Information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism

• US 5,893,096 A
• Filed: 08/20/1997
• Issued: 04/06/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lintz, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US08/914,937
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/401, 395/200.59, 395/640, 395/683, 455/453, 455/454, 455/456, 340/568, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

The prime object of the present invention is to achieve an easy-to-use information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism, that can lower the amount of traffic on network and minimizes the operation at terminal. Main features of the present invention are the terminal connection unit provided with a terminal agent transmitting/receiving module, and the server provided with a server agent transmitting/receiving module. When an electronic message is sent from a radio or wired terminal via radio or wired line, the terminal agent transmitting/receiving module reads the specific area in the electronic message and transfers it to a predetermined server. The server agent transmitting/receiving module then receives and reads the message, and transfers it to a corresponding processing module if the message is addressed to it'"'"'s own server, writes the processing result in the message and then forwards the message to the next address indicated in the message. In addition, the specific area in the electronic message is created upon request at the time of database retrieval, and the server also includes a database and a procedure language interpreting module unique to each database.

Claims

1. An information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism, comprising:

a terminal connection unit including

a terminal agent transmitting/receiving module for reading a specific area in an electronic message sent from a radio terminal via radio line or a wired terminal, and for transmitting the electronic message to one of specific servers specified in the electronic message as a circulating server; and

a server including

a server agent transmitting/receiving module for receiving the-electronic message from a terminal connection unit, transferring the electronic message to a processing module when a server is one of the circulating servers, for writing a processing result in the electronic message, and for transmitting the electronic message to a next one of circulating servers written in the electronic message, and

the processing module for converting the transferred electronic message from the server agent transmitting/receiving module into a language used in the specified server and for processing a converted electronic message.

2. The information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism of claim 1,

wherein the specific area in the electronic message includes a database retrieval request,

wherein the processing module of the server includes a procedure language interpreting module unique to a database and the database retrieved in an interpreted language, and

wherein the server writes a result of database retrieval in the electronic message and transmits the electronic message to the next one of circulating server.

3. The information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism of claim 1,

wherein the specific area in the electronic message includes an E-mail reception transfer request,

wherein fhe processing module of the server includes a procedure interpreting module for a mail server and the mail server for transmitting the E-mail specified in the interpreted electronic message, and

wherein the server writes the E-mail in the electronic message and transmitting to the next one of circulating servers.

4. The information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism of claim 3, further comprising a binary mail display program providing server, to which the E-mail is sent in case when the server agent transmitting/receiving module judges the E-mail is the binary mail and is not the type that can be displayed on radio terminal, and

wherein the binary mail display program providing server adds a corresponding binary mail display program to the electronic message and transmits to the next one of circulating servers.

5. The information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism of claim 3,

wherein the server agent transmitting/receiving module, upon receiving the E-mail to the radio terminal of the server, sends the electronic message including an E-mail reception notification agent for notifying the reception to a corresponding terminal connection unit, and

wherein the agent transmitting/receiving module of the terminal connection unit, upon receiving the electronic message including the E-mail reception notification agent, notifies the reception of a corresponding E-mail to the radio terminal when the line is connected with the radio terminal.

6. The information collection system equipped with transfer mechanism of claim 2, further comprising:

a radio terminal or a wired terminal including a location information detection module or a location information set module which adds the location information detected or set in the specific area of the electronic message, and

wherein the server sets restricted conditions corresponding to the location information and performs processing determined by the location information received from the terminal.