Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing – Demand based messaging
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-04
2001-01-23
Rinehart, Mark H. (Department: 2756)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
Demand based messaging
C709S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178442
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electronic mail system, and, more particularly, to an electronic mail server having a function for checking whether a transmitted mail has been accessed and read or not on a distributed type of network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a mail system over a LAN (Local Area Network) in which a mail server can provide centralized control over mail transactions between client devices, it is possible for a transmitting site to check whether a receiver has received a transmitted mail or not. In a LAN, the state in which a client device in the receiving site has accessed a mail message sent to the device is regarded as the received state.
On the other hand, in a network such as The Internet using the TCP/IP protocol, the network forms a distributed type of electronic mail system, so that it is impossible to put all mail transactions on the network under centralized control.
In recent years, however, in association with technological progress in the field of the distributed type of electronic mail as described above, the technology enabling a transmitting site to check whether a receiving side has received a transmitted mail has been proposed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 2-116239, Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. HEI 6-195275, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 7-56837. Namely, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 2-116239 discloses the technology in which, when an electronic mail is transmitted between mail servers, the transmitting site first appends to the mail message a request for returning acknowledgement of the mail and then transmits the mail message. The receiving site returns a confirmation according to the request for returning an acknowledgement when the receiving site receives the mail.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6-195275 discloses the technology in which, independent from the mail system, a server managing mail information is provided in each of the transmitting sites and receiving sites to execute additional functions such as enabling each server to check whether or not a transmitted electronic mail has been accessed and read. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 7-56837 discloses the technology in which, when a LAN terminal finishes transmission of data from a communication server, information indicating end of transmission is transmitted as a receiving acknowledgement message to the transmitting terminal.
In the electronic mail systems based on the conventional technology as disclosed in the patent publications described above, confirmation of receiving, namely acknowledgement that the mail has been accessed and read is sent to the transmitting site when the receiver takes an electronic mail from the server. Thus for the mail system, transmission of a mail message from the transmitting site to the receiving site is completed, but the timing for confirming that the mail has been accessed and read is not defined on the system. For this reason, it can not firmly be confirmed that a receiver has accessed and read the mail, and sometimes the state indicating that the mail is not accessed nor read may continue for a while.
Also the electronic mail system incorporating therein configuration for realizing additional functions for checking that a transmitted mail has not been accessed nor read, or that a transmitted mail has been accessed and read in a server in each of the transmitting and receiving sites respectively as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6-195275 described above, is suited to a small scale LAN in an in-house system. However, in a large network system such as The Internet, which is distributed over a wide area, specific functions are allocated to each server. Thus, it has not been feasible to unify all the functions with the additional functions as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic mail server, an electronic mail system, and a method of checking that an electronic mail has been accessed and read, and a computer-readable medium recording medium in which a program causing a computer execute the method is recorded, in which accuracy in checking that a transmitted mail message has been accessed and read in the receiving site can be made higher while reducing the necessity for upgrading of the existing system.
With the present invention, when a mail message is transmitted, the transmitted mail message has program information actuated to return, when the mail body is accessed and read at a destination terminal, an acknowledgement that the mail was accessed and read to the transmitting device. When information as to whether the mail message has been accessed and read or not is obtained from the destination terminal, the result of transmitting the mail message is stored as data indicating that the mail was accessed and read. Thus, the destination terminal is required only to access and read a main body of the mail for returning a response confirming that the mail was accessed and read. For this reason, it is not required to add any specific function for checking whether or not a transmitted mail has been accessed and read to a destination terminal or a destination electronic mail server. Accordingly, it is possible to improve accuracy in checking whether a transmitted mail has been accessed and read in the receiving site while reducing the necessity to upgrade the existing system.
With the present invention, when a mail message is transmitted, the transmitted mail message has program information actuated to return, when the main body of the mail is accessed and read at the destination terminal, acknowledgement by mail that the mail has been accessed and read as well as the identification information for the mail message to the transmitting site. When information as to whether the mail has been accessed and read is obtained from the destination terminal, the identification information is extracted from the received mail and the result of transmitting the mail message corresponding to the identification information is stored as information indicating that the transmitted mail was accessed and read. Thus, the destination terminal is only required to open the main body of the mail message for confirming that a transmitted mail has been accessed and read. For this reason, it is not necessary to add any specified function for confirming that a transmitted mail has been accessed and read to a destination terminal or a destination electronic mail server. Further an operation for distinguishing a transmitted mail message not accessed yet from a transmitted mail message already accessed is simplified according to the identification information. It is possible to have higher accuracy in checking whether a transmitted has been accessed and read or not in the receiving site with the necessity for upgrading of the existing system reduced.
With the present invention, identification information and access information indicating that a main body of a transmitted mail message has not been accessed nor read is stored at a destination terminal in correspondence to each mail. When a mail message is transmitted, a transmitted mail message has program information actuated to return, when the main body of the mail has been accessed and read at the destination terminal, an acknowledgement by mail that the mail message has been accessed and read as well as identification information for the mail message to the transmitting site is transmitted. When information that the mail has been accessed and read is obtained from the destination terminal according to the received mail message, identification information is extracted from the received mail message, and access information for the transmitted mail message corresponding to the identification information is changed to information indicating that the mail has been accessed and read. Thus, the destination terminal only needs to return acknowledgement of access opening the main body of the mail message. For t
Justsystem Corp.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Rinehart Mark H.
Thompson Marc D.
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