Mail notification apparatus and a mail notification method

• US 20010034226A1
• Filed: 04/18/2001
• Published: 10/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Communications Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Shinichi, Nagatsuka, Toshio
• Granted Patent: US 6,850,757 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A mail notification apparatus is provided that enables a user of a cellular phone to know of the arrival of an electronic mail, even when the user is away from his/her office. The mail notification apparatus stores an electronic mail address of a local mail account in association with a mail address of a cellular phone. When it is determined that the electronic mail has arrived at the electronic mail address, the mail notification apparatus notifies, by using electronic mail, the arrival of the electronic mail to the cellular phone through the Internet and a communication vender mail server.

Claims

1. A mail notification apparatus comprising:

a memory section that stores an electronic mail address of a cellular phone in association with a predetermined electronic mail address;

a mail transmitter that transmits an electronic mail to the electronic mail address of the cellular phone stored in the memory section; and

a controller that controls the mail transmitter, when an electronic mail has arrived at the predetermined electronic mail address, to transmit an arrival notification message to the electronic mail address of the cellular phone that corresponds to the predetermined electronic mail address.

2. The mail notification apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein the controller controls the mail transmitter to transmit body text of the arrived electronic mail together with the arrival notification message.

3. The mail notification apparatus according to

claim 2

, wherein, when the body text of the arrived electronic mail has less than a predetermined number of characters, the controller controls the mail transmitter to transmit the body text to the electronic mail address of the cellular phone, and when the body text of the arrived electronic mail has more than the predetermined number of characters, the controller controls the mail transmitter to transmit only the arrival notification message,

wherein the predetermined number of characters is a number of characters that can be simultaneously displayed on the display of the cellular phone corresponding to the electronic mail address of the cellular phone.

4. The mail notification apparatus according to

claim 2

, wherein, when the body text of the arrived electronic mail has more than the predetermined number of characters, the controller controls the mail transmitter to transmit an amount of the body text of the arrived electronic mail not greater than the number of characters that can be simultaneously displayed on the display of the cellular phone corresponding to the electronic mail address of the cellular phone.

5. The mail notification apparatus according to

claim 1

, wherein, when the electronic mail that arrives is a multipart mail, the controller controls the mail transmitter to transmit an arrival notification message that further informs of the arrival of the multipart mail.

6. A method of notifying arrival of an electronic mail, comprising:

determining whether an electronic mail arrives at a predetermined electronic mail address;

notifying an electronic mail address of a cellular phone, by using electronic mail, of the arrival of the electronic mail at the predetermined electronic mail address, when it is determined that the electronic mail has arrived, the electronic mail address of the cellular phone being pre-associated with the predetermined electronic mail address.