Electronic mail system with sorting function of destination address in accordance with reception frequency data

• US 5,812,770 A
• Filed: 04/28/1995
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakai, Masato
• Primary Examiner(s): Lall, Parshotam S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US08/430,255
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.01, 395/200.04, 395/200.16
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

In an electric mail system, when an electric mail is received from another electric mail system, source data is extracted from the electric mail, and it is checked whether destination data identical to the source data is stored in a destination data file. If no identical destination data is stored in the destination data file, the source data is stored, as destination data, in the destination data file, and reception frequency data indicting the reception frequency of the electric mail is generated. In contrast to this, if identical destination data is stored in the destination data file, the reception frequency data is updated. Every time an electric mail is received, the destination data stored in the destination data file are sorted in accordance with reception frequency data. When an electric mail is to be transmitted, retrieval is performed with respect to the destination data file and the destination database to select predetermined destination data. The selected destination data is added to the electric mail to be transmitted.

Claims

1. An electronic mail system comprising:

receiving and transmitting means for receiving an electronic mail having a message and a source address and for transmitting the electronic mail;

extracting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for automatically extracting the source address from the received electronic mail;

address storage means, operatively coupled to the extracting means, for storing a plurality of destination addresses, wherein the extracting means, upon extracting the source address from the received electronic mail, determines whether the extracted source address has already been stored in the address storage means and, if not, stores the extracted source address as one of the plurality of destination addresses;

message storage means, operatively coupled to the receiving and transmitting means, for storing a message to be transmitted;

selecting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for selecting one destination address from the plurality of destination addresses stored in the address storage means;

means, operatively coupled to the message storage means, for reading out the message from the message storage means, adding the selected one destination address to the message read out from the message storage means, and for causing the receiving and transmitting means to transmit electronic mail consisting of the selected destination address and the message read out from the message storage means to another electronic mail system;

generating means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for generating reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address in response to the extraction of the source address by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being indicative of a number of receptions of electronic mail having the source address; and

sorting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for sorting the destination addresses stored in the address storage means according to the reception frequency data.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising address input means for inputting another one of the plurality of destination addresses to the system, wherein the destination address input via the input means is stored by the address storage means.

3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising reception frequency data generating means for generating reception frequency data corresponding to the source address extracted by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being generated in response to the extracting of the source address by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being indicative of a number of electronic mail receptions in which the source address has been extracted by the extracting means.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the reception frequency data generating means includes means, when an identical destination address has already been stored in the address storage means, for updating the reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address.

5. A system according to claim 3, further comprising a display means for displaying the destination addresses stored in the address storage means, wherein the display means displays the stored destination address in an order based on the reception frequency data.

6. In an electronic mail system connected with another electronic mail system, the electronic mail system having an address memory storing a plurality of destination addresses therein and a message memory storing messages therein, an electronic mail transmission/reception method comprising the steps of:

receiving an electronic mail having a message and a source address;

extracting the source address from the received electronic mail automatically;

determining whether the extracted source address corresponds to at least one of the plurality of destination addresses stored in the address memory;

storing the extracted source address as one of the plurality of destination addresses in the address memory if it is determined in the determining step that the extracted source address does not correspond to at least one of the plurality of destination addresses already stored in the address memory;

storing a message to be transmitted in the message memory;

selecting a destination address corresponding to a location where the message is to be transmitted from the plurality of destination addresses stored in the address memory in accordance with an input command;

reading out the message from the message memory;

adding the destination address selected in the selecting step to the readout message;

transmitting an electronic mail consisting of the destination address selected in the selecting step and the message read out from the message memory to another electronic mail system;

generating reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address, the reception frequency data being indicative of a number of receptions of electronic mail having the source address; and

sorting the destination addresses stored in the address memory according to the reception frequency data.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of displaying the destination addresses stored in the address memory on a display device.

8. A method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of inputting a destination address, and storing the input destination address in the address memory.

9. A method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

generating reception frequency data in response to the extracting of the source address, the reception freguency data being indicative of a number of electronic mail receptions in which the source address has been extracted; and

storing the reception frequency data in the address memory, wherein the destination addresses and reception frequency data are stored in the address memory in one-to-one correspondence.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of displaying the destination addresses stored in the address memory on a display device in an order based on the reception frequency data.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the generating step includes the step of, in the event that an identical destination address has already been stored in the address memory during the determining step, updating the reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address.

12. An electronic mail system comprising:

receiving and transmitting means for receiving an electronic mail having a message and a source address and for transmitting the electronic mail;

a first address memory storing a plurality of destination addresses, the first address memory being operatively coupled to the receiving and transmitting means;

extracting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for automatically extracting the source address from the received electronic mail in response to the reception of the electronic mail by the receiving and transmitting means, for determining whether the extracted source address corresponds to at least one of the plurality of destination addresses stored in the first address memory and, if not, storing the extracted source address as one of the plurality of destination addresses in the first address memory;

generating means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for generating reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address in response to the extraction of the source address by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being indicative of a number of receptions of electronic mail having the source address;

sorting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for sorting the destination addresses stored in the first address memory according to the reception frequency data;

a message memory storing a message to be transmitted, the message memory being operatively coupled to the receiving and transmitting means;

address input means for inputting a destination address and group data designating the destination addresses as corresponding to a group;

a second address memory for storing the input destination addresses and the group data;

first display means for displaying the input destination addresses stored in the second address memory in an order that is based on the group data;

second display means for displaying the sorted destination addresses stored in the first address memory;

selecting means for selecting one destination address from the displayed destination address; and

means, operatively coupled to the message memory, for reading out the message from the message memory, for adding the selected destination address to the readout message, and for causing the receiving and transmitting means to transmit an electronic mail having the selected address and the readout message to another electronic mail system.

13. An electronic mail system comprising:

receiving and transmitting means for receiving an electronic mail having a message and a source address and for transmitting the electronic mail;

extracting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for automatically extracting the source address from the received electronic mail;

address storage means, operatively coupled to the extracting means, for storing a plurality of destination addresses, wherein the extracting means, upon extracting the source address from the received electronic mail, determines whether the extracted source address has already been stored in the address storage means and, if not, stores the extracted source address as one of the plurality of destination addresses;

message storage means, operatively coupled to the receiving and transmitting means, for storing a message to be transmitted;

selecting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for selecting one destination address from the plurality of destination addresses stored in the address storage means;

means, operatively coupled to the message storage means, for reading out the message from the message storage means, adding the selected one destination address to the message read out from the message storage means, and for causing the receiving and transmitting means to transmit electronic mail consisting of the selected destination address and the message read out from the message storage means to another electronic mail system;

reception frequency data generating means for generating reception frequency data corresponding to the source address extracted by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being generated in response to the extracting of the source address by the extracting means, the reception frequency data being indicative of a number of electronic mail receptions in which the source address has been extracted by the extracting means, and, when an identical destination address has already been stored in the address storage means, for updating the reception frequency data corresponding to the extracted source address;

sorting means, operatively associated with the receiving and transmitting means, for sorting the destination addresses stored in the address storage means according to the reception frequency data; and

display means for displaying the destination addresses stored in the address storage means, wherein the display means displays the stored destination address in an order based on the reception frequency data.