Email multicasting device

• US 7,590,700 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2005
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirose, Masaki, Kikuchi, Daisuke, Mori, Mayuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCADAMS, BRAD
• Application Number:
  US11/215,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20060053206A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,477 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

The present invention provides an email multicasting device which changes a distribution interval of emails dynamically in accordance with the number of emails to be multicast. The email multicasting device pre-stores on a client basis, mobile numbers of users which are destinations of an email. The email multicasting device, when receiving mail contents from a client, creates plural emails each of which contains the mail contents and one of mobile numbers associated with the client, and queues the emails in a buffer area. The queued emails are distributed sequentially at predetermined time intervals by the email multicasting device.

Claims

1. An email multicasting device, comprising:

a plurality of buffer areas;

buffer-related information storage means which stores a buffer area identifier of each of the buffer areas in association with interval data indicating a distribution time interval at which emails queued in the buffer area are sent;

client information storage means which stores a client identifier of a client requesting email distribution in association with a plurality of email destinations notified by the client in advance and a buffer area identifier;

distribution request reception means which receives mail contents to be multicast as an email and a client identifier;

buffer area identifying means which reads out a buffer area identifier associated with the client identifier received by the distribution request reception means from the client information storage means, and identifies a buffer area identified by the buffer area identifier;

email creation means which reads out a plurality of email destinations associated with the client identifier received by the distribution request reception means from the client information storage means, and creates a plurality of emails each of which contains the mail contents received by the distribution request reception means and one of the plurality of email destinations;

queuing means which queues the plurality of emails created by the email creation means in the buffer area identified by the buffer area identifying means; and

email distribution means which reads out interval data associated with the buffer area identifier read out by the buffer area identifying means, from the buffer-related information storage means, and distributes the plurality of emails queued by the queuing means sequentially at time intervals indicated by the interval data.

2. An email multicasting device, comprising:

a plurality of buffer areas;

a buffer-related information storage database configured to store a plurality of respective buffer area identifiers of each of the buffer areas in association with interval data indicating a distribution time interval at which emails queued in a respective one of the buffer areas are sent;

a client information storage database configured to store a client identifier of a client requesting email distribution, in association with a buffer area identifier, and a plurality of email destinations previously stored in the client information storage database;

a processor configured to receive a distribution request from the client, the distribution request comprising the client identifier and mail contents to be multicast as an email;

the processor further configured to read out of the client information storage database the buffer area identifier associated with the client identifier received with the distribution request,. and identify a buffer area identified by the buffer area identifier;

the processor further configured to read out of the client information storage database the plurality of email destinations associated with the client identifier received with the distribution request, and create a plurality of email messages each of which contains one of the plurality of email destinations and the mail contents received with the distribution request;

the processor further configured to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area; and

the processor further configured to read out from the buffer-related information storage database the interval data associated with the buffer area identifier, and distribute the queued plurality of created email messages sequentially at the distribution time interval indicated by the interval data.

3. An email multicasting device according to claim 2, wherein the processor further configured to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area further comprises the processor further configured to identify another buffer area that is unoccupied in response to the identified buffer area being already occupied.

4. An email multicasting device according to claim 2, wherein the processor further configured to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area further comprises the processor, in response to the identified buffer area being already occupied, is further configured to stand by and wait until the identified buffer area is unoccupied to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area.

5. An email multicasting device according to claim 2, wherein each of the email destinations is a mobile phone number.

6. An email multicasting device according to claim 2, wherein each of buffer areas are groups of buffer areas, and each of the groups of buffer areas is associated with different interval data.

7. An email multicasting device according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to choose the buffer area identifier for storage in the client information storage database based on a quantity of the plurality of email destinations previously stored in the client information storage database.

8. An email multicasting device, comprising:

a plurality of buffer areas;

a buffer-related information storage database configured to store a plurality of respective buffer area identifiers of each of the buffer areas in association with respective interval data indicating a distribution time interval at which emails queued in a respective one of the buffer areas are sent;

a client information storage database configured to store a buffer area identifier in association with a client identifier of a client requesting email distribution;

a processor configured to receive a distribution request comprising the client identifier, a plurality of email destinations, and mail contents to be multicast to the plurality of email destinations;

the processor further configured to read out of the client information storage database the buffer area identifier associated with the client identifier received in the distribution request and identify a buffer area identified by the buffer area identifier;

the processor further configured to create a plurality of email messages each of which contains one of the plurality of email destinations received in the distribution request, and the mail contents received in the distribution request;

the processor further configured to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area; and

the processor further configured to read out of the buffer-related information storage database the interval data associated with the buffer area identifier, and distribute the queued plurality of created email messages sequentially at the distribution time interval indicated by the interval data.

9. An email multicasting device according to claim 8, wherein the processor further configured to queue the plurality of created email messages in the identified buffer area further comprises the processor further configured to identify another buffer area that is unoccupied in response to the identified buffer area being already occupied.

10. An email multicasting device according to claim 8, wherein the client information storage database is configured to receive a manual entry of the buffer area identifier and the client identifier for storage in one of a plurality of client records included in the client information storage database in advance of receipt by the processor of the distribution request.

11. An email multicasting device, comprising:

a plurality of buffer areas;

a processor configured to store interval data for each of the buffer areas, the interval data indicating a distribution time interval at which emails queued in a respective one of the buffer areas are sent, the interval data stored in association with a range of a quantity of emails, the emails queued in a respective one of the buffer areas are distributed sequentially at the distribution time interval indicated by the interval data of the respective one of the buffer areas;

the processor further configured to receive a client identifier, a plurality of email destinations, and mail contents to be multicast to the email destinations;

the processor further configured to obtain area data indicating a respective area where each of the email destinations is currently located;

the processor further configured to classify into groups the email destinations based on the area data;

the processor further configured to create a plurality of email messages for one of the groups, the created email messages each containing the mail contents and one of the email destinations classified in the one of the groups;

the processor further configured to queue the created email messages in a buffer area;

the processor further configured to determine a total number of the created email messages queued in the buffer area;

the processor further configured to read out the interval data associated with the range within which the total number resides; and

the processor further configured to distribute the created email messages sequentially at the distribution time interval indicated by the interval data.

12. An email multicasting device according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the email destinations, the mail contents, and the client identifier in a distribution request from the user.

13. An email multicasting device according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the mail contents and the client identifier in a distribution request from the user, and receive the email destinations from a database in which the email destinations were prestored prior to receipt of the distribution request.

14. An email multicasting device according to claim 11, wherein the interval data is different for each of the buffer areas.

15. An email multicasting device according to claim 11, wherein each of the email destinations are a mobile phone number of one of a plurality of respective mobile devices, and each of the respective areas includes a current location of at least one of the respective mobile devices.

16. An email multicasting device, comprising:

a memory having a plurality of buffer areas; and

a processor in communication with the memory;

the memory configured with a first database to store a client identifier in association with one of a plurality of buffer area identifiers;

the memory further configured with a second database configured to store interval data in association with a buffer area identifier for each one of the respective buffer areas, the interval data indicating a distribution time interval at which emails queued in the respective one of the buffer areas are sent;

the processor configured to create a plurality of email messages in response to receipt of a distribution request that includes the client identifier and mail contents, each of the email messages created to include the mail contents as the main body, and an address of one of a plurality of email recipients; and

the processor further configured to queue the created email messages in one of the buffer areas identified with the one of the buffer area identifiers stored in association with the client identifier, and sequentially distribute the created email messages at the distribution time interval indicated with the interval data associated with the one of the buffer areas.

17. The email multicasting device of claim 16, wherein the address of each of the email recipients is included in the distribution request.

18. The email multicasting device of claim 16, wherein the address of each of the email recipients is prestored in the first database in association with the client identifier, in advance of receipt of the distribution request.

19. The email multicasting device of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the one of the buffer area identifiers based on a quantity of addresses prestored in the first database in association with the client identifier.

20. The email multicasting device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to access the first database and obtain the one of the buffer area identifiers stored in association with the client identifier received in the distribution request.

21. The email multicasting device of claim 16, wherein the mail content is representative of a main body of an email or a previously prepared document file, and each of the email messages is created to include the mail contents as the main body or the previously prepared document file.

22. The email multicasting device of claim 16, wherein the buffer area identifier is received from the user and stored in the first database.

23. The email multicasting device of claim 22, wherein the buffer area identifier is received in the distribution request.