Electronic mail terminal and system for automatically downloading electronic mail
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electronic mail terminal comprising:
- an interface unit to be connected to a telephone line;
detecting means for detecting a caller telephone number obtained by said interface unit;
comparing means for comparing said caller telephone number detected by said detecting means with a telephone number of a server connected to a network so as to determine whether or not said caller telephone number and said telephone number of said server coincide with each other;
calling means for initiating a call to said server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said server through said interface unit;
a memory for storing information about received electronic mail; and
a control unit, when said comparing means determines that an incoming call is from said server, for controlling said calling means to automatically call back said server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said server and download electronic mail information stored in said server, and for controlling said memory to store the electronic mail information.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for delivering electronic mail through the internet includes a CPU, a ROM for storing a program for controlling the system, a RAM for storing data and a caller telephone number, a display unit for interfacing with a display unit, an input unit for interfacing with an input device, a modem unit for converting analog data to be used by a telephone into digital data to be processed by a computer, and a network control unit for interfacing with a network, the network control unit also being capable of recognizing caller telephone numbers. The delivering system enables of the electronic mail through the use of the caller ID.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An electronic mail terminal comprising:
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an interface unit to be connected to a telephone line; detecting means for detecting a caller telephone number obtained by said interface unit; comparing means for comparing said caller telephone number detected by said detecting means with a telephone number of a server connected to a network so as to determine whether or not said caller telephone number and said telephone number of said server coincide with each other; calling means for initiating a call to said server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said server through said interface unit; a memory for storing information about received electronic mail; and a control unit, when said comparing means determines that an incoming call is from said server, for controlling said calling means to automatically call back said server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said server and download electronic mail information stored in said server, and for controlling said memory to store the electronic mail information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for delivering electronic mail comprising:
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a network connecting server for receiving electronic mail information and initiating a call to a telephone number of a recipient of the received electronic mail information; and an electronic mail terminal having an interface unit to be connected to a telephone line, detecting means for detecting a caller telephone line, detecting means for detecting a caller telephone number obtained by said interface unit, comparing means for comparing said caller telephone number detected by said detecting means with a telephone number of said network connecting server so as to determine whether or not said telephone numbers coincide with each other, calling means for initiating a call to said network connecting server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said network connecting server through said interface unit, a memory for storing information about received electronic mail, and a control unit, when said comparing means determines that an incoming call is from said network connecting server, for controlling said calling means to automatically call back said network connecting server so as to connect said electronic mail terminal to said network connecting server and download the electronic mail information stored in said network connecting server, and for controlling said memory to store the electronic mail information. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A communication terminal for connection to a telephone line, comprising:
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a telephone; means for detecting a caller telephone number of an incoming call; means for comparing the caller telephone number with a predetermined telephone number of a server; a memory; and means for permitting communication via the telephone if the caller telephone number does not match the predetermined telephone number of the server, and if the caller telephone number does match the predetermined telephone number of the server, for keeping the telephone from ringing, calling the server back, automatically downloading information from the server, and storing the downloaded information in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification