E-mail reception apparatus and e-mail reception method

• US 8,589,500 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Aono, Tomotake
• Primary Examiner(s): Baturay, Alicia
• Application Number:
  US13/121,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246589A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,513 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails

Abstract

Provided is a communication apparatus (e-mail reception apparatus) capable of storing more contents of necessary e-mails even if only a limited number of e-mails can be stored. An e-mail reception apparatus has a reception unit for receiving an e-mail, a memory unit for storing the e-mail received, and a control unit, if a predetermined event is detected, for controlling to combine e-mails meeting a combination rule among the e-mails stored in the memory unit, to store a combination e-mails in the memory unit and to delete original e-mails.

Claims

1. An e-mail reception apparatus, comprising:

a reception unit for receiving an e-mail;

a memory unit for storing the e-mail received by the reception unit; and

a control unit, if detecting a predetermined event, for controlling to combine e-mails meeting a combination rule among the e-mails stored in the memory unit, to store a combination e-mail in the memory unit and to delete original e-mails,

wherein the combination rule comprises a rule for combining e-mails of non-title received within a predetermined period.

2. The e-mail reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is an event to detect that a number of e-mails stored in the memory unit exceeds a predetermined number.

3. The e-mail reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined event is an event occurred at every predetermined time.

4. The e-mail reception apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit for transmitting an e-mail, wherein the memory unit further stores the e-mail transmitted by the transmission unit, and the control unit controls to combine e-mails meeting the combination rule, among transmitted and received e-mails stored in the memory unit, to store a combination e-mail in the memory unit and to delete original e-mails.

5. The e-mail reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combination rule further comprises one or more of a rule for combining e-mails in association with a particular other party and a rule for combining e-mails including a same character string in subjects.

6. An e-mail reception method comprising the steps of:

receiving an e-mail;

storing the e-mail received at the step of receiving; and

combining, if a predetermined event is detected, e-mails meeting a combination rule among the e-mails stored at the step of storing, storing a combination e-mail, and deleting original e-mails,

wherein the combination rule comprises a rule for combining e-mails of non-title received within a predetermined period.

7. The e-mail reception method according to claim 6, wherein the combination rule further comprises one or more of a rule for combining e-mails in association with a particular other party and a rule for combining e-mails including a same character string in subjects.

8. An e-mail reception apparatus, comprising:

a reception unit for receiving an e-mail;

a memory unit for storing the e-mail received by the reception unit; and

a control unit for controlling to combine e-mails meeting a combination rule among the e-mails and to delete original e-mails,

wherein the combination rule comprises a rule for combining e-mails of non-title received within a predetermined period.

9. The e-mail reception apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the combination rule further comprises one or more of a rule for combining e-mails in association with a particular other party and a rule for combining e-mails including a same character string in subjects.