ELECTRONIC MAIL GATEWAY APPARATUS

• US 20090254748A1
• Filed: 03/09/2009
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Original Assignee: Murata Machinery Limited (Muratec)
• Inventors: MOCHIZUKI, Yusuke
• Application Number:
  US12/400,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254748A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting

Abstract

An e-mail gateway apparatus is configured to delete unnecessary e-mails that are on an e-mail server apparatus. When the S/MIME gateway apparatus fails to receive an e-mail from the e-mail server apparatus, a main control unit of the S/MIME gateway apparatus distributes to a client PC an error notification mail indicating the failure. When a deletion request signal requesting deletion of the reception-failed e-mail is received from the client PC, the main control unit of the S/MIME gateway apparatus requests the e-mail server apparatus to delete the e-mail.

Claims

1. An e-mail gateway apparatus comprising:

a reception unit arranged to receive e-mails addressed to client apparatuses from an e-mail server apparatus;

an error notification distribution unit arranged to distribute an error notification mail indicating a failure to the client apparatus when the reception unit fails to receive the e-mail from the e-mail server apparatus; and

a deletion request unit arranged to request the e-mail server apparatus to delete the e-mail when a deletion request signal requesting deletion of the reception-failed e-mail is received.

2. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a decryption unit arranged to decrypt an e-mail when the e-mail received through the reception unit has been encrypted and to distribute the decrypted e-mail to the client apparatus.

3. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deletion request signal is a reply mail responding to the error notification mail.

4. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the error notification mail includes identification information that is used to specify the e-mail to be deleted.

5. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the identification information is included in a header of the error notification mail.

6. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the identification information is included in a subject name section of the error notification mail.

7. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a web server unit arranged to generate a web page to receive input from the client apparatus and to transmit a reply signal including the web page to the client apparatus in response to a first request signal transmitted from the client apparatus;

wherein

the deletion request signal is a second request signal that is transmitted from the client apparatus and includes a deletion request that is input to the web page through the client apparatus in response to the reply signal.

8. The e-mail gateway apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the error notification mail includes a Uniform Resource Locator that is used to specify the web page.