited is an e-mail from a specific transmission source. At this time, a configuration is provided in which a mail transmission restriction release unit for releasing the prohibition of transmission of the electronic mail is provided.

According to this, even if the e-mail has a predetermined content and the transmission of which is to be prohibited, an e-mail from a specific transmission source can be transmitted. , It is possible to permit only a specific person to transmit a direct mail or the like.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the electronic mail system according to the first or second aspect has a configuration in which the unwanted e-mail system according to the eighth aspect is provided.

[0026] According to this, the character strings included in the e-mails received at regular intervals are compared, and the e-mail of duplicate contents is not transmitted, so that the user does not need to browse unnecessary direct e-mails. Can be prevented.

[0027] According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the sender determining means for determining whether or not the email is from a registered sender, and the means for comparing the contents of the emails among the emails received by the plurality of accounts. Means for counting the number of disposal candidate e-mails determined by the transmission source judging means to be not e-mails from the registered transmission source and determined by the comparing means to match predetermined contents; Means for prohibiting the transmission of the disposal candidate email when the quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity.

According to this, by excluding the e-mail from the registered transmission source from the object of prohibiting the transmission from the beginning, it is possible to reduce the processing amount for specifying the e-mail having the predetermined content. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load on the system equipped with the spam mail prevention system.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the transmission source information,
In a system for sending and receiving e-mail including destination information and subject information, means for storing the source information, destination information and subject information of the previous e-mail sent from the sender as a search target, Means for storing the source information, destination information, and subject information of the subsequent e-mail sent from the sender in association with each other. Means for searching for a search target having sender information that matches the sender information of the subsequent e-mail and setting the search target as a first candidate; Means for searching for a search target having subject information including destination information of an e-mail and using the search target as a second candidate. Then, a configuration is provided in which a replacement unit is provided that uses the destination information of the search target that has become the second candidate as the destination information of the subsequent e-mail.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the electronic mail system according to the first or second aspect is provided with the electronic mail system according to the twelfth aspect.

By adopting the above configuration, it is possible to register a destination mail address and a character string that can be easily remembered by the sender on the server side, and to register the character string when the character string is transmitted as a destination. Since the mail is replaced with the mail address of the transmission destination registered by the server, the transmission of the e-mail with the character string that the sender can easily remember becomes possible.

[0032]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment]

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an electronic mail system according to the present invention. The terminal 1 of the mail sender and the terminal 2 of the mail receiver are connected to the public network 3 and can be connected to the ISP system 4 by calling a predetermined telephone number from each of the terminals 1 and 2. .

Here, the type of the mail transmitting terminal 1 and the mail receiving terminal 2 may be any of a personal computer, a mobile computer, a portable telephone, other telephones, and a fax device.

The ISP system 4 includes a first communication unit 4 such as a modem or a terminal adapter connected to the public network 3.
1 and storage means 4 including a memory, a register, an HDD, etc.
2, a second communication means 43 such as a router connected to the Internet 5, and a processing means 4 for controlling these means by program processing of the CPU and realizing various functions.
4 is provided. Note that the storage unit 42 is not limited to one specific medium, and may be configured by a plurality of media.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions realized by the processing means 44 through program processing.

The processing means 44 realizes the mail receiving means 11, the mail storage means 12, the personal authentication means 13, the mail reading means 14, and the mail distribution means 15 by the program processing of the CPU. Further, the mailbox 21, the password 22, and the display information 23 of the password input screen are stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42. Here, the processing unit 44 may be a processing device having a plurality of CPUs, or may perform distributed processing by a plurality of CPUs that cooperate via a LAN or the like.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a mailbox whose mail account is the telephone number of the e-mail recipient, and is open to the e-mail sender regardless of the contract with the e-mail recipient. For example, a mailbox is set up in advance as a mail account with telephone numbers in all over Japan and telephone numbers in various countries around the world, and is opened to the mail sender. As a specific example, for a telephone number of "03-5432-2345", an e-mail address of "0354322345@newprovider.ne.jp" is generated using the telephone number as an e-mail account. The corresponding mailbox is set in advance.

The mail accepting means 11 receives an e-mail addressed to a predetermined telephone number account from the e-mail sender, and delivers it to the mail storing means 12 together with information on the destination telephone number account. When the mail transmitting terminal 1 is a fax device or a telephone, the mail receiving means 11 transmits voice guidance to the fax device or the telephone, and inputs a destination telephone number account from the mail transmitting terminal 1 in response to the voice guidance. May be accepted. When the mail transmitting terminal 1 is a personal computer or a mobile computer (including a mobile phone that transmits character mail), the mail accepting unit 11 receives an electronic mail as a character code.

When the mail transmitting terminal 1 is a telephone,
The voice information is converted into a sampled data file to be an attached file of the mail, or the voice information is converted to a character file by voice recognition to be an attached file of the mail. If the sending terminal 1 is a fax device, the fax image data is converted into an image file in a predetermined format and is converted into an attached file of a mail.

Next, the mail storage means 12 stores the received mail and the attached file in the mailbox 21 in association with the destination telephone number account. Mailbox 2
1 is open to e-mail senders regardless of the contract with the e-mail recipient, and the e-mail sender can send an e-mail addressed to the e-mail recipient at any time if he or she knows only the telephone number of the e-mail recipient. It can be stored in a box 21.

The method of setting the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number is not limited to the above, and the mailbox may be opened by setting the mailbox as follows.

First, the mail accepting means 11 receives an electronic mail, and delivers the received electronic mail to the mail storing means 12. Here, a mail box presence search function and a new mail box creation function are newly added to the mail storage means 12 at the delivery destination.

Then, the mail storage means 12 to which the e-mail has been delivered performs a mailbox existence search for the mailbox 21 corresponding to the destination address of the e-mail. As a result of the search, if the corresponding mailbox exists, the electronic mail is stored in the mailbox 21.

Conversely, if it is determined that the mailbox corresponding to the transmission address of the electronic mail does not exist in the mailbox 21 as a result of the mailbox presence search, the mail is stored. The means 12 creates a mailbox corresponding to the transmission address in the mailbox 21, and stores the e-mail in the created mailbox.

As described above, by employing a configuration in which a mailbox corresponding to a mail address is created for the first time when it becomes necessary, the storage means such as an HDD can be effectively used.

In response to the access of the e-mail recipient, the personal authentication means 13 obtains the telephone number of the e-mail recipient and inputs a password corresponding to the telephone number to the terminal 2 of the e-mail recipient. Ask. The method of acquiring the telephone number of the e-mail recipient may be specified from the caller ID notification when the e-mail receiving terminal 2 is connected to the ISP 4, or the method of acquiring the e-mail recipient terminal 2
, The display information 23 of the password input screen may be transmitted, and a telephone number input field may be provided on the password input screen to allow the user to input the telephone number of the mail recipient and the password corresponding to the telephone number. Alternatively, when the terminal of the e-mail recipient is a fax machine or a telephone, voice guidance for inputting a password is transmitted to the terminal 2 of the e-mail recipient, and voice guidance for inputting a telephone number is provided together with the guidance for inputting the password. You may make it input the telephone number of the receiver and the password corresponding to the telephone number.

In the following description, a case will be described as an example where the telephone number of the mail recipient is obtained by a method of inputting a telephone number and a password from the password input screen.

The personal authentication means 13 is input on the password input screen (in the case where the mail receiving terminal 2 is a facsimile apparatus or a telephone, replaced with "voice guidance"; the same applies hereinafter) in the case of a mail recipient who has accessed for the first time. The password 22 registered in the storage unit 42 is associated with the telephone number input on the password input screen. On the other hand, for the mail recipients who have accessed for the second time or later, the correspondence between the telephone number input on the password input screen and the password is checked against the password 22 registered in advance. As a result, when the correspondence between the telephone number and the password input this time matches the correspondence registered in advance, the personal authentication unit 13 passes the process to the mail reading unit 14. Conversely, if the correspondence between the phone number and password does not match the pre-registered content,
The display information to that effect is transmitted to the mail receiving terminal 2.

The e-mail reading means 14 includes the personal authentication means 13
If the correspondence between the telephone number and the password matches in the collation, the e-mail associated with the mail account of the telephone number is read from the mailbox 21. For example, if the telephone number entered by the mail recipient is "03-5
In the case of “432-2345”, the mail reading unit 14 reads out the unsent electronic mail and the attached file from the mailbox 21 corresponding to the mail address “0354322345@newprovider.ne.jp” and delivers it to the mail distribution unit 15.

The mail distribution means 15 is a mail reading means 1
The electronic mail and the attached file read by the electronic mail receiver 4 are transmitted to the terminal 2 of the electronic mail receiver. When the mail receiving terminal 2 is a facsimile device, the mail transmitting means 15 converts the image file attached to the mail into image data corresponding to facsimile and transmits it.

According to the present embodiment, the mailbox having the account of the telephone number of the mail recipient is opened to the mail sender regardless of the contract with the mail recipient. You can send an email anytime you know your phone number.
Moreover, even in a situation where the mail recipient does not have an e-mail environment, the mail sender can transmit the mail to the mail recipient.

Also, since the destination of the mail recipient can be specified by the telephone number of the mail recipient, the mail transmitting terminal may be any device capable of inputting the telephone number, and the mail may be transmitted from the fax machine. it can.

Here, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the e-mail system of the present application is provided in the ISP 4 common to the mail sender and the mail receiver. However, as shown in FIG.
Data may be exchanged with the mail transmitting terminal 1 and the mail receiving terminal 2 using the page b as an interface.

[Embodiment of Fax Device as Mail Sending Terminal or Mail Receiving Terminal]

Next, an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 4 includes input means 31 such as a ten-key for inputting a telephone number and mode switching,
Display means 3 such as a liquid crystal panel for displaying various parameters
2, communication means 33 such as a communication circuit for connecting a call with a communication destination via a public line to transmit and receive information, a facsimile mechanism 34 including a paper feed mechanism, a facsimile original reading mechanism and a reading sensor, and the like. And control means 35 for controlling the operation of.

The control means 35 realizes a mode switching means 35a, a normal fax mode 35b, and a mail transmission / reception mode 35c by firmware processing by a microcomputer.

When the mode switch provided on the input unit 31 is operated, the mode switching unit 35a operates in the normal fax mode 35b or the mail transmission / reception mode 35.
c is selectively activated. Normal fax mode 35b
Receives the input of the telephone number of the fax transmission destination from the input means 31 and drives the fax mechanism 34 and the communication means 33 to realize the conventional general fax transmission.

On the other hand, in the mail transmission / reception mode 35c, at least two telephone numbers are input or selected through the input means 31 during one communication operation, and one of the telephone numbers input or selected by the input means 31 is selected. One is used as the call destination telephone number to perform call connection processing, and the other telephone number is sent to the call destination as a destination mail account for sending or receiving fax manuscripts as e-mail or an account in your own mailbox I do.

In the present embodiment, the mail transmission / reception mode 35c includes a telephone number (first telephone number) of a call destination and a telephone number (second telephone number) as an e-mail account.
Is separated by a one-letter symbol. For example, when sending an e-mail, (first telephone number) # (second telephone number), and when receiving e-mail, (first telephone number) * (second telephone number) Number) at the same time.

For example, if the telephone number of the call destination is "03-3210-12
34 ", and if the phone number account of the mail recipient (destination) is" 03-5432-2345 "," 0332101234 # 0354322 "
345 ", and if your mailbox account is" 03-9876-6789 ", enter" 0332101234 * 039876 "
6789 ".

In the mail transmission / reception mode 35c, in the mail transmission operation, the symbol "#"
Recognize the part before "" as the telephone number of the call destination, and connect the call with the call destination. Also, the latter part of the symbol "#" is recognized as the telephone number account of the mail destination, transmitted to the electronic mail system of the call destination, and the image data of the fax document read by the fax mechanism 34 is read by the electronic mail of the call destination. Send to mail system. In the e-mail system of the call destination, as in the above-described embodiment, the e-mail is stored in the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account, and at that time, the image data of the fax original is converted into an image file and Attach files.

In the mail transmission / reception mode 35c, in the mail reception operation, the part before the symbol "*" in the input telephone number column is recognized as the call destination telephone number, and the call is connected to the call destination. I do. Also, it recognizes the latter half of the symbol "*" as its own mailbox account and sends it to the electronic mail system of the call destination. In the e-mail system of the call destination, as in the above-described embodiment, the e-mail is read from the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account, converted to page data, and further converted to image data for facsimile. Is transmitted to the FAX machine. From the FAX device, the contents of the e-mail are printed out as text on paper.

According to this embodiment, even a facsimile apparatus having only a numeric keypad can transmit and receive an e-mail by a simple operation.

Here, the mode switching means 35a is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, the telephone number inputted from the input means 31 is composed of only one telephone number or a plurality of telephone numbers divided by symbols. The normal fax mode 35b or the mail transmission / reception mode 35c may be automatically selected and activated by judging whether the number is included. Further, the telephone number of the call destination and the telephone number of the mail account may be selected from a telephone directory or an address book registered in advance in the facsimile apparatus by a selection operation.

The case of the facsimile apparatus has been described above. However, by providing at least a telephone transmission circuit of the telephone instead of the facsimile mechanism 34, a telephone capable of transmitting electronic mail (voice mail) can be configured.

The mail transmission / reception mode 35c of the facsimile apparatus or telephone can be provided as a peripheral device even if it is not mounted inside the facsimile apparatus or telephone. For example, there is a peripheral device inserted between a fax machine and a telephone line for realizing an Internet fax. Such a peripheral device is equipped with a mail transmission / reception mode 35c, and the peripheral device receives the input 2 One of the two telephone numbers may be used for calling and the other telephone number may be used as a mail account. In this case, a conventional device can be used as a fax device or telephone device itself.

Further, the function of the mail transmission / reception mode 35c can be incorporated in a system such as a telephone company exchange. That is, the telephone company system located on the public network is
One of the two input telephone numbers may be used for calling, and the other telephone number may be used as a mail account. In this case, the user's environment remains the same, and no special fax device, telephone device, or peripheral device is required.

[Modification of the Personal Authentication Means 13]

Next, a modification of the personal authentication means 13 shown in FIG. 2 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the personal authentication means 13 comprises:
An initial access determining means 131 for determining whether the access by the mail receiver is the first time or the second time or later, and in the case of the first access, receiving information on an arbitrary telephone number and password from the mail receiver and receiving the telephone number, password and at least The first registration means 132 for temporarily registering the date of the first access in the storage means 22 and, in the case of the second and subsequent accesses (until the registration is changed to the main registration), the notification of the current caller ID by the access of the mail recipient is received. Then, it is determined whether the telephone number indicated in the notification matches the telephone number provisionally registered in the storage means 22 at the time of the first access, and the date of access this time is provisionally registered in the storage means 22. It is determined whether it is within a certain period (for example, three days) from the date of the first access, and as a result, it is determined that the access is within the certain period and the phone number matches. If successful, the telephone number and password of the e-mail recipient provisionally registered in the storage means are changed to the permanent registration, and conversely, within the above-mentioned fixed period, the same caller ID notification as the provisionally registered telephone number is obtained. If there is no such information, a time difference authentication unit 133 for deleting the temporary registration in the storage unit is provided.

When the access of the mail receiver is accepted after the main registration, the first access determination means 131 transmits an input screen requesting only the password input to the mail receiver terminal 2 and accepts only the password input. . Then, after the main registration, the time difference authentication unit 133 determines only whether the password input by the mail receiver matches the main registration in the storage unit 22, and notifies the current caller ID notification and the telephone number of the main registration. Is not determined.

For the first access by the mail receiver, the first registration means 132 permits the mail reading means to read the mail after the provisional registration is completed. The time difference authenticating means 133 sends an e-mail to the e-mail reading means for the second and subsequent accesses of the e-mail recipient when the temporary registration is changed to the formal registration and when the password is confirmed to match in the subsequent access. Is read.

According to this, the mail receiver can receive mail from the mailbox of its own telephone number even if the mail receiving terminal 2 cannot make a call from its own telephone number. However, since a permanent registration cannot be obtained unless the user again accesses the telephone number owned by the user within a certain period of time, the impersonation access of another person can be prevented. Further, after the main registration, the consistency of only the password is determined, so that the mail can be received from the mailbox of the account of the telephone number owned by the user even without transmitting from the telephone number owned by the user.

[Second Modification of Identity Authentication Means 13]

In this modified example, an arbitrary telephone number is not accepted for the first time, and a calling number notification is used.

FIG. 6 shows a second modification of the personal authentication means 13 shown in FIG. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the components already described, and redundant description will be omitted.

In FIG. 6, the personal authentication means 13 includes an initial access determination means 134 for determining whether the access by the mail receiver is the first access or the second or later access, and in the case of the first access, stores the telephone number account and the password in association with each other. Initial registration means 135 stored in means (password) 22
Is provided.

The first access determination means 134 receives the caller ID notification from the mail recipient, and acquires the telephone number from the received caller ID notification. Then, based on the obtained telephone number, the password 22 is inquired and determined as to whether the mail receiver has accessed the telephone number indicated in the notification for the first time or the second time or later. This determination is based on whether or not a password corresponding to the telephone number obtained from the caller ID notification exists.

If the access from the mail receiver is the first access, the first access determination means 13
4 receives arbitrary password information from the mail recipient and delivers the received password information and the telephone number based on the caller ID notification to the initial registration means 132.

Next, the initial registration means 135 associates the password information with the mail account corresponding to the telephone number and records it in the password 22. After the registration of the password information, the first registration unit 135 permits the mail reading unit 14 to read the mail.

When the first access determination means 134 determines that the access from the mail receiver is the second or subsequent access, it accepts the input of the password information. here,
If the password information stored and associated with the email account matches the accepted password information,
The first access determination means 134 permits the mail reading means 14 to read the mail.

According to this, the mail receiver can set the password only by inputting the password under the condition that the caller ID can be notified at the first access.

Therefore, by using the telephone line of the user at the time of the first access while being simple, the authentication of the user becomes more reliable, and the same level of security as the provider who sets the password by mail or the like in advance can be secured.

When implementing the system of the present application, the above-described modification may be applied, or the above-described personal authentication means may be employed.

[Voice mail processing]

(1) In FIG. 1, the case where the mail transmitting terminal 1 is a telephone and the mail receiving terminal 2 is a FAX machine

The processing means 44 performs a voice recognition process on the voice information received by the first communication means 41, converts the voice information into a character code, and converts it into the contents of the e-mail. Store in the box. Also,
The processing means 44 reads the character code, which is the content of the e-mail, from the mailbox, converts the character code into page data, converts the page data into facsimile image data, and receives the mail from the first communication means 41. Transmit to terminal 2.

(2) In FIG. 1, both the mail transmitting terminal 1 and the mail receiving terminal 2 are telephones.

The processing means 44 executes voice recognition processing on the voice information received by the first communication means 41, converts the voice information into a character code, and converts it into the contents of the e-mail. Store in the box. Also,
The processing unit 44 reads a character code, which is the content of the e-mail, from the mailbox, converts the character code into a voice signal by voice synthesis processing, and transmits the voice signal from the first communication unit 41 to the telephone as the mail receiving terminal 2.

[Restriction on transmission of same content mail]

Next, an embodiment of a junk mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 7 and 8. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the components already described, and redundant description will be omitted.

In FIG. 7, mail content comparing means 52
Comprises means for comparing e-mail contents between e-mails received by a plurality of accounts. Also, the counting means 53
Is a means for counting the number of e-mails determined by the e-mail content comparing means 52 to match the predetermined contents. Here, the “predetermined content” refers to source information of electronic mail, creation date / time information, file size, a partial character string of the text, and the like. The mail transmission restricting unit 51 detects whether predetermined information is added to the electronic mail,
This is a means for prohibiting distribution when added.

Here, the mail content comparing means 52, the counting means 53 and the mail transmission restricting means 51 are realized by the program processing of the CPU.

The mailbox 24 has a plurality of mailboxes provided for each mail account. Here, the mail storage unit 12 stores the electronic mail received by the mail receiving unit 11 in a mailbox corresponding to the mail account of the electronic mail. Then, the comparison result 25 stores the electronic mail determined by the mail content comparing means 52 that the predetermined contents match. Note that the mailbox 24 and the comparison result 25 are predetermined areas of the storage unit 42.

The operation of the junk mail prevention system having the above configuration will be described below. In this embodiment, sender information such as a mail account or mail address, creation date information,
Using header information such as subject information, perform the following pre-processing to narrow down the emails to be compared,
Thereafter, a comparison process is performed on the mail text based on the file size, character string, and the like.

Hereinafter, the pre-processing will be described. In this embodiment, the sender information is used first as the header information, the creation date information is used next, and the subject information is used last.

First, the mail content comparing means 52 reads the source information of the stored e-mails for all the mailboxes in the mailbox 24 at regular intervals (S1). Store in area. Then, the counting means 53 counts the quantity of the source information stored for the source information read for each source (S2), and determines whether or not the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity. (S3). here,
When it is determined that the number of e-mails from the same source information exceeds a predetermined amount, the counting unit 53
The fact that the number has been exceeded and the sender information at this time are passed to the mail content comparing means 52. On the other hand, if the number of e-mails from the same transmission source information does not exceed the predetermined number, the process waits again for a certain period of time, and then performs the above-described processing.

When the mail content comparing means 52 receives the message that the number exceeds the number and the sender information is received from the counting means 53, the mail content comparing means 52 compares the sender information with an electronic mail to be extracted. It is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 as header information. Subsequently, the e-mail content comparing means 52 determines, based on the stored header information for comparison,
An e-mail having the header information to be compared is read from the mailbox 24, and the read e-mail is stored in the comparison result 25 as an e-mail to be compared for which the contents match (S4).

Subsequently, in order to further narrow down the comparison target,
The preprocessing (S1 to S4) is performed again using the creation date information as the header information. Specifically, this is performed as follows.

The mail content comparison means 52 compares the comparison result 25
The creation date information of all the comparison target e-mails is read (S1). Then, the counting unit 53 counts the quantity of each piece of the read creation date information for each piece of creation date information (S2), and determines whether or not the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity (S3). Here, if it is determined that the number of emails from the same creation date information has exceeded the predetermined quantity, the counting means 53 compares the quantity and the creation date information at this time with the contents of the mail. Deliver to means 52. On the other hand, if the number of e-mails with the same creation date information does not exceed the predetermined number, the process waits for a predetermined time again, and then performs preprocessing from the beginning (S1).

When the mail content comparing means 52 receives the message indicating that the quantity is exceeded and the creation date information from the counting means 53, the mail content comparison means 52 compares the creation date information with an electronic mail to be compared. It is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 as header information. Subsequently, the mail content comparison means 52 deletes the electronic mail having no comparison target header information from the comparison result 25 based on the stored comparison target header information. As a result, the comparison result 25 is narrowed down to the comparison target e-mails to be compared for the matching of the contents.
(S4).

Subsequently, in order to further narrow down the comparison target,
Using the subject information as the header information, the pre-processing (S
1 to S4). Specifically, this is performed as follows.

The mail content comparison means 52 compares the comparison result 25
The subject information of all the comparison target e-mails is read (S1). Then, the counting means 53 counts the quantity of the read subject information for each subject information (S
2) It is determined whether the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity (S3). Here, when it is determined that the number of e-mails having the same subject information exceeds the predetermined amount, the counting unit 53 notifies the mail content comparing unit 52 of the fact that the number has exceeded the amount and the subject information at this time. Hand over. On the other hand, if the number of e-mails having the same subject information does not exceed the predetermined number, the process waits again for a certain period of time, and then performs preprocessing from the beginning (S1).

When the mail content comparing means 52 receives the message indicating that the quantity is exceeded and the subject information from the counting means 53, the mail content comparing means 52 compares the subject information with the header information for extracting the electronic mail to be compared. As storage means 4
2 in a predetermined area. Subsequently, the mail content comparison means 52 deletes the electronic mail having no comparison target header information from the comparison result 25 based on the stored comparison target header information. As a result, the comparison target e-mails whose contents are to be compared are stored in the comparison result 25 in a narrowed state (S4).

In the present embodiment, narrowing down is performed in the order of source information, creation date information, and subject information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be performed in another order. Further, these may be arbitrarily combined.

When the above pre-processing is completed, the mail content comparing means 52 selects any one of the comparison target e-mails from the comparison target e-mails stored in the comparison result 25, and outputs the selected e-mail. The character string of the mail body is read as a comparison character string (S6). Thereafter, the mail content comparing means 52 sequentially reads the remaining comparison target e-mails from the comparison result 25 and sequentially compares whether the character string of the mail body of the read comparison target e-mail matches the comparison character string. (S7). As a result of the comparison, if they match, the mail content comparing means 52 sets the counting means 53
And sends information indicating that it matches the comparison character string. When receiving the information indicating that the character string matches the comparison character string, the counting means 53 counts the number of emails having the same content (S8). Note that the matching rate when comparing character strings is not limited to 100%, and the matching rate may be determined according to the level of matching required.

Then, after all the stored e-mails are read from the comparison result 25 and the comparison is completed, the counting means 53 determines whether or not the number of the same-content e-mails exceeds a predetermined amount. (S9). If the result of the determination indicates that the number of emails of the same content exceeds a predetermined amount, the counting means 53 notifies the mail content comparing means 52 of the fact that the number has exceeded the predetermined quantity and a comparison character string. Deliver the column. On the other hand, if the number of the same content e-mails does not exceed the predetermined number, the comparison target e-mail is selected again and the above processing is performed. In the present embodiment, the comparison is performed using the character string. However, the matching may be determined using the file size of the mail body.

When the mail content comparison means 52 receives the comparison character string as a notification that the number exceeds the predetermined amount, the mail content comparison means 52 reads out all the e-mails including the comparison character string from the comparison result 25. (S10) The electronic mail is overwritten and stored in the mailbox 24 after adding the viewing-restricted mail specifying information to the electronic mail (S11).

The mail transmission restricting means 51 determines whether or not the read-restricted mail specifying information has been added to the electronic mail read from the mailbox 24 by the mail reading means 14 in response to the request for reading the mail transmitted from the mail receiving terminal 2. Detect whether or not. The mail transmission restriction unit 51 does not deliver the read e-mail to the mail distribution unit 15 when the viewing restriction mail identification information is added. As described above, in the present embodiment, transmission of an e-mail having a predetermined content is prohibited.

[0113] For the electronic mail to which the viewing-restricted mail specifying information is added, the destination information of the electronic mail is replaced with the source information or the reply destination information of the electronic mail, and the reason for returning the electronic mail is described. It may be added to the mail and returned to the sender.

[0114] Other than the above, as a processing method of the duplicate content mail, for example, for an electronic mail to which viewing-restricted mail specifying information is added, the file of the electronic mail may be deleted.

According to this, an e-mail similar to an unnecessary direct mail of an unnecessary advertisement transmitted to an unspecified number of e-mail accounts is not transmitted to the recipient, thereby improving the convenience of the recipient. This can contribute to alleviation of communication traffic congestion.

[First Modification of Transmission Restriction of Same Content Mail]

A first modified example of the junk mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the components already described, and redundant description will be omitted.

In FIG. 10, the restriction release source information 27
Stores a preset e-mail address as restriction release source information for determining the source from which the prohibition of transmission of the same content mail should be released. Note that the restriction release source information 27 is a predetermined area of the recording unit 42.

The mail transmission restriction release means 60 compares the restriction release source information stored in the restriction release source information 27 with the source information of the electronic mail to be transmitted.
This is a means for releasing the restriction on the transmission of the e-mail from the matching transmission source to the viewing request destination. Here, the mail transmission restriction canceling means 60 is realized by the program processing of the CPU.

The operation of the junk mail prevention system having the above configuration will be described below. In the modified example, similarly to the above-described transmission restriction system, after reading the transmission source information of the stored e-mail, adding browse-restricted mail identification information, and performing overwriting and recording in the mailbox 24, a selective operation is performed. Is adopted to restrict transmission.

Next, when a mail browsing request is notified from the mail receiving terminal 2, the mail transmission restriction canceling means 60
Reads all the restriction release source information registered in advance from the restriction release source information 27. Here, the restriction release transmission source information is transmission source information in which transmission of an email with the same content is exceptionally permitted in the present system. On the other hand, the mail reading means 14 reads an electronic mail from the mailbox 24. When the e-mail is read, the e-mail reading means 14 sets the mail transmission restriction releasing means 60
Hand over the email to When the e-mail is delivered, the e-mail transmission restriction release unit 60 performs restriction release source information coincidence determination for determining whether the transmission source information of the e-mail matches the restriction release transmission source information. As a result of the restriction release source information match determination, if the source information of the e-mail matches the restriction release source information, the e-mail transmission restriction release unit 60 further checks whether the restricted e-mail identification information is added to the e-mail. Determine whether or not. here,
When the viewing-restricted mail specifying information is added, the mail transmission restriction canceling means deletes the viewing-restricted mail specifying information and delivers the electronic mail to the mail transmission restricting means. On the other hand, when the viewing-restricted mail specifying information is not added, the electronic mail is delivered to the mail transmission restricting means 51 as it is.

If the source information does not match the restriction-removed source information as a result of the restriction release source information coincidence determination, the mail transmission restriction releasing means 60 passes the electronic mail to the mail transmission restriction means 51 as it is.

When the e-mail is delivered, the mail transmission restricting means 51 detects whether or not the browsing-restricted mail specifying information is added to the e-mail. If the viewing-restricted mail specifying information is added, the mail transmission restricting means 51
Does not deliver the read e-mail to the mail delivery means 15. On the other hand, when the viewing-restricted mail specifying information is not added, the mail transmission restricting means 51 delivers the electronic mail to the mail distribution means 15.

By adopting the above-described configuration, the e-mails from the restriction release source information registered in the restriction release source information 27 can be transmitted even if they have the same content.

Therefore, the present modification prohibits the direct mail of unnecessary advertisements transmitted to an unspecified number of mail accounts from being sent to the recipient, while transmitting the restriction release. Direct mail from a specific source registered in the source information can be selectively sent. As a result, for example, it is possible to realize a provider-directed direct mail transmission service that allows only the advertiser registered by the provider to deliver mail, and even if the direct mail transmission service is charged, it is more expensive than commensurate with it Can provide value.

Further, a provider adopting this system can exclusively manage direct mail by excluding a third party's arbitrary direct mail, so that a high-quality direct mail recognized by this provider can be used for direct mail. Direct mail itself can be sent at a low frequency to increase the relative value, and it is easier to draw the recipient's attention compared to direct mail using a provider without ordinary transmission restrictions Commercial value.

Also, by combining this system with the above-mentioned system using a telephone number as an e-mail address, an unregistered system can send out a direct mail randomly based on the area code. On the other hand, registered advertisers can transmit limited direct mail in a limited area by area code, and can provide effective advertising means.

[Second Modification of Transmission Restriction of Same Content Mail]

Next, a second modification of the junk mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In this modification, a configuration is adopted in which a specific transmission source is excluded from comparison targets in advance.
Note that the same reference numerals are given to the components already described, and redundant description will be omitted.

In FIG. 11, mail content comparing means 15
2 comprises means for comparing the contents of the e-mails received by the plurality of accounts with each other. The counting means 153 is a means for counting the number of e-mails determined by the mail content comparing means 152 to match the predetermined contents. Here, the “predetermined content” refers to source information of electronic mail, creation date / time information, file size, a partial character string of the text, and the like.

The comparison result 125 stores the electronic mail determined by the mail content comparing means 152 when the predetermined contents match. The restriction release source information 27 stores restriction release source information. Here, the restriction release transmission source information is transmission source information for which transmission of an e-mail having the same content is permitted in the present system. Also, the transmission source determining means 6
Reference numeral 1 denotes a unit that determines whether the sender information of the e-mail transmitted from the mail transmitting terminal 1 matches the restriction release source information stored in the restriction release source information 27.

Note that the mail content comparing means 152, the counting means 153 and the transmission source judging means 61 are realized by program processing of the CPU. Further, the comparison result 125 and the restriction release transmission source information 27 are predetermined areas of the storage unit 42.

Hereinafter, the operation of the junk mail prevention system having the above configuration will be described.

First, the process of determining the source of the electronic mail stored in the mailbox will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, the transmission source judging means 61 reads out all restriction release transmission source information registered in advance in the restriction release transmission source information 27 (S201). Next, the transmission source determining means 61 reads the stored electronic mails for all the mailboxes in the mailbox 24 (S20).
2). When the e-mail is read, the sender determining means 61
Extracts the source information of the e-mail and performs restriction release source information determination to determine whether the source information exists in the restriction release source information read from the restriction release source information 27 ( S203). If the result of the restriction release source information determination indicates that the source information of the electronic mail does not exist in the restriction release source information, the transmission source determination unit 61 stores the electronic mail in the determination result 28 (S204). on the other hand,
If the source information of the e-mail exists in the restriction release source information, the source determination unit 61 does not store the e-mail in the determination result 28.

If the restriction release sender information determination has not been completed for all the e-mails, the process returns to reading out the e-mail (S202), and the above processing is performed again for another e-mail (S205). On the other hand, when the restriction release source information determination has been completed for all e-mails, the source information determination process (S101) is completed, and the following preprocessing is performed.

With the above processing, the restriction release source information 2
The e-mail from the restriction release source information stored in No. 7 is not stored in the determination result 28, and is therefore excluded from the target of the preprocessing performed below. Therefore, regarding the e-mail from the restriction release sender information stored in advance in the restriction release sender information 27, even if the e-mails have the same contents, the browsing restriction mail identification information described below is not added. Thus, the transmission of the mail is transmitted to the destination without being restricted by the mail transmission restricting means 51.

Next, the overall operation of this modification will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, in the determination processing of the transmission source information (S101), the processing of FIG. 12 described above is performed as a unit. Hereinafter, the processing after the determination processing of the transmission source information is performed will be mainly described in detail.

As described above, the transmission source determination processing (S
According to 101), an e-mail from a transmission source that does not correspond to the restriction release transmission source information as a target for which transmission restriction should be considered is stored in the determination result. Using the source information such as the mail account or mail address of the stored e-mail and the header information such as creation date information and subject information, the following pre-processing is performed to narrow down the e-mails to be compared. Do. Then, a comparison process is performed on the mail text based on the file size, character string, and the like.

The preprocessing will be described below. In this embodiment, the sender information is used first as the header information, the creation date information is used next, and the subject information is used last.

First, the mail content comparing means 152 reads the source information of the electronic mail stored in the determination result 28 (S102). And the counting means 153
The number of sender information stored for the sender information read for each sender is counted (S103), and it is determined whether or not the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity (S104). If it is determined that the number of emails from the same sender information exceeds the predetermined number, the counting means 153 compares the number of emails with the sender information and compares the sender information at this time with the contents of the mail. Means 152
Hand over to On the other hand, if the number of e-mails from the same source information does not exceed the predetermined amount, the source information determination process is performed again after a predetermined time has elapsed (S101).

When the mail content comparing means 152 receives the message indicating that the number exceeds the number and the sender information is received from the counting means 153, the mail content comparing means 152 compares the sender information with an electronic mail to be compared. It is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 as header information. Subsequently, the mail content comparing means 152 reads out the e-mail having the comparison target header information from the determination result 28 based on the stored comparison target header information, and compares the read e-mail with the comparison target e-mail to be compared with the contents. Is stored in the comparison result 125 (S105).

Next, in order to further narrow down the comparison target,
The preprocessing (S102 to S105) is performed again using the creation date information as the header information. Specifically, this is performed as follows.

The mail content comparing means 152 compares the comparison result 1
The creation date information of all comparison target e-mails in 25 is read (S102). And the counting means 153
With respect to the read creation date information, the quantity for each creation date information is counted (S103), and it is determined whether or not the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity (S10).
4). Here, when it is determined that the number of emails from the same creation date information exceeds the predetermined quantity, the counting means 153 compares the quantity and the creation date information at this time with the contents of the mail. Deliver to means 152.
On the other hand, if the number of e-mails with the same creation date information does not exceed the predetermined quantity,
The transmission source information is determined (S101).

When the mail content comparing means 152 receives the fact that the quantity is exceeded and the creation date information from the counting means 153, the mail content comparison means 152 compares the creation date information with an electronic mail to be compared. It is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 as header information. Subsequently, the mail content comparison unit 152 deletes the electronic mail having no comparison target header information from the comparison result 125 based on the stored comparison target header information. As a result, the comparison target e-mails whose contents are to be compared are narrowed down and stored in the comparison result 125 (S105).

Next, in order to further narrow down the comparison target,
Using the subject information as the header information, the pre-processing (S
102 to S105). Specifically, this is performed as follows.

[0147] The mail content comparing means 152 compares the comparison result 1
The subject information of all the comparison target e-mails in 25 is read (S102). Then, the counting means 153 counts the quantity of the read subject information for each subject information (S103), and determines whether or not the counted quantity exceeds a predetermined quantity (S104). here,
If it is determined that the number of e-mails with the same subject information exceeds the predetermined quantity, the counting means 153 delivers the fact that the quantity exceeds the quantity and the subject information at this time to the mail content comparing means 152. On the other hand, if the number of emails with the same subject information does not exceed the predetermined amount,
After the elapse of the predetermined time, the source information determination process is again performed (S10
Perform 1).

When the mail content comparing means 152 receives the message that the number is exceeded and the subject information from the counting means 153, the mail content comparing means 152 compares the subject information with the header information for extracting an electronic mail to be compared. Is stored in a predetermined area of the storage means 42. Subsequently, the mail content comparison unit 152 deletes the electronic mail having no comparison target header information from the comparison result 125 based on the stored comparison target header information. As a result, the comparison target e-mail to be compared for the content match is stored in the comparison result 125 in a narrowed down form (S105).

In the present embodiment, narrowing down is performed in the order of transmission source information, creation date information, and subject information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and filtering may be performed in another order. Further, these may be arbitrarily combined.

When the above pre-processing is completed, the mail content comparing means 152 selects an arbitrary comparison target e-mail from the comparison target e-mails stored in the comparison result 125, and selects the selected e-mail. The character string of the mail body is read as a comparison character string (S107). Thereafter, the mail content comparing means 152 sequentially reads the remaining comparison target emails from the comparison result 125, and sequentially compares whether the character string of the mail body of the read comparison target email matches the comparison character string. (S108). As a result of the comparison, if they match, the mail content comparing means 152
Transmits information indicating that the character string matches the comparison character string to the counting means 153. When receiving the information indicating that it matches the comparison character string, the counting means 153 counts the number of disposal candidate mails (S109). In addition,
The matching rate when comparing character strings is not limited to 100%, and the matching rate may be determined according to the level of matching required.

After all the stored e-mails are read from the comparison result 125 and the comparison is completed, the counting means 153 determines whether or not the number of disposal candidate e-mails exceeds a predetermined amount. (S110). If the result of the determination indicates that the number of disposal candidate e-mails exceeds a predetermined amount, the counting means 153 notifies the e-mail content comparison means 152 of the fact that the number of e-mails exceeds the predetermined quantity and a comparison character string. Hand over. On the other hand, if the quantity of the same content email does not exceed the predetermined quantity,
The comparison target e-mail is selected again, and the above processing is performed.
In the present embodiment, the comparison is performed using the character string. However, the matching may be determined using the file size of the mail body.

When the mail content comparing means 152 receives the comparison character string as a notification that the number exceeds the predetermined amount, the mail content comparison means 152 extracts from the comparison result 125 all disposal candidate mails containing the comparison character string. The electronic mail is read out (S111), and the read-only mail is added to the electronic mail, and is overwritten and stored in the mailbox 24 (S11).
2).

The mail transmission restricting means 51 determines whether the electronic mail read from the mail box 24 by the mail reading means 14 in response to the request for browsing the mail transmitted from the mail receiving terminal 2 is added with the above-mentioned restricted mail specifying information. Detect whether or not. The mail transmission restriction unit 51 does not deliver the read e-mail to the mail distribution unit 15 when the viewing restriction mail identification information is added. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the transmission of the disposal candidate e-mail whose predetermined contents match is prohibited.

Similarly, in this modified example, since direct mail can be exclusively managed, a provider adopting the present system eliminates a third party's arbitrary direct mail, and provides a high-quality direct mail recognized by the provider. Direct mail can be streamed at a low frequency in order to make the scarce value, and the direct mail itself can be increased in commercial value.

In addition, an electronic mail from a source to which transmission of the same mail is permitted can be excluded from the determination processing of the same mail at the beginning of all the processes. Server load can be reduced.

[Replacement of transmission destination information by server]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the components already described, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0158] In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned e-mail is an e-mail in which the character string of the subject information includes an identification code. Here, the identification code is a character string, and is used to distinguish whether or not the electronic mail is the previous electronic mail based on whether or not the character string is included in the subject information of the electronic mail. For example, if the identification code is "San," and the character string of the subject information of the sent e-mail is "Mr. Kato," the subject information includes the identification code "Sans," It will be an email. It is assumed that the identification code is stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 in advance. The above-mentioned e-mail includes transmission destination information such as a mail address, transmission source information, and subject information. On the other hand, the latter e-mail is the sender information such as the e-mail address
An e-mail with destination information (hereinafter, referred to as a source information character string) composed of a character string different from the mail address.

In FIG. 9, the previous mail information 54 is
This is a means for storing, as a search target, header information such as source information, destination information, and subject information extracted from destination e-mails sent from a plurality of senders. The later mail information 55 is means for storing header information such as sender information, destination information, and subject information extracted from the e-mail sent from the sender as information used for search.

The first search means 56 is a means for searching for a search target having sender information that matches the sender information of the subsequent e-mail, and making it a first candidate. The second search unit 57 is a unit that searches for a search target having subject information including destination information of the subsequent e-mail from among the search targets that have become the first candidates, and sets the search target as a second candidate. More specifically, the first search unit 56 extracts the sender information from the subsequent mail information 55 and searches for the header information stored in the previous mail information 55 using the extracted sender information. The second search means 57 extracts the destination information, which is a character string, from the subsequent mail information 55, and searches for the header information passed from the first search means 56 using the extracted destination information. Do. The mail replacing means 58 is a means for replacing the destination information of the subsequent electronic mail. The mail storage means 59 is a means for storing an e-mail received after performing a predetermined process described below in the mailbox 26.

Here, the mail receiving means 1 shown in FIG.
1. The mail storage unit 59, the first search unit 56, the second search unit 57, and the mail replacement unit 58 are realized by the program processing of the CPU. The mailbox 26, the previous mail information 54, and the subsequent mail information 55 are predetermined areas of the storage unit 42 in FIG.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

The mail receiving means 11 receives the transmitted electronic mail and stores the received electronic mail in the mail storing means 5
Hand over to 9. Upon receiving the e-mail, the mail storage unit 59 sorts the e-mail as the first e-mail or the second e-mail as follows.

First, mail storage means 59 reads an identification code from a predetermined area of storage means 42 and detects whether or not the subject information of the received e-mail includes the identification code. If the subject information includes an identification code, the mail storage means 5
Reference numeral 9 denotes the header information of the electronic mail,
4 and the e-mail in mailbox 2
6 is stored. On the other hand, as a result of the detection, if the subject information does not include a delimiter, the mail storage means 59 determines whether the e-mail is a normal e-mail or To e-mail. The mail storage means 59 detects whether or not the electronic mail has a destination information character string. If the e-mail does not have the destination information character string, the mail storage means 59 stores the e-mail in the mailbox 26 as a normal e-mail. Hereinafter, an e-mail that does not include the destination information character string is treated as a normal e-mail. On the other hand, when the electronic mail has the destination information character string, the mail storage unit 59 performs the following operation with the electronic mail as the subsequent electronic mail.

First, the mail storage means 59 stores the subsequent electronic mail in a predetermined area of the storage means 42, and further stores the header information of the electronic mail in the subsequent mail information 55. Subsequently, the first search means 56 reads out the header information of the later e-mail from the later mail information 55, and has the same sender information in the earlier mail information 54 by using the read sender information. A search is performed to determine whether header information exists. Then, when the matching header information is present, the header information of the matching destination e-mail is sequentially read from the preceding mail information 54. As a result, the second search target is extracted. afterwards,
The first search means 56 uses the read header information as search target header information which is a first candidate,
Hand over to 7. The header information of the subsequent e-mail is also delivered.

On the other hand, if there is no header information of the destination e-mail including the same transmission source information as the transmission source information of the subsequent e-mail, the first search means 56 determines whether the destination information including the same transmission source information is present. The mail storage means 59 sends a notification of the absence of the same sender information indicating that there is no header information of the electronic mail at all
Hand over to When the same source information non-existence notification is delivered, the mail storage unit 59 stores the e-mail stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 in the mailbox 26. Note that the e-mail after this case is treated as an e-mail to notify the transmission source that the destination information is unclear. This is a so-called transmission failure notification mail due to unknown destination.

The second search means 57, which has obtained the header information from the first search means 56, searches the destination information character string extracted from the header information of the subsequent e-mail and the subject information included in the search target header information. Compare with a string. As a result, if the destination information character string of the subsequent e-mail is included in the subject information of the search target header information, the search target header information is extracted from the search target header information as replacement candidate header information as a second candidate. Then, it is delivered to the replacing means 58.

On the other hand, if there is no subject information of the search target header information including the destination information character string of the subsequent e-mail, the second search means 57 includes the destination information character string of the subsequent e-mail. The subject information absence information indicating that the subject information of the search target header information does not exist is delivered to the mail storage unit 59. When the subject information non-existence information is delivered, the mail storage unit 59 stores the e-mail stored in a predetermined area of the storage unit 42 in the mailbox 26. Note that the e-mail after this case is treated as an e-mail to notify the transmission source that the destination information is unclear. This is a so-called transmission failure notification mail due to unknown destination.

The replacement means 58 which has obtained the replacement candidate header information from the second search means 57 accesses the mail storage means 59, and stores the destination information of the stored e-mail in the transmission destination information contained in the replacement candidate header information. Replace with information. Then, the mail storage unit 12 stores the replaced electronic mail in the mailbox 26.

In this way, for example, the source information of the previous e-mail is “watashi@provider.co.jp”, the subject information is “To Kato”, and the destination information is “kato@provider.co.j”.
p "and the source information of the subsequent e-mail is" watashi @ p
rovider.co.jp "and the destination information is" To Kato-san ", the destination information of the later e-mail" To Kato-san "is replaced with" kato@provider.co.jp " , Are stored in the mailbox 26.

Here, the above embodiment can be modified as follows. For example, the identification code is not limited to "san", but may be "dono", "chan", "sama", "middle", "kun", "teacher", and the like. Further, in the case of English, it is also possible to determine that the electronic mail is the earlier electronic mail by using “Dear” such as “Dear Bob” as an identification code.

It is also possible to use the identification symbol such as “=” instead of the identification code such as “san” to judge that the electronic mail is the previous one. In this case, the notation is "= To Kato" or the like, and by intentionally attaching an identification symbol, it is possible to clarify whether or not to register the header information in the previous mail information 54. The character added to the character string is not limited to “=”, but may be one or two or more double-byte or single-byte spaces, ““ ”, or the like. Furthermore, character strings are limited by separating them with identification symbols,
For example, the notation "= Kato-san = he" is "Kato-san".
May be stored as the subject information of the previous mail information. By doing so, even if there are multiple people with the same name, "= To Kato =""= Kato-sama ="
It is possible to correspond to a plurality of notation methods such as “= Kato-chan =”.

Further, when the mail storage means 59 detects whether an electronic mail is an earlier or later electronic mail, it does not detect the identification code or the identification symbol of the subject information, but identifies the destination information. A symbol may be detected. For example, the identification symbol is “＠” and the destination information is “kato
@@ provider.co.jp ”in the email address
The header information of the previous electronic mail may be stored in the previous mail information 54 only when more than one "@" is described. However, in this case, it is assumed that the server is provided with a processing function such as deleting “＠” when actually transmitting.

Further, when the mail storage means 59 detects the electronic mail as the previous electronic mail, a character string such as "Do you want to register new?" May be transmitted to the sender's terminal to confirm the registration.

According to the present embodiment, the destination can be described with a character string that is easy to remember without using the address book of the mail client, and the transmission operation can be simplified and the operation efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the character string of the destination information can be used as the character string of the subject information, a two-byte character string such as a kanji character which is not normally recognized at the provider level can be used as the destination information.

[0177]

Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, according to the present invention, a mail box having an account of a telephone number of a mail recipient is stored in a mail sender regardless of a contract with the mail recipient. , So that a mail sender can send an e-mail at any time, as long as he knows only the telephone number of the mail recipient. Moreover, even in a situation where the mail recipient does not have an e-mail environment, the mail sender can transmit the mail to the mail recipient. Also, since the destination of the mail recipient can be specified by the telephone number of the mail recipient, the mail transmission terminal may be any device capable of inputting the telephone number, and the mail can be transmitted from a fax device or a telephone. .

In a facsimile apparatus, a telephone, or the like, at least two telephone numbers are input or selected from the input means during one communication operation, and one of the input or selected telephone numbers is called. In addition to performing call connection processing as the destination telephone number and sending other telephone numbers to the destination as an e-mail account, even a fax machine or telephone with only a numeric keypad or dial can be electronically operated with simple operation. It is possible to provide an unprecedented excellent e-mail system capable of transmitting an e-mail, and an e-mail transmission / reception method using a facsimile apparatus or a telephone.

In the invention according to claim 8, even when a plurality of mailboxes receive e-mail such as direct mail having similar contents, the present system transmits the e-mail to the recipient side. Therefore, the receiver side does not need to perform unnecessary communication, thereby reducing communication traffic.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, transmission of e-mails having predetermined contents can be selectively permitted, so that unsolicited e-mails having the same contents can be reduced.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to first determine the sender and exclude the email from the registered sender to determine the same email. It is possible to reduce the load of determining e-mails having the same content.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, according to the present invention, a mail address of a destination is registered in the server with a character string of a sender's preference, and after the registration, the sender registers the mail address of the destination with the favorite character string. Transmission to an e-mail address becomes possible. Therefore, even if the destination mail address is difficult for the sender to remember, it is possible to use a destination character string that is easy to remember depending on the registration, thereby improving the convenience.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing a modification of the electronic mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a modification of the personal authentication unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second modification of the personal identification unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a spam mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the transmission restriction of the same content mail according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic mail system according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a spam mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a spam mail prevention system suitable for the electronic mail system of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the transmission restriction of the same content mail according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process for determining transmission source information.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mail transmission terminal 2 Mail reception terminal 4 Internet service provider (ISP) 5 Internet 11 Mail reception means 12 Mail storage means 13 Identity authentication means 14 Mail reading means 15 Mail distribution means 21 Number account mailbox 22 Password 23 Password entry screen 24 Mailbox 25 Comparison result 26 Mailbox 27 Restriction release source information 28 Judgment result 31 Input means 32 Display means 33 Communication means 34 Fax mechanism 35 Control means 35a Mode switching means 35b Normal fax mode 35c Mail transmission mode 41 First communication means 42 Storage means 43 second communication means 44 processing means 51 mail transmission restriction means 52 mail content comparison means 53 counting means 54 previous mail information 55 subsequent mail information 56 first search means 57 second search means 58 mail replacement means 59 mail storage means 60 mail transmission restriction release means 61 sender determination means 125 comparison result 131 access determination means 132 first registration means 133 time difference authentication means 134 access determination means 135 Initial registration means 152 Email content comparison means 153 Counting means

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Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A mail box having a telephone number of an e-mail recipient as a mail account is opened to an e-mail sender irrespective of a contract with the e-mail recipient. The e-mail addressed to the number account is stored in the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account, and for the access of the e-mail recipient, the telephone number of the e-mail recipient is obtained and the telephone number is acquired. Ask the input of the password corresponding to the e-mail recipient terminal, if the correspondence between the telephone number and the password match, read the e-mail associated with the mail account of the telephone number from the mailbox, Processing means for transmitting the read e-mail to the terminal of the e-mail recipient E-mail system which is characterized. 2. A mail box having a telephone number of an e-mail recipient as a mail account is opened to an e-mail sender irrespective of a contract with the e-mail recipient. The e-mail addressed to the number account is stored in the mailbox corresponding to the telephone number account, and for access by the e-mail recipient, a password registered in advance in association with the telephone number of the e-mail recipient Is input to the terminal of the e-mail recipient, and when the password matches the registered contents, the e-mail is read from the mailbox having the telephone number associated with the password as the e-mail account and read. Processing means for transmitting an e-mail to a terminal of the e-mail recipient. E-mail systems that. 3. An electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic mail system is provided in an Internet service provider system. 4. An electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein said electronic mail system is provided in a server system on the Internet. 5. When the terminal of the e-mail sender is a facsimile device, the processing means creates an image file based on image data of a facsimile document, and uses the image file as an e-mail attachment file. 3. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail is transmitted to a mail recipient. 6. A call connection process in which one of a plurality of telephone numbers input or selected by an electronic mail sender or receiver from an input means during one communication operation is set as a call destination telephone number. And the other telephone number is transmitted to the call destination as a destination mail account for transmitting the fax manuscript or voice information as an e-mail or as a mail account pointing to the mailbox of the e-mail recipient. A method of sending and receiving e-mail using devices and telephones. 7. When the terminal of the e-mail sender is a telephone, the processing means converts the voice information sent from the terminal of the e-mail sender as a character code string after voice recognition or the voice information. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail system stores or associates the audio file into the mailbox. 8. An electronic mail system comprising: means for comparing e-mail contents between e-mails received by a plurality of accounts; and means for counting the number of e-mails determined by the comparing means to match predetermined contents; A junk e-mail prevention system, wherein when the number exceeds a predetermined amount, transmission of an e-mail determined to match the predetermined contents is prohibited. 9. The unsolicited e-mail system according to claim 8, wherein, when the e-mail whose predetermined content is determined to match and whose transmission is prohibited is an e-mail from a specific transmission source, the e-mail A junk e-mail prevention system comprising an e-mail transmission restriction release means for releasing a prohibition of transmission. 10. An e-mail system according to claim 1, further comprising: a junk mail prevention system according to claim 8. Description: 11. A sender determining means for determining whether an email is from a registered sender, a means for comparing email contents between emails received by a plurality of accounts, and a sender determining means. Means for counting the number of disposal candidate e-mails that are determined not to be e-mails from the registered transmission source and that the predetermined contents match by the comparing means; and Means for prohibiting the transmission of the disposal candidate mail when the number exceeds the limit. 12. A system for transmitting and receiving an e-mail including source information, destination information and subject information, wherein the source information, destination information and subject information of the previous e-mail sent from the sender are associated with each other. Means for storing the information as a search target, means for storing the source information, destination information, and subject information of the subsequent e-mail sent from the sender in association with each other, and transmission corresponding to the source information of the subsequent e-mail. Means for searching for a search target having original information and setting it as a first candidate; searching for a search target having subject information including destination information of the subsequent e-mail among the search targets as the first candidates; An e-mail system, comprising: means for setting a second candidate; and replacing means for setting the destination information of the search target, which is the second candidate, to the destination information of the subsequent e-mail. 13. An electronic mail system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the electronic mail system according to claim 12.