Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving electronic mail based upon user availability

• US 6,460,073 B1
• Filed: 07/13/1999
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Asakura, Takayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US09/352,054
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200-207, 709/213-216, 709/223-224, 709/244-246, 455/412, 455/418-420
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

An electronic mail transmitting and receiving system that is capable of predicting whether or not the user can access the electronic mail transmitting and receiving system, and which is also capable of automatically controlling whether or not the electronic mail addressed to the user is transferred to an auxiliary device such as facsimile equipment, predetermined by the user. The electronic mail transmitting and receiving system is provided with a mail system monitor which monitors arrival, transmission, and reception of the electronic mail addressed to the user, a transfer propriety data generator that anticipates whether or not the user can access the mail system according to the result of the monitor and which generates a transfer propriety data based on the result of the anticipation. A mail transfer device refers to the transfer propriety data periodically at a fixed time interval. As far as it is confirmed that the transfer is appropriate, the mail transfer device transfers the electronic mail addressed to the user in the mail system to an auxiliary device predetermined by the user.

Claims

1. An electronic transmitting and receiving system which stores electronic mail addressed at the user and comprises a mail system for transmitting said storing electronic mail to said user in response to the user'"'"'s demand to receive said electronic mail, the electronic mail transmitting and receiving system comprises:

a mail system monitoring means for monitoring arrival of an electronic mail addressed at said user, and the state of transmission and reception of electronic mail by said user;

a transfer propriety data generating means for generating a transfer propriety data which indicates whether or not it is appropriate to transfer the electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in said mail system based on the state of arrival, transmission, and reception of the electronic mail obtained by the mail system monitoring means; and

a mail transfer means for transferring said electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in the mail system to an address predetermined for said user, if the transfer is approved by periodically referring to the transfer propriety data at designated time intervals and if an electronic mail is stored in the mail system.

2. An electronic mail transmitting and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein,

said mail system monitoring means is constructed such that it monitors the arriving date and time of an electronic mail as said state of arrival of the electronic mail, the transmitting date and time of an electronic mail as said state of transmission of the electronic mail, and the receiving date and time of an electronic mail as said state of reception of the electronic mail; and

said transfer propriety data generating means is constructed such that it obtains, based on information obtained by the mail system monitoring means, an access interval which is an average storing time in the mail system obtained as an average value of time periods from the arrival of an electronic mail to the reception of the mail by the user, and it further anticipates, based on the access interval, the storing time, and the most recent date and time at which the mail system is accessed by the user, whether or not the user is able to access to the mail system and generates a transfer propriety data based on the result of the anticipation.

3. An electronic mail transmitting and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises:

a transfer device determining means for determining the transfer device for use by the user, based on a result of predicting the user'"'"'s location and a transfer device determining rule for determining the transfer device in accordance with the user'"'"'s location; and

a mail transfer means, substituting to said mail transfer means, for transferring said electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in said mail system to the transfer device determined by said transfer device determining means, if the transfer is approved by periodically referring to the transfer propriety data at designated time intervals and if an electronic mail is stored in the mail system.

4. An electronic mail transmitting and receiving system according to claim 3, wherein said transfer device determining means is constructed such that it anticipates said user'"'"'s location based on the schedule information of said user.

5. An electronic mail transmitting and receiving system according to claim 3, the system further comprises:

a transmitting information quantity determining means for determining a controlling method of a transmitting information quantity based on a transmitting information quantity determining rule for determining a controlling method of the transmitting information quantity corresponding to the type of the transfer device and the type of the transfer device determined by the transfer device determining means;

wherein, when transferring said electronic mail, said mail transfer means controls the transmitting information quantity of said electronic mail in accordance with said controlling method determined by the transmitting information quantity determining means.

6. A method of transmitting and receiving an electronic mail of an electronic mail transmitting and receiving system comprising a mail system for storing electronic mail addressed at a user and for transmitting said stored electronic mail according to the user'"'"'s demand to receive the electronic mail, the method comprises the steps of:

monitoring the state of arrival of the electronic mail addressed at said user and the states of transmission and reception of the electronic mail by said user;

generating a transfer propriety data which indicates whether or not the electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in said mail system can be transferred, based on the above described states of arrival, transmission and reception;

transferring the mail addressed at said user and stored in the mail system to a predetermined, address for said user, as far as it is confirmed by the periodical reference to said transfer priority data that the transfer is possible, and as far as the mail system stores the electronic mail addressed at said user.

7. A method of transmitting and receiving an electronic mail according to claim 6, wherein said monitoring step monitors the date and time of arrival of said electronic mail as the state of arrival of said electronic mail, monitors the date and time of transmission of the electronic mail as the state of transmission of said electronic mail, and monitors the date and time of reception of the electronic mail as the state of reception of said electronic mail;

said transfer propriety data generating step, when generating said transfer propriety data, obtains access intervals which correspond to average values of intervals between said transmitting and receiving dates and times and the time when said user accesses the mail system, and storing times which are average values of storing times between said transmitting and said receiving dates and times and the storing time while the electronic mail is stored in the mail system; and

said transfer propriety data generating step, based on the access interval, the storing time, and the latest date and time at which the mail system is accessed by the user, anticipates whether or not the user is able to access the mail system and generates a transfer propriety data based on the result of the anticipation.

8. A method of transmitting and receiving electronic mail according to claim 6, the method further comprising the steps of:

determining a transfer device based on the transfer device determining rule for determining said transfer device to be used by said user with reference to the location where the user is present; and

substituting to said mail transferring step, transferring said mail addressed at said user to the transfer device determined by said transfer device determining step, as far as said transfer propriety data approves the transferby periodically referring to the transfer propriety data at designated intervals, and also as far as the electronic mail addressed at said user is stored in said mail system.

9. A method of transmitting and receiving the electronic mail according to claim 8, wherein, in said step of determining the transfer device, the location where the user is present is anticipated from schedule information of said user.

10. A method of transmitting and receiving the electronic mail according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the steps of determining a transmitting information quantity controlling method for determining a transmission information quantity of the electronic mail based on the transmitting information quantity determining rule for determining the controlling method of the transmitting information quantity and the type of the transfer device determined in said transfer device determining step;

wherein, in said mail transferring step, when transferring said electronic mail, the transmitting information quantity of said electronic mail is controlled by the controlling method determined by said transmitting information quantity controlling method.

11. A mechanically readable recording medium storing a program for operating a computer, which stores an electronic mail addressed at a user and which is provided with a mail system for transmitting the electronic mail stored in the mail system to said user in response to the user'"'"'s demand, as:

a mail system monitoring means for monitoring the arrival of an electronic mail addressed at said user and the states of transmission and reception of electronic mail by said user;

a transfer propriety data generating means for generating a transfer propriety data which indicates whether or not it is appropriate to transfer the electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in said mail system based on the state of arrival, transmission, and reception of the electronic mail obtained by the mail system monitoring means; and

a mail transfer means for transferring said electronic mail addressed at said user and stored in the mail system to an address predetermined for said user, if the transfer is approved by periodically referring to the transfer propriety data at a designated time interval and if an electronic mail is stored in the mail system.

12. A method of transmitting and receiving electronic mail based on a user'"'"'s availability, comprising the steps of:

automatically storing incoming electronic mail in a user data memory;

determining a time interval that denotes when the user has accessed the data memory, the time interval being a time difference between an arrival time of the electronic mail and an access time by the user;

averaging the time interval for each instance that the user has accessed the data memory;

determining that the user is present if the average time interval is less than a predetermined time interval, and that the user is absent if the average time interval is greater than the predetermined time interval; and

sending the incoming electronic mail to an auxiliary transfer device when the user is absent.