INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF FILE TRANSMISSION AND INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS IN THE SYSTEM

• US 20010042093A1
• Filed: 06/08/1998
• Published: 11/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: BABA, TAKESHI, YAMOTO, SHUJI, SHIRAI, MASAHIKO, NAKAI, AKIYA, KANDA, TOKUKU
• Granted Patent: US 6,466,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments

Abstract

In a mail sending apparatus, an attached file generation unit generates an attached file in which an access method for a designated file is described. A mail tool attaches the attached file to a mail message to form mail data, and transmits it to a designated destination through a mail server. In a mail receiving apparatus, a mail reader extracts the attached file from the mail data received through a mail server. An attached file analysis unit analyzes the access method described in the attached file. A file reception unit accesses a file management/transmission tool in accordance with the access method to receive and display the designated file.

Claims

1. An information processing system capable of transmitting a file on a network, comprising:

generation means for, in generating mail data, generating an attached file in which an access method for a designated file is described;

communication means for transmitting/receiving, through the network, the mail data to which the attached file generated by said generation means is attached;

extraction means for extracting the attached file from the received mail data; and

acquisition means for acquiring the designated file through the network in accordance with the access method described in the attached file extracted by said extraction means.

2. The system according to

claim 1

, wherein said acquisition means includes:

issue means used by a file receiving apparatus to issue a file transmission request on the basis of the access method described in the attached file;

search means used by a file sending apparatus to search for a corresponding file on the basis of the transmission request upon reception of the transmission request; and

transmission means for transmitting the file searched out to said file receiving apparatus.

3. The system according to

claim 1

, wherein said generation means includes:

display means for displaying a file list;

designation means for designating a desired file in the list displayed by said display means; and

means for generating an attached file in which an access method for the file designated by said designation means is described.

4. The system according to

claim 1

, further comprising display means for displaying the file acquired by said acquisition means.

5. The system according to

claim 1

, wherein said acquisition means acquires the designated file by activating a suitable browser program on the basis of the access method described in the attached file extracted by said extraction means, and transferring an access address described in the access method to said browser program.

6. The system according to

claim 1

, wherein the access method described in the attached file indicates a transfer protocol, an address indicating a location of a file, and a data format of the file.

7. The system according to

claim 1

, further comprising a proxy server for mediating communication of the file acquired by said acquisition means.

8. The system according to

claim 7

, wherein said proxy server includes:

holding means for holding a file transmitted/received by said acquisition means through the network; and

transmission means for, when the file requested by said acquisition means is held in said holding means, transmitting the held file to a request source through said proxy server.

9. The system according to

claim 8

, wherein said generation means describes an access method for said proxy server in the attached file.

10. The system according to

claim 8

, wherein said communication means transmits the mail data and causes said holding means of said proxy server to hold the file designated by the attached file.

11. The system according to

claim 2

, further comprising checking means for checking validity of a file searched out by said search means, on the basis of attribute information of the file.

12. The system according to

claim 11

, wherein said generation means generates an attached file in which an access method for a designated file and attribute information of the designated file are described, and

said checking means contains the attribute information of the file described in the attached file in a file transmission request issued by said issue means, and determines validity of the searched file on the basis of attributes of the file searched out by said search means and the attribute information contained in the transmission request.

13. The system according to

claim 12

, wherein said checking means inhibits said transmission means from transmitting the searched file upon detecting that the searched file is invalid.

14. The system according to

claim 11

, wherein the attribute information includes a data size of the file.

15. The system according to

claim 11

, wherein the attribute information includes a final update date of the file.

16. The system according to

claim 11

, wherein the attribute information includes version information of the file.

17. The system according to

claim 2

, further comprising:

registration means for, when an attached file is generated by said generation means, registering a file described in the attached file in a file list; and

transmission recording means for recording a transmission state in the file list depending on how a file is acquired by said acquisition means.

18. The system according to

claim 17

, wherein when said transmission means issues a file transmission request, said transmission recording means handles the corresponding file in the file list as a transmitted file.

19. The system according to

claim 17

, wherein said registration means records a mail sender name and a file receiver name for each file in the file list, and

said search means makes a search in accordance with the file request when the mail sender name and the file receiver name contained in the transmission request coincide with the mail sender name and the file receiver name registered in the file list.

20. The system according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

an access list in which users who can be file destinations are registered in units of transmission target files; and

setting means for setting a destination of mail to which an attached file generated by said generation means is attached, on the basis of a file destination obtained from said access list for a file designated in the attached file.

21. The system according to

claim 20

, wherein said setting means sets all file destinations registered in said access list for a file designated in said attached file as destinations of mail to which the attached file is attached.

22. The system according to

claim 20

, wherein said setting means includes:

display control means for displaying file destinations registered in said access list for a file designated in the attached file; and

means for setting a designated file destination of the file destinations displayed by said display control means as a destination of mail to which the attached file is attached.

23. The system according to

claim 1

, further comprising:

an access list in which users who can be file destinations are registered in units of transmission target files; and

limiting means for limiting, in said communication means, a destination of mail to which an attached file generated by said generation means is attached, on the basis of a file destination obtained from said access list for a file designated in the attached file.

24. The system according to

claim 1

, wherein a file for which a receiving apparatus is designated in the attached file is copied under the control of a server accessed by the access method so as to allow access to the file in accordance with the access method described in the attached file.

25. An information processing apparatus which can be applied to an information processing system capable of transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, comprising:

designation means for designating a file to be transmitted;

generation means for generating an attached file in which an access method for the designated file is described;

first transmission means for attaching an attached file generated by said generation means to a mail message to form mail data, and transmitting the mail data to a designated destination through the network;

search means for receiving a file request from the destination and searching for a file in accordance with the file request; and

second transmission means for transmitting the file searched out by said search means to the destination.

26. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, wherein said generation means includes:

display means for displaying a file list;

designation means for designating a desired file in the list displayed by said display means; and

means for generating an attached file in which an access method for the file designated by said designation means is described.

27. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, wherein the access method described in the attached file indicates a transfer protocol, an address indicating a location of a file, and a data format of the file.

28. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, further comprising checking means for checking validity of a file searched out by said search means, on the basis of attribute information contained in the file request.

29. The apparatus according to

claim 28

, wherein said checking means inhibits said second transmission means from transmitting the searched file upon determining that the searched file is invalid.

30. The apparatus according to

claim 28

, wherein the attribute information includes a data size of the file.

31. The apparatus according to

claim 28

, wherein the attribute information includes a final update date of the file.

32. The apparatus according to

claim 28

, wherein the attribute information includes version information of the file.

33. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, further comprising:

registration means for, when an attached file is generated by said generation means, registering a file described in the attached file in a file list; and

transmission recording means for recording a transmission state in the file list depending on how a file is transmitted by said second transmission means.

34. The apparatus according to

claim 33

, wherein said registration means records a mail sender name and a file receiver name for each file in the file list, and

said search means makes a search in accordance with the file request when the mail sender name and the file receiver name contained in the transmission request coincide with the mail sender name and the file receiver name registered in the file list.

35. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, further comprising:

an access list in which users who can be file destinations are registered in units of transmission target files; and

setting means for setting a destination of mail to which an attached file generated by said generation means is attached, on the basis of a file destination obtained from said access list for a file designated in the attached file.

36. The apparatus according to

claim 35

, wherein said setting means sets all file destinations registered in said access list for a file designated in said attached file as destinations of mail to which the attached file is attached.

37. The apparatus according to

claim 35

, wherein said setting means includes:

display control means for displaying file destinations registered in said access list for a file designated in the attached file; and

means for setting a designated file destination of the file destinations displayed by said display control means as a destination of mail to which the attached file is attached.

38. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, further comprising:

an access list in which users who can be file destinations are registered in units of transmission target files; and

limiting means for limiting, in said communication means, a destination of mail to which an attached file generated by said generation means is attached, on the basis of a file destination obtained from said access list for a file designated in the attached file.

39. The apparatus according to

claim 25

, wherein a file for which a receiving apparatus is designated in the attached file is copied under the control of a server accessed by the access method so as to allow access to the file in accordance with the access method described in the attached file.

42. The apparatus according to

claim 38

, wherein said acquisition means activates a browser program to be applied on the basis of the access method described in the attached file extracted by said extraction means, and transfers an access address described in the access method to the browser, thereby acquiring the designated file.

40. An information processing apparatus which can be applied to an information processing system capable of transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, comprising:

reception means for receiving external mail data;

extraction means for extracting the attached file from the mail data received by said reception means; and

acquisition means for acquiring the designated file in accordance with an access method described in the attached file extracted by said extraction means.

41. The apparatus according to

claim 40

, further comprising display means for displaying the file acquired by said acquisition means.

43. A control method for an information processing system capable of transmitting a file on a network, comprising:

the generation step of, in generating mail data, generating an attached file in which an access method for a designated file is designated;

the communication step of transmitting/receiving, through the network, mail data to which the attached file generated in the generation step is attached;

the extraction step of extracting the attached file from the received mail data; and

the acquisition step of acquiring the designated file through the network in accordance with the access method described in the attached file extracted in the extraction step.

44. An information processing method for an information processing system capable of transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, comprising:

the designation step of designating a file to be transmitted;

the generation step of generating an attached file in which an access method for the designated file is described;

the first transmission step of attaching an attached file generated in the generation step to a mail message to form mail data, and transmitting the mail data to a designated destination through the network;

the search step of receiving a file request from the destination and searching for a file in accordance with the file request; and

the second transmission step of transmitting the file searched out in the search step to the destination.

45. An information processing method for an information processing system capable of transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, comprising:

the reception step of receiving external mail data;

extraction means for extracting the attached file from the mail data received in the reception step; and

the acquisition step of acquiring the designated file in accordance with an access method described in the attached file extracted in the extraction step.

46. A computer readable memory storing a control program for transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, the control program comprising:

a code for the designation step of designating a file to be transmitted;

a code for the generation step of generating an attached file in which an access method for the designated file is described;

a code for the first transmission step of attaching an attached file generated in the generation step to a mail message to form mail data, and transmitting the mail data to a designated destination through the network;

a code for the search step of receiving a file request from the destination and searching for a file in accordance with the file request; and

a code for the second transmission step of transmitting the file searched out in the search step to the destination.

47. A computer readable memory storing a control program for transmitting a file by using a mail system on a network, the control program comprising:

a code for the reception step of receiving external mail data;

a code for extraction means for extracting the attached file from the mail data received in the reception step; and

a code for the acquisition step of acquiring the designated file in accordance with an access method described in the attached file extracted in the extraction step.