Permission-based electronic mail delivery system

• US 7,860,931 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2003
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2002
• 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: Enatsu, Tomoko, Soga, Makoto, Yabe, Toshiyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Application Number:
  US10/526,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20060101118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,680 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A transmitting apparatus transmits its own identification information to a terminal station and controls the terminal station to transmit to a relay apparatus a delivery permission registration request including the identification information and the email address of the user of the terminal station. On receiving the delivery permission registration request, the relay apparatus, then, stores in a delivery permission table the identification information of the transmitting apparatus corresponding to the email address, and controls the terminal station to transmit to the transmitting apparatus recipient registration request including the email address. Finally, the transmitting apparatus stores in a recipient list the email address included in the received recipient registration request. Accordingly, an email delivery system is provided, in which, while an email address of a user is registered at a transmitting apparatus offering an email service providing information, the transmitting apparatus offering the email service providing information is surely registered in a delivery permission table, so as to receive only emails which are not regarded as junk mails.

Claims

1. An email delivery system, comprising:

a terminal station accommodated in a first communication network, the terminal station configured to receive emails from senders transmitted via the first communication network;

the terminal station further configured to transmit a registration request to an information provider, and receive identification information from a transmitting apparatus of the information provider responsive to the user registration request, the transmitting apparatus accommodated in a second communication network;

the terminal station further configured to transmit the received identification information of the information provider over the first communication network; and

a relay apparatus configured to receive the identification information of the information provider transmitted from the terminal station over the first communication network, and store the received identification information in association with an email address of a user of the terminal station;

the relay apparatus further configured to control the terminal station to communicate with the information provider to register the email address of the user of the terminal station as a recipient email address at the transmitting apparatus of the information provider identified with the identification information;

the relay apparatus further configured to receive all emails forwarded from the second communication network to the first communication network; and

the relay apparatus further configured to forward to the terminal station only those emails that include the identification information stored by the relay apparatus in association with the email address of the user of the terminal station.

2. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the respective sender is assigned in the second communication network to identify the respective sender.

3. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the respective sender is a prescribed number of characters that begin an email address of the respective sender.

4. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the respective sender is configured as a prescribed number of characters that end an email address of the respective sender.

5. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting apparatus of the respective sender is a plurality of transmitting apparatuses of a plurality of respective senders each having different identification information,

the terminal station further configured to prompt a user of the terminal station to select one of the plurality of respective senders for whom identification information is received, and

the terminal station further configured to transmit the identification information of the one of the plurality of respective senders to the relay apparatus in response to selection by the user of the one of the plurality of respective senders.

6. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the relay apparatus is further configured to control the terminal station so that the terminal station provides a user interface to transmit the identification information to the relay apparatus, and

the relay apparatus is further configured to receive the identification information transmitted in response to a user input received via the user interface.

7. The email delivery system according to claim 6, wherein the relay apparatus is further configured to transmit to the terminal station a file, written in a prescribed language, the file describing procedures to provide the user interface and to cause the terminal station to forward the identification information to the relay apparatus in response to receipt of the user input.

8. The email delivery system according to claim 7, wherein the terminal station is further configured to transmit the identification information and then delete the file transmitted from the relay apparatus.

9. The email delivery system according to claim 7, wherein the relay apparatus is further configured to prohibit the terminal station from storing a locator of the file indicative that the file was provided from the relay apparatus.

10. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the relay apparatus is further configured to determine whether to allow the user of the terminal station to make use of the relay apparatus itself, upon receipt of the identification information transmitted from the terminal station;

and

only in a case of allowing the user to make use of the relay apparatus, the relay apparatus is further configured to obtain the email address of the user, and store the obtained email address in association with the identification information transmitted from the terminal station.

11. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal station is further configured to transmit to the relay apparatus the received identification information as well as time information indicating a time the identification information is received from the transmitting apparatus,

the relay apparatus is further configured to compare the time information to a time of receipt by the relay apparatus of the identification information and the time information transmitted from the terminal station, and

the relay apparatus is further configured to store the received identification information only in a case that a difference between the time information and the time of receipt is shorter than a predetermined period of time.

12. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein

the identification information comprises a registration screen, and the terminal station is further configured to provide the registration screen in a user interface to prompt for transmittal of the identification information to the relay apparatus, and

the relay apparatus is further configured to receive an identifier of the terminal station and a delivery permission request transmitted in response to a user input to the registration screen received via the user interface.

13. The email delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the relay apparatus is configured to control the terminal station using a file transmitted from the relay apparatus to the terminal station, the file executable with the terminal station to initiate communication with the information provider to register the email address of the user of the terminal station.

14. The email delivery system according to claim 13, wherein the file is executable by the terminal station in response to a user input to the terminal station, the file executable to generate a request for registration information from the information provider.

15. A relay apparatus, comprising:

a first communication unit configured to receive identification information from a terminal station over a first communication network, the identification information identifying a sender of an email which a user of the terminal station wishes to receive;

a storage unit configured to store the identification information received by the first communication unit in association with an email address of the user of the terminal station;

a processor configured to direct the terminal station to transmit a request to register the email address of the user as a recipient email address at a transmitting apparatus of the sender identified with the identification information; and

a second communication unit configured to receive emails over a second communication network, the second communication network different from the first communication network;

the processor further configured to forward to the terminal station over the first communication network those received emails confirmed to include the identification information of the sender stored in association with the email address of the user.

16. The relay apparatus of claim 15, wherein the identification information is included in a first file generated with the transmitting apparatus, the first file configured to provide a display on the terminal station, the first file further configured to enable the transmitting apparatus to generate and initiate transmission to the relay apparatus of a request for a second file from the relay apparatus, the second file including an identifier of the terminal station.

17. The relay apparatus of claim 16, wherein the identifier of the terminal station is a telephone number of the terminal station, and the relay apparatus is further configured to identify the email address of the user of the terminal station based on the telephone number, and store the identification information in association with the telephone number and the email address of the user.

18. The relay apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to generate and transmit to the terminal station a delivery permission registration screen for display with the terminal station to direct the terminal station to transmit the request, the delivery permission registration screen comprising a user selection selectable by the user to initiate generation and transmittal to the transmitting apparatus of the request to register the email address of the user at the transmitting apparatus.

19. The relay apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to direct the terminal station with a first file transmitted from the relay apparatus to the terminal station, the first file executable by the terminal station to generate a user input instruction screen and the request, the request generated by the terminal station by execution of the first file in response to receipt of a user input in the user input instruction screen.

20. The relay apparatus of claim 19, wherein the request comprises an identifier of a second file available from the sender of the email, the second file executable by the terminal station to generate a user input registration screen.

21. A method of selectively delivering email messages to a terminal station, the method comprising:

a relay device communicating with the terminal station over a first communication network;

the relay device also communicating with an information providing server over a second communication network;

the relay device receiving from the terminal station identification information of the information providing server, the identification information obtained by the terminal station from the information providing server;

the relay device storing the identification information in association with an identifier of a user of the terminal station;

the relay device directing the terminal station to register with the information providing server to receive communications from the information providing server;

the relay device receiving over the second communication network an email addressed to the user of the terminal station based on registration by the terminal station with the information providing server;

confirming with the relay device that the email includes the identification information of the information providing server stored in association with the identifier of the user of the terminal station; and

the relay device, responsive to confirmation, relaying the email to the terminal station over the first communication network.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the initial act of transmitting, with the terminal station, a service registration request for receipt by the information providing server, and receiving with the terminal station from the information providing server the identification information of the information providing server in response to the service registration request.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving with the terminal station the identification information comprises displaying a process instruction screen on the terminal station, and generating and transmitting to the relay device a relay registration request that includes the identification information in response to receipt of a user selection from the process instruction screen.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the relay device directing the terminal station to register with the information providing server comprises the relay device transmitting a file for receipt and display by the terminal station, the file comprising a user selection to initiate registration, and code responsive to selection by the user of the user selection to generate and transmit a registration request to the information providing server.