Electronic mail distribution system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an e-mail delivery method in which a telephone number is used in combination with e-mail delivery.

【0002】

There is an e-mail delivery network (hereinafter referred to as an internetwork) used as a network capable of delivering the current e-mail. This internetwork is configured separately from the telephone exchange network.

【0003】

[Conventional technology]

An e-mail address is required to deliver e-mail on the internetwork. The e-mail address is composed of a network name, a host name, and a user name in a three-layered address system in the Internetwork (see (a) in Fig. 4). In addition, distribution on the telephone exchange network consists of a three-layered address system consisting of a country code, a station code, and a subscriber number.

【0004】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Since the above-mentioned address system in the internetwork and the address system of the telephone exchange network are unique to each network, the terminal device of the internetwork and the terminal device of the telephone exchange network are used at almost the same place. Even if you do, the internetwork can only send e-mail using your e-mail address.

【0005】

The addresses used in both networks in this situation have advantages and disadvantages. For example, e-mail addresses used in internetwork have the characteristic of having addresses in units of individuals (users), whereas telephone numbers have been well maintained over a long history and are as frequent as host machines. Has the feature that it is not changed.

【0006】

In Internetwork, if the host name or network name of the called party is changed, the e-mail will not be delivered unless the host name or network name specified by the caller in the e-mail is changed. The current countermeasure against this is to send an e-mail to notify the target terminal device of the change each time the e-mail address is changed. By this method, it is not easy to give the change notification to an unspecified number of users because the number of users is large. Moreover, since the internetwork itself is dynamically expanding and changing, it is extremely difficult to centrally manage the e-mail addresses used there.

【0007】

Also, the telephone number used in the telephone exchange network does not change as much as the e-mail address used in the internetwork, but the telephone number is often used by multiple people, and it is necessary to specify an individual for communication. May be inappropriate.

【0008】

The present invention has been created in view of such technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an e-mail delivery method capable of enhancing the availability and convenience of an e-mail system.

【0009】

[Means for solving problems]

FIG. 1 shows a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 1, and FIG. 2 shows a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 2.

【0010】

The invention according to claim 1 is in an e-mail delivery system in which servers 6 and 8 for sending and receiving e-mails between networks 2 and 4 are provided at opposite ends of the networks 2 and 4, as shown in FIG. , An address sending means 16 that sends the user name and telephone number of the incoming e-mail terminal device 12 to the e-mail sending means 14 as the e-mail address of the e-mail to be sent from the outgoing e-mail terminal device 10 connected to the network. Phone number extraction means 6a, 8a that are provided in the outgoing e-mail terminal device 10 and extract the phone number from the e-mail address on the servers up to the server to which the incoming e-mail terminal device 12 that receives the e-mail belongs. , When the address conversion tables 6b and 8b for registering the network name and the host name corresponding to the telephone number and the e-mail address of the e-mail are composed of the user name and the telephone number of the incoming e-mail terminal device, the telephone number Address indexing means 6c, 8c that indexes the address conversion tables 6b, 8b with the telephone numbers from the extracting means 6a, 8a. The e-mail is delivered to the incoming e-mail terminal device determined by the indexed network name and host name, and the user name by the delivery means 8d of the incoming server.

【0011】

In the invention according to claim 2, as shown in FIG. 2, servers 6 and 8 for sending and receiving e-mails between networks 2 and 4 are provided at opposite ends of the networks 2 and 4, and the e-mails are delivered electronically. In an e-mail delivery system using an e-mail address, the e-mail sent from the outgoing e-mail terminal device 11 connected to the networks 2 and 4 is accompanied by the e-mail address and the telephone number of the incoming e-mail terminal device (12). An address sending means 15 to be attached and sent to the e-mail sending means 14 is provided in the sending e-mail terminal device 11, and a detecting means 9a for detecting that the e-mail cannot be delivered to the incoming e-mail server 9 at the destination e-mail address. When there is a phone number in the address conversion table 9b that converts the phone number to the destination e-mail address and the e-mail detected by the detection means 9a, the address conversion table 9b is indexed by the phone number. It is characterized by providing a delivery control means 9c that causes the delivery means 9d to deliver the e-mail that could not be delivered to the received destination e-mail address.

【0012】

[Action]

In the invention according to claim 1, when an e-mail terminal device connected to a certain network wants to send an e-mail to an e-mail terminal device of another network, the user name and telephone number of the incoming e-mail terminal device are input. Send by attaching to the e-mail as an e-mail address.

【0013】

In one or two networks of the network in the middle of receiving the e-mail, or the server of the incoming network, the network name and the host name of the network to receive the e-mail mentioned above are separately or collectively. Then, it is obtained from the address conversion tables 6a, 8a, etc. by the address index means 6c, 8c.

【0014】

The network name and the host name thus obtained are distributed to the incoming e-mail terminal device belonging to the network by the distribution means 8d of the server of the incoming network.

【0015】

As mentioned above, since the user name and telephone number are used as the e-mail address, the ease of remembering the telephone number can be used more effectively for sending e-mail than the e-mail address. It is possible to reduce the non-delivery of e-mail due to mistakes. Therefore, the availability of the e-mail system can be improved because the e-mail system can perform the normal delivery operation of the e-mail while eliminating the increase in the e-mail traffic that increases due to the non-delivery. The ease of memorizing the telephone number can improve the usability of the e-mail system and improve the convenience of using the e-mail system.

【0016】

In the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the effect obtained by the invention according to claim 1, by using the telephone number in combination with the conventional e-mail address, even if the e-mail address does not reach the telephone number. Since it is possible to request the change destination of the e-mail address in, while enjoying the enhancement of the availability and convenience of the e-mail system, the traffic of the e-mail system is further reduced to perform this type of e-mail transfer processing. The burden on the system function can be reduced.

【0017】

[Example]

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a system for carrying out the inventions according to claims 1 and 2. This network consists of an internetwork 30 and a telephone exchange network 32. In FIG. 3, 34, 36, ..., 42 are users of the internetwork 30, have user names A, B, ..., E, and are also users of the telephone exchange network 32. Users 34, 36, and 38 are accommodated in network 60 via hosts (hereinafter referred to as e-mail terminal devices) 44, 46, 48 on the internetwork 30, respectively. The network 60 is assigned the network name N1, and the e-mail terminal devices 44, 46, and 48 are assigned the host names X, Y, and Z, respectively. Therefore, users 34, 36, 38 use e-mail on the network name N1 and the host names X, Y, Z on the internetwork 30. Then, users 34, 36, and 38 are in the same organization as user 40, which will be described later, and are representative telephone numbers assigned on the telephone exchange network 32J in Japan, which constitutes the telephone exchange network 32, for example, 044-754. Suppose you have -4111.

【0018】

In each of the electronic memory terminal devices, in addition to the conventional configuration, that is, an electronic memory creation program that creates an e-mail from each character input from the CPU, memory, and keyboard, the above-mentioned telephone number is input from the keyboard. At that time, an address processing program that processes the telephone number so that it becomes an e-mail address as shown in (b) of Fig. 4 instead of the conventional e-mail address of e-mail is stored in the memory.

【0019】

The user 40 is accommodated in the network 62 via the e-mail terminal device 50 on the internetwork 30. The network 62 is attached with the network N2, and the e-mail terminal device 50 is attached with the host name V. Therefore, the user 40 uses e-mail on the network name N2 and the host name V on the internetwork 30. It is assumed that this user 40 is also a telephone number assigned on the telephone exchange network 32J in Japan that constitutes the telephone exchange network 32, and has the above-mentioned representative telephone number shared with the users 34, 36, 38.

【0020】

The user 42 is accommodated in the network 62 via the e-mail terminal device 52 on the internetwork 30. The network 62 is attached with the network N3, and the e-mail terminal device 52 is attached with the host name W. Therefore, the user 42 uses the e-mail on the network name N3 and the host name W on the internetwork 30. User 42, unlike users 34,36,38,40, has a telephone number assigned on the US telephone exchange network 32U that constitutes telephone exchange network 32, such as 312-996-2111.

【0021】

The networks N1 and N2 are managed by the server SV1, and the network N3 is managed by the server SV2. Server SV1 is provided at each opposite end of each network between networks 60, 62, 66. The same applies to the server SV2. Each server is configured as a UNIX workstation, and each server is an address list of an e-mail terminal device that belongs to each server accommodated in the network to which the server belongs and receives its service, and an e-mail terminal. It has a user list in which users for each device are registered. These lists are used by the mail management system (MCS) (configured with a program) provided in each server to control the sending and receiving of e-mail. Further, the server has a transmitting unit and a receiving unit (not shown), and the e-mail transmitted under the control of the mail management system is transferred to the opposite server, and the e-mail from the opposite server is received. Receive in the department. If the received e-mail is destined for the network, it is delivered to the e-mail terminal device in the network under the control of the mail management system, but if it is not destined for the network, the following It is delivered to the network of.

【0022】

In FIG. 3, ESS indicates a telephone exchange, and 70 indicates a telephone exchange network. FIG. 5 extracts and shows the configuration of the internetwork between the user 34 and the user 42 in FIG. The server SV1 and the server SV2 in this internetwork are provided with the mail management stems MCS1 and MCS2 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively. These mail management systems MCS1 and MCS2 are provided with mail transmission / reception control programs MAS1 and MAS2, network address control programs NAC1 and NAC2, address translation control programs ATC1 and ATC2, and address database ADB1 and ADB2, respectively. There is. The mail management systems MCS1 and MCS2 provided in the above-mentioned server SV1 and server SV2 are also provided in other servers in the internetwork in the same manner. Numbers 1 and 2 in the circles in FIG. 5 indicate that they continue to numbers 1 and 2 in the circles in FIG. 7, and numbers 3 and 4 in the circles in FIG. 5 indicate circles in FIGS. 6 and 10. Indicates that the numbers 3 and 4 in the mark continue.

【0023】

In FIGS. 3 to 12, the network 60 and the like correspond to the network 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the network 64 and the like correspond to the network 4 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Server SV1 or server SV2 corresponds to server 6 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and server SV2 or server SV1 corresponds to server 8 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The e-mail terminal device 44 and the like correspond to the outgoing e-mail terminal devices 10 and 11 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The e-mail terminal device 50 and the like correspond to the incoming e-mail terminal device 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The CPU, memory, incoming / outgoing call control program, and calling unit of the e-mail terminal device 44, etc. correspond to the electronic memory transmitting means 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the CPU, memory, address processing program, and address processing program of the e-mail terminal device 44, etc. The keyboard corresponds to the address sending means 15 and the address sending means 16 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The CPU, memory of server SV1 or server SV2, and the program that processes step S3 of FIG. 8 correspond to the telephone number extraction means 6a and 8a of FIG. 1, and the address database ADB1 and FIG. 7 of FIG. The address database ADB2 of is corresponding to the address conversion tables 6b and 8b in Fig. 1. The CPU and memory of server SV1 or server SV2, and the program that processes steps S4 and S5 of FIG. 8 correspond to the address index means 6c and 8c of FIG. 1, and the CPU, memory, and CPU of server SV2 or server SV1. The program that processes step S6 in FIG. 8 corresponds to the delivery means 8d in FIG. The server SV1 or server SV2 corresponds to the incoming server 9 of FIG. 2, and the CPU, memory, and memory incoming / outgoing control program of the server SV1 or server SV2 correspond to the detection means 9a of FIG. The mail address list in FIG. 2 corresponds to the address conversion table 9b in FIG. 2, and the program that processes the CPU and memory of the server SV1 or server SV2 and steps S1 to S5 in FIG. 11 is assigned to the delivery control means 9c in FIG. Corresponding, server SV1,

【0024】

The e-mail delivery process in the invention according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration will be described below. As shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that user E becomes the outgoing user and specifies an e-mail address as shown in (b) of FIG. 4 as an e-mail address. The format of the telephone number shown in (b) of Fig. 4 is an internationally determined telephone number. The "+" in the telephone number is the first character of the country code of the telephone number, which is an international standard, and is used as a delimiter from the user name. The country code 81 of the telephone numbers indicates Japan, as shown in FIG.

【0025】

Upon receiving the specified e-mail address, the make / receive control program MAC2 of the server SV2 identifies the country code in the e-mail address (see S1 in FIG. 8) and electronically sends it to the corresponding delivery destination server SV1. Send an email. At that time, the e-mail address of the e-mail is referred to because the e-mail is sent (see Yes in S2 of Fig. 8). Since the email address is a telephone number (see Yes in S3 in Figure 8), the network address control program NAC2 passes the phone number to the address conversion program ATC2 and its domestic phone number, eg (see Figure 4). Index the address database ADB2 with 44-754-4111 shown in b) to obtain the incoming network address name and host address name. Set those e-mail addresses as e-mails to be sent and send the e-mails to the next relay network or destination network.

【0026】

The process of determining whether or not an e-mail is an incoming / outgoing call in the processing of the incoming / outgoing mail control program executed on the server of the relay network that receives the e-mail or the destination network is relayed or received (S2 in FIG. 8). (Refer to No), since it is in the phone number format in the type determination of the e-mail address of the e-mail (see Yes in S10 in Fig. 8), after performing the search process of the called country network (see S11 in Fig. 8). , Determine the route of the called country network (see S12 in Fig. 8) and perform the e-mail sending process (see S6 in Fig. 8). The server of the relay network may perform all or part of the conversion process to the network name and the host name on behalf of the server of the outgoing network.

【0027】

Further, as described above, when the server of the calling network or the server of the relay network does not perform the conversion process of the telephone number in whole or in part, the telephone number is used as the e-mail address. When the e-mail is carried on the e-mail and transferred to the incoming server in the receiving network, the incoming server converts the network name and the host name from the above-mentioned telephone number to convert it to the conventional e-mail address format. Above, the e-mail is sent to the e-mail terminal device specified by the network name and the host name to receive the e-mail.

【0028】

According to the e-mail system capable of delivering the e-mail as described above, the ease of remembering the telephone number can be effectively used for sending the e-mail rather than the e-mail address, so that the e-mail address is incorrect. It is possible to reduce the non-delivery of e-mail due to. Therefore, the availability of the e-mail system can be improved because the e-mail system can perform the normal delivery operation of the e-mail while eliminating the increase in the e-mail traffic that increases due to the non-delivery. The ease of memorizing the telephone number can improve the usability of the e-mail system and improve the convenience of using the e-mail system.

【0029】

Next, an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, and 9 to 12. The present invention will provide a remedy in the event that an email is undelivered (the email is not delivered) under the use of a conventional email address.

【0030】

The remedy is the configuration of an embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 with the following configuration added. First, each of the e-mail terminal devices has a conventional configuration, that is, an e-mail creation program that creates an e-mail from each character input from the CPU, memory, and keyboard, as well as the above-mentioned telephone from the keyboard. When a number is entered, an address processing program that processes the phone number so that it becomes an e-mail address as shown in Fig. 9 instead of the conventional e-mail address of e-mail is stored in the memory.

【0031】

Second, as shown in FIG. 10, when each server, for example, server SV1, is notified of non-delivery of e-mail in the mail sending / receiving control of the mail sending / receiving control program MAC1, the notification is received. The email non-delivery control program UDC1 (see Fig. 11) that checks the email address change with the phone number in the email and puts it in the delivery control to the changed email address when the change is notified, and the email failure The entire e-mail system was configured by providing an e-mail address list (see Fig. 12) referenced by the e-mail control program UDC1. In the e-mail address list, when there is a change in the host name or network name and host name to which e-mails arrive at each server, the old and new host names related to the change in correspondence with the phone number used by the host, Alternatively, the old and new network names and the old and new host names are registered and stored as shown in FIG. Since the other configurations are the same as the configurations of one embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, the description of each of them will not be repeated.

【0032】

The e-mail delivery process in the invention according to claim 2 having the above-described configuration will be described below. In the delivery process of the e-mail in the present invention, if the e-mail is not undelivered in the delivery process, the delivery of the e-mail explaining one embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8 Is the same as.

【0033】

If a non-delivery occurs in the incoming server, for example, the server SV1 in the delivery, the non-delivery is detected by the mail transmission / reception control program MAC1. The non-delivery is notified to the mail non-delivery control program UDC1.

【0034】

The mail non-delivery control program UDC1 collects non-delivery e-mails (see S1 in Fig. 11) and checks whether or not there is an entry in the notice Co of the e-mail (see S2 and Fig. 9 in Fig. 11). If not (see No in S2 in Figure 11), notify the source of non-delivery (see S7 in Figure 11).

【0035】

If so (see Yes in S2 of Figure 11), index the email address list by its phone number and index the old host name, or old network name and old host name, as well as the new host name, or new network name and new host name. (See S3 in Figure 11). If the old host name, or old network name and old host name, match the host name, or network name, and host name of the incoming email (see Yes in S4 in Figure 11), then the new host name. Or, set the new network name and new host name in the e-mail (see S5 in Fig. 11) and perform the sending process of the e-mail (see S6 in Fig. 11). If the above match is not obtained (see No. in S4 in FIG. 11), the source is notified of non-delivery (see S7 in FIG. 11).

【0036】

As a result, the reliable delivery function of the e-mail system can be improved, and the availability of the e-mail system can be improved. Further, also in the present invention, the usability of the e-mail is good and the convenience can be improved. Further, when the e-mail is undelivered, the e-mail causes an increase in the traffic of the e-mail system, but in the invention of claim 2, it is useful for the gradual decrease, so that the e-mail is forwarded. The burden on such system functions can be reduced.

【0037】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, as described above, a telephone number is used as an email address, or a telephone number is used in combination with a conventional email address, so that the telephone number is easier to remember than an email address. Can be effectively used for sending e-mails, and it is possible to reduce the non-delivery of e-mails due to incorrect e-mail addresses. Therefore, the availability of the e-mail system can be improved because the e-mail system can perform the normal delivery operation of the e-mail while eliminating the increase in the e-mail traffic that increases due to the non-delivery. The ease of memorizing the telephone number can improve the usability of the e-mail system and improve the convenience of using the e-mail system.

【0038】

By using a telephone number in combination with a conventional e-mail address, even if the e-mail address is not reached, the change destination of the e-mail address can be requested by the e-mail address, so that the availability and convenience of the e-mail system can be obtained. While enjoying the improvement in performance, the traffic of the e-mail system can be further reduced to reduce the burden on the system functions related to the transfer processing of this type of e-mail.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 1.

[Figure 2]

It is a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 2.

[Fig. 3]

It is a figure which shows the structure of the system which carries out the invention of claim 1 and claim 2.

[Fig. 4]

It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional e-mail address, and the e-mail address used in the invention of claim 1.

[Fig. 5]

It is a figure which extracts and shows the structure of the internetwork between one user of the system shown in FIG. 3 and the other user.

[Fig. 6]

It is a figure which shows the mail management system built in the server which service one user of FIG.

[Fig. 7]

It is a figure which shows the mail management system built in the server which service to another user of FIG.

[Fig. 8]

It is a figure which shows the processing flow which concerns on the invention of claim 1 and claim 2 in the mail management system built on the server.

[Fig. 9]

It is a figure which shows the structure of the e-mail address used in the invention of claim 2.

[Fig. 10]

It is a figure which shows the mail management system corresponding to FIG. 6 of the invention which concerns on claim 2.

[Fig. 11]

It is a figure which shows the processing flow about the characteristic part of the invention which concerns on claim 2.

[Fig. 12]

It is a figure which shows the example of the mail address list.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 network 4 network 6 server 8 server 10 Outgoing e-mail terminal device 11 Outgoing e-mail terminal device 12 Incoming e-mail terminal device 14 E-mail transmission method 15 Address sending means 16 Address sending means 6a Phone number extraction method 8a Phone number extraction method 6b Address translation table 8b address translation table 6c Address indexing means 8c Address indexing means 8d delivery method 9a Detection means 9b address translation table 9c Delivery control means 9d delivery method 44 E-mail terminal device 46 E-mail terminal device 48 E-mail terminal device 50 E-mail terminal device 52 E-mail terminal device 60 networks 62 Network 64 networks 66 Network SV1 server SV2 server