Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing – Demand based messaging
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-25
2001-02-13
Maung, Zarni (Department: 2758)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
Demand based messaging
C709S207000, C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189027
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a network system composed of a host computer and terminals connected to the host computer via communication lines, such as telephone lines and radio signals, and more particularly, to an e-mail sending/receiving system and an e-mail sending/receiving method for allowing the host computer and terminals to send/receive e-mails mutually, and to a recording medium having thereon recorded the above method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A system, in which tomorrow morning's papers are downloaded from a host computer to a terminal at a set time (in the night), so that the user can read the morning papers when he gets up, is conventionally available as an example network system composed of the host computer and terminals connected to the host computer via communication lines, such as telephone lines and radio signals. According to this system, the user can receive the data he wishes to see from the host computer automatically at night by avoiding the use in a daytime when the communication lines are much busier.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 139747/1996 (Tokukaihei No. 8-139747) discloses an e-mail receiving system furnished with selection means for classifying received mails in accordance with keywords ranked according to importance and for selecting received mails in accordance with the keyword indexes. According to this system, urgent or important mails are selected with precedence to enable the user to check the contents thereof at his earliest convenience.
However, in any of the above systems, a relation between a memory capacity of each terminal and a total volume of mails (a total volume of incoming mails) from the host computer is not concerned particularly. Thus, when the latter is greater than the former, for example, the terminal can not receive all the mails from the host computer, and the user may not be able to receive urgent or important mails.
Thus, to receive urgent or important mails in a reliable manner, the user has to manage the terminal to always secure a memory capacity sufficient for a total volume of the coming mails. Thus, the conventional systems have a problem that the system management is very troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an e-mail sending/receiving system and an e-mail sending/receiving method which enables the user of a terminal to receive urgent or important mails in a secure manner without managing an available memory capacity of the terminal even when a total volume of the incoming mail exceeds the available memory capacity, and a recording medium having thereon recorded the above method.
To fulfill the above and other objects, an e-mail sending/receiving system of the present invention is characterized by being furnished with a terminal and a host computer including:
a first storage section for storing a mail;
a first control section for extracting mails to be sent to the terminal in accordance with priorities assigned to the mails.
According to the above arrangement, when the terminal is connected to the host computer through a communication line, the host computer extracts the mails stored in the first storage section by means of the first control section in accordance with the priorities assigned to the mails, and sends the same to the terminal.
Accordingly, of all the mails stored in the first storage section of the host computer, the terminal stores the mails in order of descending priorities to the user.
Thus, even when the terminal does not have an available memory capacity sufficient to store all the coming mails, the user can receive the mails assigned with higher priorities only if the available memory capacity is large enough to store these mails with higher priorities. Consequently, the user does not have to manage the system each time the user receives the mail(s), thereby making the system management easier.
Moreover, the user of the terminal can read the mails in order of descending priorities only by reading the mails in order of storage. In other words, the user can read the mails assigned with higher priorities to the user, that is, urgent or important mails, with the precedence without searching such mails from all the received mails only by reading the mails in the terminal in order of storage.
There can be also provided an e-mail sending/receiving method suitably used for the above-arranged e-mail sending/receiving system and a recording medium having thereon recorded the method.
More specifically, to fulfill the above and other objects, an e-mail sending/receiving method of the present invention is characterized by being composed of:
a first step of extracting mails having been stored in a first storage section of a host computer in accordance with priorities assigned to the mails; and
a second step of sending the mails extracted in the first step to a terminal.
Also, to fulfill the above and other objects, a recording medium of the present invention which can be read by a computer is characterized by having recorded thereon a program for letting the computer perform:
a first process of extracting mails stored in a first storage section of a host computer in accordance with priorities assigned to the mails; and
a second process of sending the mails extracted in the first process to a terminal.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Haneda Isamu
Isoe Toshio
Cardone Jason D.
Maung Zarni
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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