Method and apparatus for managing electronic mail

• US 20040107258A1
• Filed: 07/09/2003
• Published: 06/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jae-Ho
• Application Number:
  US10/614,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20040107258A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing an electronic mail. An e-mail address is extracted from a received electronic mail, and then the extracted e-mail address is stored. An electronic mail is sent using the stored e-mail address. Accordingly, unlike an existing method of generating an e-mail address of a receiver, who will receive an e-mail, by using external input keys, an e-mail address of a receiver can be found from previously stored e-mail addresses. Thus, it is not necessary to include many external input keys. Also, the inconvenience a user may experience when manipulating external input keys to generate an e-mail address of a receiver can be minimized.

Claims

1. A method of managing an electronic mail, the method comprising:

extracting an e-mail address from a received electronic mail;

storing the extracted e-mail address; and

sending an electronic mail using the stored e-mail address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting the e-mail address comprises:

determining whether the electronic mail has been received;

if determined that the electronic mail has been received, determining whether the received electronic mail includes the e-mail address; and

if determined that the received electronic mail includes the e-mail address, extracting the included e-mail address;

wherein electronic mail is sent using the stored e-mail address.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting the e-mail address comprises extracting the e-mail address written in text of the received electronic mail.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, if determined that the electronic mail has been received, then the determining whether the received electronic mail includes the e-mail address comprises determining whether the received electronic mail has a sign indicating the e-mail address, and, if determined that the received electronic mail has the sign, then the extracting the included e-mail address comprises extracting the e-mail address having the sign.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending the electronic mail using the stored e-mail address comprises:

determining whether a search for the stored e-mail address has been requested;

if determined that the search for the stored e-mail address has been requested, determining whether an e-mail address of a receiver who receives an electronic mail to be sent is stored;

if determined that the search for the stored e-mail address has not been requested, generating the e-mail address of the receiver;

if determined that the e-mail address of the receiver is stored or after the generating the e-mail address of the receiver, determining whether the transmission of the electronic mail has been requested; and

if determined that the delivery of the electronic mail has been requested, sending the electronic mail to the stored e-mail address of the receiver or the generated e-mail address of the receiver.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sending the electronic mail using the stored e-mail address further comprises:

if determined that the e-mail address of the receiver is stored, displaying the stored e-mail address and going to the determining whether the transmission of the electronic mail has been requested;

wherein the determining whether the transmission of the electronic mail has been requested comprises determining whether the delivery of the electronic mail has been requested after the the generating the e-mail address of the receiver or the displaying the stored e-mail address.

7. An apparatus managing an electronic mail, the apparatus comprising:

an e-mail address manager that extracts an e-mail address from a received electronic mail and stores the extracted e-mail address; and

a transmission manager that sends an electronic mail using the e-mail address stored in the e-mail address manager.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the e-mail address manager comprises:

an electronic mail reception checker that checks whether an electronic mail is received and outputs the checked result as a first control signal;

an e-mail address checker that checks whether the received electronic mail includes an e-mail address and outputs the checked result as a second control signal in response to the first control signal;

an e-mail address extractor that extracts the e-mail address from the received electronic mail in response to the second control signal; and

a storage unit that stores the extracted e-mail address input from the e-mail address extractor.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus comprises a personal computer.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus comprises a multi-function peripheral connected to at least one personal computer.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the e-mail address manager extracts the e-mail address from text of the received electronic mail generated in the personal computer.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the e-mail address checker checks whether the received electronic mail has a sign indicating an e-mail address and outputs the checked result as the second control signal.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the transmission manager comprises:

an e-mail address request checker that checks whether a search for the e-mail address stored in the storage unit has been requested and outputs the checked result as a third control signal;

an e-mail address storage checker that checks whether an e-mail address of a receiver, who receives an electronic mail to be sent, is stored in the storage unit and outputs the checked result as a fourth control signal in response to the third control signal;

an e-mail address generator that generates the e-mail address of the receiver and outputs the generated e-mail address of the receiver in response to the third control signal;

a transmission request checker that passes the generated e-mail address or the stored e-mail address, checks whether the delivery of the electronic mail is requested, and outputs the checked result as a fifth control signal in response to the third and fourth control signals; and

an electronic mail sender that sends the electronic mail to the e-mail address of the receiver, which has been passed by the transmission request checker, in response to the fifth control signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the transmission manager further comprises a display that displays the stored e-mail address in response to the fourth control signal.

15. A method of managing an electronic message, comprising:

receiving a first electronic message;

extracting a sender address from the received first electronic message;

storing the extracted sender address; and

sending a second electronic message using the stored sender address.

16. A method of managing electronic mail, comprising:

determining whether a received electronic mail includes an e-mail address;

extracting the e-mail address from the received electronic mail; and

storing the extracted e-mail address.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determining whether the received electronic mail includes the e-mail address includes determining whether the received electronic message includes a symbol indicative of the e-mail address.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the symbol comprises @ such that the determining includes determining whether the @ symbol is included in the electronic message.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the received electronic mail comprises a message header and a message body and the extracting the e-mail address from the received electronic message includes extracting the e-mail address from the message body.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

sending a subsequent electronic message to a message recipient.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

searching a memory for the e-mail address of the message recipient;

wherein the sending comprises sending the subsequent electronic message to the message recipient at the stored e-mail address if the stored e-mail address is located in the memory.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

generating the e-mail address of the message recipient if the e-mail address is not in the memory.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the received electronic mail comprises a message header and a message body and the extracting the e-mail address from the received electronic message includes extracting the e-mail address from the message header.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

displaying the e-mail address of the message recipient.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

determining whether a message sender requests to send the subsequent electronic message to the message recipient; and

wherein the sending comprises sending the subsequent electronic message to the message recipient if the sender desires to send the subsequent electronic message to the message recipient.

26. An e-mail address manager, comprising:

an e-mail reception checker that checks whether an e-mail is received via an input port IN2 and outputs the checked result as a first control signal;

an e-mail address checker that receives the first control signal to check whether the e-mail contains an e-mail address and outputs a checked result as a second control signal;

an e-mail address extractor that extracts the e-mail address from the checked result in the second control signal and outputs the extracted e-mail address; and

a storage unit that stores the extracted e-mail address.

27. The e-mail address manager of claim 26, wherein the e-mail address checker checks whether the received e-mail includes a symbol indicative of an e-mail address.

28. The e-mail address manager of claim 26, wherein the storage unit comprises an output unit that outputs the extracted e-mail address.

29. An e-mail transmission manager, comprising:

an e-mail address request checker that outputs a search request in a third control signal if a request for a stored e-mail address is detected;

an e-mail address storage checker that searches a storage unit for the e-mail address if the third control signal contains the search request and outputs the e-mail address in a fourth control signal if the e-mail address is located in the storage unit;

an e-mail address generator that generates an e-mail address if there is not a search request in the third control signal and no stored e-mail address in the fourth control signal; and

a transmission request checker that outputs the stored e-mail address or the generated e-mail address in a fifth control signal.

30. The e-mail transmission manager of claim 29, further comprising an e-mail sender that sends an e-mail to a receiver at the stored e-mail address or the generated e-mail address in the fifth control signal.

31. The e-mail transmission manager of claim 30, further comprising:

a display that displays the stored e-mail address in the fourth control signal.