Portable terminal suitable for displaying related electronic mail, method of displaying electronic mail and program for displaying electronic mail

• US 20040110491A1
• Filed: 11/26/2003
• Published: 06/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ozaki, Ichiro
• Application Number:
  US10/722,634
• Publication Number:
  US 20040110491A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails

Abstract

To readily enable display of circumstances of an electronic mail displayed by a user, by automatically extracting and arranging electronic mails related to the electronic mail to be displayed on a portable terminal. There are included an operation unit 12 on which the user performs an entry operation, a display unit 11, a radio transmitting and receiving unit 13 for making a call to and exchanging information with an outside by wireless communication, a storage unit 15 having a mail region 21 for storing transmitted and received electronic mails, a mail processing unit 22 for performing processing for external transmission or reception of an electronic mail through the radio transmitting and receiving unit 13, display of the transmitted or received mail on the display unit 11, and storage of the transmitted or received mail in the mail region 21, and a relating unit 23 for extracting one or more related electronic mails from the mail region 21 based on a relating condition for a specified electronic mail being displayed on the display unit 11, specified by an operation of the user, and then displaying the one or more related mails.

Claims

1. A portable terminal comprising:

a mail region storing transmitted and received electronic mails;

a mail processing unit performing processing for transmission, reception, and display of an electronic mail and storage of the electronic mail in said mail region; and

a relating unit extracting one or more related electronic mails from said mail region based on a relating condition specified by an operation of a user to the electronic mail being displayed, and then displaying said one or more related electronic mails.

3. The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail includes date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmission or reception;

and

said relating unit arranges the electronic mails extracted from said mail region in an order of date and time of the date and time information, for display.

4. The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail includes address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source;

and

when the relating condition is a condition requiring that address information A included in the electronic mail being displayed match the address information of the transmitting destination or the receiving source, said relating unit extracts one or more electronic mail including the address information A from said mail region, for display.

5. The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail includes subject information comprising a subject;

and

when the relating condition is a condition requiring that subject information B included in the electronic mail being displayed match the subject, said relating unit extracts one or more electronic mail including the subject information B from said mail region, for display.

2. A portable terminal comprising:

an operation unit on which a user performs an entry operation;

a display unit;

a radio transmitting and receiving unit communicating through wireless communication;

a storage unit having a mail region storing transmitted and received electronic mails;

a mail processing unit performing processing for transmission or reception of an electronic mail through said radio transmitting and receiving unit, display of the transmitted or received electronic mail on said display unit, and storage of the transmitted or received electronic mail in said mail region; and

a relating unit extracting one or more related electronic mails from said mail region based on a relating condition specified by an operation of a user to the electronic mail being displayed, and then displaying said one or more related electronic mails.

6. A portable terminal comprising:

a mail region storing transmitted and received electronic mails;

a mail processing unit performing processing for transmission, reception, and display of an electronic mail and storage of the electronic mail in said mail region; and

a relating unit extracting one or more related electronic mails from said mail region based on a relating condition specified by an operation of a user to the electronic mail being displayed, and then displaying said one or more related electronic mails;

wherein

the electronic mail includes;

address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source;

subject information comprising a subject; and

date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmission or reception;

said mail processing unit displays on a screen displaying the electronic mail information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address or an electronic mail having a same subject as the electronic mail being displayed; and

when a selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, said relating unit obtains information on the related mail,

when the same address has been specified as a condition, said relating unit extracts from said mail region electronic mails having the same address as the mail being displayed, and arranges the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and

when the same subject has been specified as a condition, said relating unit extracts from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the mail being displayed, and arranges the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.

7. A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting a related electronic mail from said mail region based on a predetermined relating condition when a user commands display of the related mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail and then displaying the related mail.

8. A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting from said mail region related electronic mails based on a predetermined relating condition when a user commands display of the related mails through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail and then arranging the related electronic mails in an order of date and time of date and time information comprising the dates and times of transmission or reception included in the electronic mails, for display.

9. A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting from said mail region an electronic mail having same address information as address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source included in the electronic mail being displayed, for display, when a user commands display of a related mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail.

10. A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting from said mail region an electronic mail having same subject information as subject information comprising a subject included in the electronic mail being displayed, for display, when a user commands display of a related mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail.

11. A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from or received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal, the electronic mails each including address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source, subject information comprising a subject, and date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmitting or receiving each of the electronic mails;

displaying on a same screen information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed or an electronic mail having a same subject as an subject of the electronic mail being displayed, during display of the electronic mail; and

obtaining information on the related mail when an selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, extracting from said mail region electronic mails including the same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed

when the same address has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and extracting from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the subject of the electronic mail being displayed when the same subject has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.

12. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting a related electronic mail from said mail region based on a predetermined relating condition, when a user commands display of the related electronic mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying an electronic mail and then displaying the related mail.

13. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting related electronic mails based on a predetermined relating condition when a user commands display of the related electronic mails through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying an electronic mail, and arranging the related electronic mails in an order to date and time of date and time information comprising the dates and times of transmission or reception included in the electronic mails, for display.

14. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal and

extracting from said mail region an electronic mail having same address information as address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source included in an electronic mail being displayed, for display, when a user commands display of a related mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail.

15. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted from and received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal; and

extracting from said mail region an electronic mail having same subject information as subject information comprising a subject, included in an electronic mail being displayed when a user commands display of a related mail through a screen of a display unit of said portable terminal displaying the electronic mail.

16. A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

storing electronic mails transmitted to or received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said terminal portable the electronic mails each including address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source, subject information comprising a subject, and date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmitting or receiving each of the electronic mails;

displaying on a same screen information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address or an electronic mail having a same subject as the electronic mail being displayed, during display of the electronic mail; and

obtaining information on the related mail when a selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, extracting from said mail region electronic mails including the same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed when the same address has been specified as a condition, arranging the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and extracting from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the subject of the electronic mail being displayed when the same subject has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.