Electronic mail system with mail content class designation

Details Electronic mail system with mail content class designation Electronic mail system with mail content class designation

1996-12-12

2003-03-18

Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2182)

Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput

Computer conferencing

Priority based messaging

C709S200000, C709S217000, C709S238000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06535910

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to control of a mailbox as a mail accumulating unit in an electronic mail system for exchanging information such as characters and voice in the form of electronic mail between terminals such as personal computers through a computer network.
In a conventional electronic mail system as shown in
FIG. 16
, upon issuance of a mail transmission request from a user, a mail server
30
accumulates mail in a mailbox
32
prepared for each user ID indicated in the destination address of the mail. A user can read the mail sent thereto from the mailbox
32
corresponding to the user ID. When a plurality of items of mail are accumulated in the mailbox
32
, these are indicated in the form of a list, and the contents of the selected items of mail are read out. Since the mail server
30
is formed of an external memory, if the amount of mail exceeds the specified capacity of the mailbox
32
, a portion of this mail is no longer accumulated and dispersed.
Electronic mail systems are used for a variety of application purposes and for private and business messages. Moreover, the same electronic mail can be transmitted to a plurality of destination addresses, due to the general address function in which the same mail can be stored in a plurality of mailboxes. As a result, an online shopping system provider can transmit electronic mail for product publicity (e.g., electronic mail advertisements) to a plurality of users.
In such conventional electronic mail systems, since a user receives electronic mail transmitted for various application purposes, it often happens that a large amount of electronic mail publicity or advertisements exceed the specified capacity of the user's mailbox, so that important mail other than publicity mail or advertisements cannot be received. Therefore, there is a need to avoid this non-receiving condition for electronic mail.
Moreover, a list of the received mail indicates only the titles of the mail received, resulting in a problem in that the application purpose and importance of the mail (e.g., business or advertising) cannot be understood until the mail is received and its contents checked.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-described problems of prior art electronic mail systems.
FIG. 1
is a schematic diagram of a system in accordance with the present invention which solves the problems of prior art systems explained above.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an electronic mail system for exchanging electronic mail between terminals via a network
16
, comprising mailboxes
20
,
23
,
24
for storing messages for each mail ID
21
and corresponding class
22
of mail content preset for each user of the electronic mail system. User terminals
10
,
13
are mail terminals which have mail transmitting units
11
,
14
for requesting transmission of items of mail by designating, at the time of electronic mail transmission, the mail ID
21
indicating the transmission destination address, the class
22
of mail content and the message content. A mail server
17
has a mail storing unit
18
to store items of mail in the mailboxes
20
,
23
,
24
corresponding to the mail ID and class of mail designated by the user terminal which transmits the mail. Moreover, the electronic mail system of the present invention also comprises user terminals having mail receiving units
12
,
15
to request, at the time of receiving electronic mail, forwarding of mail to the mail server
17
by designating the mail ID
21
and class
22
of mail contents. The mail received from the server
17
is read out by a mail reading unit
19
which reads, upon reception of an instruction for the mail ID
21
and class
22
of the mail content, the mail from one of the mailboxes
20
,
23
,
24
corresponding to the designated mail ID
21
and class
22
of mail.
These together with other objects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of the construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5740231 (1998-04-01), Cohn et al.

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