Information apparatus and mail control method

• US 20040254995A1
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Omura, Yoshimichi, Oka, Hiroyuki
• Application Number:
  US10/790,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20040254995A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4113 PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895

Abstract

An information apparatus includes a determination unit which determines a presence/absence of a received mail message via a network, and a control unit which acquires and stores, when the determination unit determines the presence of the received mail message, the received mail message in a storage medium, and outputs video data which contains image information to notify of a fact of mail reception from a video output terminal to a television receiver.

Claims

1. An information apparatus, comprising:

a determination unit which determines a presence/absence of a received mail message via a network; and

a control unit which acquires and stores, when the determination unit determines the presence of the received mail message, the received mail message in a storage medium, and outputs video data which contains image information to notify of a fact of mail reception from a video output terminal to a television receiver.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits information indicating the fact of mail reception to a computer corresponding to a destination user of the received mail message via a network.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit which displays information,

the control unit being capable of displaying information indicating the fact of mail reception on the display unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a television tuner which receives and processes broadcast program data,

the control unit being capable of outputting, to the television receiver, video data generated by superimposing the image information at a predetermined position on an image of the broadcast program data.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information contains a message or icon.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a browse processing unit which executes a user authentication process in response to an input operation corresponding to a browse request of the received mail message, reads out information of the received mail message for a corresponding user from the storage medium in accordance with an authentication result, and outputs video data containing the read-out information to the television receiver.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a browse processing unit which executes a user authentication process in response to a browse request of the received mail message sent from a computer via a network, reads out information of the received mail message for a corresponding user from the storage medium in accordance with an authentication result, and transmits the read-out information to the computer.

8. A mail control method applied to an information apparatus having a video output terminal, the method comprising:

determining a presence/absence of a received mail message via a network; and

acquiring and storing, when the presence of the received mail message is determined in the determination, the received mail message in a storage medium and outputting video data containing image information to notify of a fact of mail reception from the video output terminal to a television receiver.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, when the presence of the received mail message is determined in the determination, information indicating the fact of mail reception to a computer corresponding to a destination user of the received mail message via a network.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

displaying, when the presence of the received mail message is determined in the determination, information indicating the fact of mail reception on a display unit equipped on the information apparatus.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

receiving and processing broadcast program data by a television tuner; and

outputting, to the television receiver, video data generated by superimposing the image information at a predetermined position on an image of the broadcast program data.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the image information contains a message or icon.

13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

executing a user authentication process in response to an input operation corresponding to a browse request of the received mail message; and

reading out information of the received mail message for a corresponding user from the storage medium in accordance with an authentication result, and outputting video data containing the read-out information to the television receiver.

14. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

executing a user authentication process in response to a browse request of the received mail message sent from a computer via a network; and

reading out information of the received mail message for a corresponding user from the storage medium in accordance with an authentication result, and transmitting the read-out information to the computer.