Information gathering system

• US 9,172,684 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2013
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Shinichi, Higuma, Hiroko, Enomoto, Ai
• Primary Examiner(s): Su, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US14/019,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20140006774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 713/150, 713/189, 726/22, 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload

Abstract

A host computer adds a keycode to e-mail and a terminal unit leads an information gathering candidate to add reply information to the e-mail. When the host computer receives the e-mail to which reply information has been added, the host computer stores the reply information in one of data storage areas having a memory address corresponding to a memory address associated the keycode of the e-mail.

Claims

1. An information gathering system comprising:

a host unit in communication with a network and including a memory unit, the memory unit having a plurality of data storage areas, each of the data storage areas being respectively associated with one of a plurality of memory addresses; and

a terminal unit in communication with the network, wherein

the host unit

creates e-mail including one or more sorts of identification information, wherein

the identification information is associated with one of the memory addresses of the plurality of memory addresses in accordance with a predetermined correspondence rule,

encrypts at least the one or more sorts of identification information, and

sends the e-mail that includes the one or more sorts of identification information that has been encrypted to the network;

the terminal unit

receives from the network the e-mail including the one or more sorts of identification information that has been encrypted,

decrypts the one or more sorts of identification information received from the network, using a decryption password sent to the terminal unit, and

causes a printer to print information printed material so that the one or more sorts of identification information included in the e-mail that has been received and decrypted is printed on the information printed material, and

the host unit

reads the information printed material on which the one or more sorts of identification information has been printed,

decodes the one or more sorts of identification information printed on the information printed material using a decoding password and converts written information written in a predetermined position of the information printed material into data, and

stores the data of the written information in one of the data storage areas of the plurality of data storage areas as a reply of an information gathering candidate so that a memory address of the one of the data storage areas corresponds to a memory address associated with the one or more sorts of identification information printed on the information printed material.

2. The information gathering system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal unit causes the printer to print the information printed material so that the one or more sorts of identification information is printed as a two-dimensional bar-code.