Information processing system for e-mail, information processing method and program storage medium therefor

• US 7,020,650 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2001
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sato, Kazumasa, Sekiguchi, Tetsuya, Takagi, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Greta
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lu, Kuen S.
• Application Number:
  US09/871,094
• Publication Number:
  US 20020184209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/206, 707/1, 707/6, 707/3, 358/1.15
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

At the time of receiving an e-mail, a music melody correlated with a respective e-mail sender is automatically reproduced. The system and the method of the invention comprising the steps of: downloading an e-mail addressed to a respective user from a mail server; extracting a domain name from a mail address of an e-mail sender contained in the downloaded e-mail; and reproducing a music file which is registered in advance as correlated with the domain name extracted, thereby enabling the respective user to recognize who is the sender of the e-mail while downloading it from the mail server.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising:

receiving means for receiving an electronic mail containing electronic mail sender information and a mail text;

first determining means for determining whether said electronic mail sender information corresponds to a specific registered mail account;

reading means for reading a lookup table including a plurality of preset character strings and a corresponding plurality of music files if said electronic mail sender information corresponds to said specific registered mail account;

second determining means for determining if at least one of said plurality of preset character strings is included in said mail text;

retrieving means for retrieving a music file corresponding to said at least one preset character string determined to be included in said mail text; and

means, when the electronic mail has been received, for causing the retrieved music file to be reproduced and for causing a signal to be supplied to a display means representative of the respective title and artist such that the retrieved music file is reproduced simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the display of the respective title and artist on a screen of said display means.

2. The information processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lookup table is set up in advance.

3. The information processing system of claim 1, wherein the respective music file includes a picture file associated with the respective artist, and wherein the causing means causes the picture file to be displayed on said display means when the electronic mail has been received.

4. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

receiving an electronic mail containing electronic mail sender information and a mail text;

determining whether said electronic mail sender information corresponds to a specific registered mail account;

reading a lookup table including a plurality of preset character strings and a corresponding plurality of music files if said electronic mail sender information corresponds to said specific registered mail account;

determining if at least one of said plurality of preset character strings is included in said mail text;

retrieving a music file corresponding to said at least one preset character string determined to be included in said mail text; and

causing, when the electronic mail has been received, the retrieved music file to be reproduced and causing a signal to be supplied to a display means representative of the respective title and artist such that the retrieved music file is reproduced simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the display of the respective title and artist on a screen of said display means.

5. The information processing method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lookup table is set up in advance.

6. The information processing method of claim 4, wherein the respective music file includes a picture file associated with the respective artist, and wherein the causing step causes the picture file to be displayed on said display means when the electronic mail has been received.