MOBILE TERMINAL, MAIL RETURN METHOD, AND SERVER

• US 20120005288A1
• Filed: 01/05/2010
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Ota, Manabu, Morinaga, Yasuo
• Application Number:
  US13/148,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005288A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location

Abstract

The present invention can reduce anxiety or discomfort of a sender of a mail, even when a user of a mobile terminal having received the mail is unaware of being in a state that sending a reply mail is impossible. A mobile terminal according to the present invention includes: transmitting and receiving unit for receiving an incoming mail from a transmitter; state determining unit for acquiring information indicating a state of a user and determining based on the information indicating the state of the user whether sending a reply mail is possible or not when the mail transmitting and receiving unit receives the incoming mail; mail creating unit for creating a reply mail with a given content when the state determining unit determines that sending a reply mail is impossible; and mail transmitting unit for transmitting the reply mail created by the mail creating unit to the transmitter. With this configuration, it is determined based on the state of the user at the time of receiving a mail whether sending a reply mail is possible or not and when sending a reply mail is determined to be impossible, a mail with a given content can be automatically sent to the transmitter.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A mobile terminal comprising:

a mail receiving section configured to receive an incoming mail from a transmitter;

a state determining section configured to acquire information indicating a state of a user and determining based on the information indicating the state of the user whether sending a reply mail is possible or not when the mail receiving section receives the incoming mail;

a mail creating section configured to create a reply mail with a given content when the state determining section determines that sending a reply mail is impossible; and

a mail transmitting section configured to transmit the reply mail created by the mail creating section to the transmitter.

9. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein the state determining section acquires at least one of a state of the mobile terminal and schedule information of the user of the mobile terminal as the information indicating the state of the user.

10. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, further comprising a mail sentence storing section configured to store a mail sentence in association with the information indicating the state of the user, wherein

the mail creating section acquires the mail sentence associated with the information indicating the state of the user acquired by the state determining section and creates the reply mail.

11. The mobile terminal according to claim 9, wherein the state determining section acquires an activated state of application or a talking state as the state of the mobile terminal and determines, when the application is activated or talking on the phone is under way, that sending a reply mail is impossible.

12. The mobile terminal according to claim 8, further comprising a positional information acquiring section configured to acquire positional information indicating a present location of the mobile terminal, wherein

the mail creating section adds the positional information acquired by the positional information acquiring section to the reply mail.

13. A mail return method performed with a mobile terminal, the mail return method comprising:

a mail receiving receiving an incoming mail from a transmitter;

a state determining acquiring information indicating a state of a user and determining based on the information indicating the state of the user whether sending a reply mail is possible or not when the incoming mail is received at the mail receiving;

a mail creating creating a reply mail with a given content when sending a reply mail is determined to be impossible at the state determining; and

a mail transmitting transmitting the reply mail created at the mail creating to the transmitter.

14. A server comprising:

a mail receiving section configured to receive an incoming mail from a transmitter;

a state determining section configured to acquire at least one of information indicating whether a mobile terminal that is a destination of the incoming mail is in an area where communication is possible or not and information indicating a state of a user of the mobile terminal and for determining based on the acquired information indicating whether sending a reply mail is possible or not when the mail receiving section receives the incoming mail;

a mail creating section configured to create a reply mail with a given content when the state determining section determines that sending a reply mail is impossible; and

a mail transmitting section configured to transmit the reply mail created by the mail creating section to the transmitter.