Electronic mail system with means to transmit data to a plurality of recipients without user intervention

• US 5,177,680 A
• Filed: 10/18/1988
• Issued: 01/05/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Computer Consultant Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Computer Consultant Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tsukino, Hiroshi, Nakazato, Ryoichi, Ohgomori, Seizi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Gail O.
• Application Number:
  US07/259,313
• Time in Patent Office: 1,540 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 340/825.44, 340/825.55, 379/96, 379/93, 379/94, 379/5, 379/8, 379/89
• US Class Current: 704/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

An electronic mail system includes a plurality of terminals, a business processing system connected to the plural terminals for effecting a business processing so as to output a result of the processing as output data, a transmitter mail box connected to the business processing system for storing a list containing information for each output data to specify terminals as receiving points which receive the output data, and a receiver mail box connected to the business processing system for storing the output data for each receiving point specified by the list. The output data in the receiver mail box is selectively outputted to the terminal in response to a request from the terminal as the receiving point.

Claims

1. An electronic mail system comprising:

a plurality of terminals;

a business processing system connected to said plural terminals for effecting a business processing on the basis of data supplied from at least one of said plural terminals and for outputting a result of the processing output data in the form of print out data; and

memory means connected to said business processing system for storing lists each containing information for each output data to specify a destination terminal to which the output data is to be transmitted, said information being supplied from at least another of said plural terminals through said business processing system;

said business processing system including means for referring to the lists in said memory means and reading a destination terminal specified by the output data when outputting the output data, and means for outputting the output data to the read destination terminal

said memory means includes means for beforehand loading in said lists information supplied from the at least another terminal for each output data, indicating a name of the output data and delivery day/time when the output data is to be delivered to a terminal corresponding thereto; and

said business processing system further includes means for outputting to the corresponding terminal the output data corresponding to the output data name designated by said list at an arrival of the delivery day/time denoted by said list.

2. An electronic mail system comprising:

a plurality of terminals;

a business processing system connected to said plural terminals for effecting a business processing on the basis of data supplied from at least one of said plural terminals and for outputting a result of the processing as output data in the form of print out data;

memory means connected to said business processing system for storing lists each containing information for each output data to specify a destination terminal as receiving points which receive the output data, said information being supplied from at least another of said plural terminals through said business processing system; and

a memory unit connected to said business processing system for storing the output data for each receiving point specified by said lists, said business processing system including means for referring to the lists in said memory means and reading a destination terminal specified by the output data when outputting the output data, storing means for storing the output data and the read destination terminal specified thereby in said memory unit as a reception list, and reading means for reading the output data and the destination terminal specified by the output data from said memory unit and for outputting the output data to the read destination terminal in response to a request from the terminal as the receiving point.

3. An electronic mail system according to claim 2 wherein said business processing system includes a host computer.

4. An electronic mail system according to claim 2 wherein said business processing system includes a terminal.

5. An electronic mail system according to claim 2 wherein said memory means includes means for beforehand loading in said lists information supplied from at least another terminal, for each output data, indicating a transmitter of the output data.

6. An electronic mail system according to claim 5 wherein

said memory means includes means for storing therein, for each said output data, information indicating a name of the output data and delivery day/time of the output data to said memory unit, and

said business processing system includes means for storing in said memory unit output data corresponding to the data of the output data designated in the list in said memory means at a point of time when the delivery day/time designated in the list in said memory means arrives.

7. An electronic mail system according to claim 6, wherein said business processing system includes meaning for loading said memory unit, when the delivery day/time indicated in the list in said memory means arrives, with information of the list in said memory means corresponding to the output data, said information being stored as a reception list.

8. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, further comprising:

storage means for storing the output data outputted from said business processing system;

wherein said business processing system includes means for reading the output data from said storage means and for storing the read output data and the destination terminal specified by the output data in said memory unit as the reception list.

9. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein said business processing system includes means for outputting the information of the reception list in said memory unit, in response to a request from a terminal, to the terminal.

10. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein said business processing system includes means for referring, for each of said output data, to the lists in said memory means for loading a list in said memory unit with information indicating a transmitter of the output data.

11. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein said business processing system includes means for referring, for each of said output data, to the lists in said memory means for loading a list in said memory unit with information indicating reception day/time of the output data.

12. An electronic mail system according to claim 2 wherein said output data is data to be periodically outputted.

13. An electronic mail system according to claim 8 wherein said information stored in said memory means is inputted from a terminal connected to said business processing system.

14. An electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein said reading means outputs the output data to the destination terminal asynchronous with the storing of the output data and the read destination terminal in said memory unit performed by said storing means.