Service email system for transmitting advertisement email to a group of terminals only if transfer constraint and transmission conditions are satisfied

• US 7,203,727 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2003
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Shintaro, Fukuizumi, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US10/366,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/218, 709/219, 709/217, 705/26, 705/14, 705/2, 707/102, 707/1, 725/23, 725/42
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

A service e-mail providing system includes n (n is an integer more than m, and m is an integer more than 1) terminals which are connected a communication network. An e-mail server is connected with the communication network, and has an e-mail database in which a service e-mail and an advertisement e-mail are stored, and the advertisement e-mail contains advertisement data. The e-mail server transmits the advertisement e-mail to a first one of m terminal of the n terminals, such that the advertisement e-mail are transferred between the m terminals, users of the m terminals satisfying the transfer constraint condition. When a transmission condition is satisfied during the transfer of the advertisement e-mail, the e-mail server transmits the service e-mail to the m terminals.

Claims

1. A service e-mail providing system comprising:

n (n is an integer more than m, and m is an integer more than

     1) terminals which are connected a communication network; and

an e-mail server which is connected with said communication network, and has an e-mail database in which a service e-mail and an advertisement e-mail are stored,

wherein said advertisement e-mail contains advertisement data,

said e-mail server transmits said advertisement e-mail to a first one of m terminal of said n terminals, such that said advertisement e-mail are transferred between said m terminals, users of said m terminals satisfying a transfer constraint condition, and

when a transmission condition is satisfied during the transfer of said advertisement e-mail, said e-mail server transmits said service e-mail to said m terminals.

2. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, wherein said e-mail server has a service e-mail transmission condition database which stores said transmission condition,

said transmission condition contains a predetermined count value, and

said e-mail server determines that said transmission condition is satisfied, when a number of times of the transfer of said advertisement e-mail reaches said predetermined count value.

3. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 2, wherein said transmission condition contains a transfer time limit in addition to said predetermined count value, and

said e-mail server determines that said transmission condition is satisfied, when the number of times of the transfer of said advertisement e-mail reaches said predetermined count value, before said transfer time limit passed away.

4. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 3, wherein said e-mail server determines that said transmission condition is not satisfied, when the number of times of the transfer of said advertisement e-mail does not reach said predetermined count value, before said transfer time limit passed away, and

said e-mail server transmits a consolation e-mail to ones of said m terminals to which said advertisement e-mail has been transferred.

5. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, wherein said e-mail server receives a specific e-mail, when a transfer source terminal as one of said m terminals transfers said advertisement e-mail to a transfer destination terminal as another of said m terminals, while said advertisement e-mail is transferred between said m terminals, and

said e-mail server checks whether said transmission condition is satisfied, when said specific e-mail is received by said e-mail server.

6. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said specific e-mail is said advertisement e-mail.

7. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said specific e-mail is a copy of said advertisement e-mail.

8. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said e-mail server extracts an e-mail address of said transfer source terminal and an e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal from the received specific e-mail, and

when said transfer condition is satisfied, said e-mail server transmits said service e-mail to said m terminals based on said e-mail addresses extracted during the transfer of said advertisement e-mail between said m terminal.

9. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 8, wherein said e-mail server checks whether said e-mail address of the extracted transfer destination terminal is coincident with any of e-mail addresses already extracted, and

when said e-mail address of the extracted transfer destination terminal is coincident with any of e-mail addresses already extracted, said e-mail server transmits a first alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set an e-mail address of another terminal in said advertisement e-mail instead of the e-mail address currently set.

10. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said transfer constraint condition contains a predetermined destination location,

said e-mail server checks whether a location of said transfer destination terminal satisfies said predetermined destination location, and

when the location of said transfer destination terminal does not satisfy said predetermined destination location, said e-mail server transmits a second alert to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set an e-mail address of another terminal located in said predetermined destination location in said advertisement e-mail instead of the e-mail address currently set.

11. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said transfer constraint condition contains a predetermined attribute of said user,

said e-mail server checks whether an attribute of said user of said transfer destination terminal satisfies said predetermined attribute of said user, and

when the attribute of said,user of said transfer destination terminal does not satisfy said predetermined attribute of said user, said e-mail server transmits a third alert to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail instead of the e-mail address currently set, an e-mail address of another terminal whose user satisfies said predetermined attribute.

12. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 5, wherein said e-mail server holds a count value of a number of times of the transfer of said advertisement e-mail,

said transfer destination terminal displays said advertisement e-mail when receiving said advertisement e-mail, and generates a progress inquiry notice in response to an operation of said transfer destination terminal,

said e-mail server transmits said count value to said transfer destination terminal in response to said progress inquiry notice, and

said transfer destination terminal displays the count value.

13. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, wherein said e-mail server further comprises a fee charging section which transmits a communication fee e-mail notice for said advertisement e-mail to said m terminals.

14. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, wherein when said fee charging section receives an account change notice from one of said m terminals before transmitting said communication fee e-mail notice to said one terminal, said fee charging section transmits said communication charge e-mail to said one terminal.

15. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, further comprising first and second terminals,

wherein said first terminal transmits said service e-mail to said e-mail server,

said second terminal transmits an e-mail containing specific data and a condition e-mail containing said transmission condition and said transfer constraint condition to said e-mail server, and

said e-mail server produce said advertisement e-mail based on said specific data, said transmission condition and said transfer constraint condition.

16. The service e-mail providing system according to claim 1, further comprising first and second terminals,

wherein said first terminal transmits said service e-mail and a condition e-mail containing said transmission condition and said transfer constraint condition to said e-mail server,

said second terminal transmits an e-mail containing specific data to said e-mail server, and

said e-mail server produce said advertisement e-mail based on said specific data, said transmission condition and said transfer constraint condition.

17. An e-mail transfer server connected with n terminals (n is an integer more than 2) via a communication network, comprises:

an e-mail database which stores a service e-mail and an advertisement e-mail;

an advertisement e-mail transmitting section which transmits an advertisement e-mail to a first terminal of said n terminals;

an advertisement e-mail receiving section which receives said advertisement e-mail while said advertisement e-mail is sequentially transferred from a transfer source terminal of said n terminals to a transfer destination terminal of said n terminals, the received advertisement e-mail contains an e-mail addresses of said transfer source terminal and an e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal;

an address extracting section which extracts said e-mail addresses of said transfer source terminal and said transfer destination terminal from the received advertisement e-mail; and

a service e-mail transmitting section which transmits said service e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses when a transmission condition of said service e-mail is satisfied, and said n terminals satisfies a transfer constraint condition of said advertisement e-mail.

18. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 17, further comprising:

a condition determining section,

wherein said advertisement e-mail contains a predetermined transfer count value as said transmission condition,

said condition determining section checks whether said current transfer count value satisfies said predetermined transfer count value, and

said service e-mail transmitting section transmits said service e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses when said current transfer count value satisfies said predetermined transfer count value.

19. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 18, further comprising:

a monitoring section; and

a consolation e-mail transmitting section,

wherein said transmission condition contains a predetermined time limit,

said monitoring section checks whether a predetermined time limit passed, and

said consolation e-mail transmitting section transmits a consolation e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses to notify that said transmission condition is not satisfied when said predetermined time limit passed without satisfying said predetermined transfer count value.

20. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 18, wherein said condition determining section determines whether said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal is equal to any of e-mail addresses already extracted when said address extracting section extracts said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal from the received advertisement e-mail, and

when said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal is equal to any of said e-mail addresses already extracted, said advertisement e-mail transmitting section transmits a first alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal other than terminals corresponding to the e-mail addresses already extracted.

21. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 18, wherein said advertisement e-mail transmitting section writes said current transfer count value in said advertisement e-mail transferred to said transfer destination terminal, and said current transfer count value is j+1.

22. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 18, wherein said advertisement e-mail receiving section receives a transfer count value inquiry notice from said transfer destination terminal, and

said advertisement e-mail transmitting section transmits said current transfer count value to said transfer destination terminal in response to transfer count value inquiry notice.

23. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 17, wherein a current destination location of said transfer destination terminal is contained in said received advertisement e-mail,

said transfer constraint condition contains transfer constraint condition which contains a predetermined destination location,

said condition determining section checks whether said current destination location satisfies said predetermined destination location, and

when said current destination location does not satisfy said predetermined destination location, said advertisement e-mail transmitting section transmits a second alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal satisfying said predetermined destination location.

24. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 17, wherein said transfer constraint condition contains a predetermined attribute,

said condition determining section checks whether an attribute of a user of said transfer destination terminal satisfies said predetermined attribute, and

when said attribute of said destination does not satisfy said predetermined attribute, said advertisement e-mail transmitting section transmits a third alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal satisfying said predetermined attribute.

25. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 17, wherein said advertisement e-mail received by said advertisement e-mail receiving section is a copy of said advertisement e-mail which is transferred from said transfer source terminal to said transfer destination terminal.

26. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 17, further comprising:

a fee charging section which transmits a communication fee notice showing a communication fee of said advertisement e-mail.

27. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 26, wherein said fee charging section transmits said communication fee notice to one of said n terminals when receiving an account change notice from said one terminal of said n terminals, before transmitting said communication fee notice to said one terminal.

28. A recording medium storing a program for an e-mail transfer method in an e-mail server connected with n terminals (n is an integer more than 2) via a communication network, said method comprises:

(a) transmitting an advertisement e-mail to a first terminal of said n terminals;

(b) receiving said advertisement e-mail while said advertisement e-mail is sequentially transferred from a transfer source terminal of said n terminals to a transfer destination terminal of said n terminals, the received advertisement e-mail contains an e-mail addresses of said transfer source terminal and an e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal;

(c) extracting said e-mail addresses of said transfer source terminal and said transfer destination terminal from the received advertisement e-mail; and

(d) transmitting a service e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses when a transmission condition of said service e-mail is satisfied, and said n terminals satisfies a transfer constraint condition of said advertisement e-mail.

29. The recording medium according to claim 28, wherein said advertisement e-mail contains a predetermined transfer count value as said transmission condition, and

said method further comprising:

checking whether said current transfer count value satisfies said predetermined transfer count value; and

said (d) transmitting step includes transmitting said service e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses when said current transfer count value satisfies said predetermined transfer count value.

30. The e-mail transfer server according to claim 29, wherein said transmission condition contains a predetermined time limit, and

said method further comprises:

checking whether a predetermined time limit passed; and

transmitting a consolation e-mail to said n terminals based on the extracted e-mail addresses to notify that said transmission condition is not satisfied when said predetermined time limit passed without satisfying said predetermined transfer count value.

31. The recording medium according to claim 29, wherein said method further comprises:

checking whether said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal is equal to any of e-mail addresses already extracted when said address extracting section extracts said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal from the received advertisement e-mail; and

when said e-mail address of said transfer destination terminal is equal to any of said e-mail addresses already extracted, transmitting a first alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal other than terminals corresponding to the e-mail addresses already extracted.

32. The recording medium according to claim 29, wherein said current transfer count value is written in said advertisement e-mail transferred to said transfer destination terminal, and said current transfer count value is j+1.

33. The recording medium according to claim 32, wherein said method further comprises:

transmitting said current transfer count value to said transfer destination terminal in response to transfer count value inquiry notice from said transfer destination terminal.

34. The recording medium according to claim 28, wherein a current destination location of said transfer destination terminal is contained in said received advertisement e-mail,

said transfer constraint condition contains transfer constraint condition which contains a predetermined destination location, and

said method further comprises:

checking whether said current destination location satisfies said predetermined destination location; and

when said current destination location does not satisfy said predetermined destination location, transmitting a second alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal satisfying said predetermined destination location.

35. The recording medium according to claim 28, wherein said transfer constraint condition contains a predetermined attribute,

said method further comprises:

checking whether an attribute of a user of said transfer destination terminal satisfies said predetermined attribute; and

when said attribute of said destination does not satisfy said predetermined attribute, transmitting a third alert e-mail to said transfer source terminal to instruct said transfer source terminal to set in said advertisement e-mail, an e-mail address of another transfer destination terminal satisfying said predetermined attribute.

36. The recording medium according to claim 28, wherein said received advertisement e-mail is a copy of said advertisement e-mail which is transferred from said transfer source terminal to said transfer destination terminal.

37. The recording medium according to claim 28, further comprising:

transmitting a communication fee notice showing a communication fee of said advertisement e-mail.

38. The recording medium according to claim 37, wherein said method further comprising:

transmitting said communication fee notice to one of said n terminals when receiving an account change notice from said one terminal of said n terminals, before transmitting said communication fee notice to said one terminal.