Permission-based electronic mail delivery system
First Claim
1. An email delivery system, comprising:
- a terminal station accommodated in a first communication network, the terminal station configured to receive emails from senders transmitted via the first communication network;
the terminal station further configured to transmit a registration request to an information provider, and receive identification information from a transmitting apparatus of the information provider responsive to the user registration request, the transmitting apparatus accommodated in a second communication network;
the terminal station further configured to transmit the received identification information of the information provider over the first communication network; and
a relay apparatus configured to receive the identification information of the information provider transmitted from the terminal station over the first communication network, and store the received identification information in association with an email address of a user of the terminal station;
the relay apparatus further configured to control the terminal station to communicate with the information provider to register the email address of the user of the terminal station as a recipient email address at the transmitting apparatus of the information provider identified with the identification information;
the relay apparatus further configured to receive all emails forwarded from the second communication network to the first communication network; and
the relay apparatus further configured to forward to the terminal station only those emails that include the identification information stored by the relay apparatus in association with the email address of the user of the terminal station.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transmitting apparatus transmits its own identification information to a terminal station and controls the terminal station to transmit to a relay apparatus a delivery permission registration request including the identification information and the email address of the user of the terminal station. On receiving the delivery permission registration request, the relay apparatus, then, stores in a delivery permission table the identification information of the transmitting apparatus corresponding to the email address, and controls the terminal station to transmit to the transmitting apparatus recipient registration request including the email address. Finally, the transmitting apparatus stores in a recipient list the email address included in the received recipient registration request. Accordingly, an email delivery system is provided, in which, while an email address of a user is registered at a transmitting apparatus offering an email service providing information, the transmitting apparatus offering the email service providing information is surely registered in a delivery permission table, so as to receive only emails which are not regarded as junk mails.
28 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An email delivery system, comprising:
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a terminal station accommodated in a first communication network, the terminal station configured to receive emails from senders transmitted via the first communication network; the terminal station further configured to transmit a registration request to an information provider, and receive identification information from a transmitting apparatus of the information provider responsive to the user registration request, the transmitting apparatus accommodated in a second communication network; the terminal station further configured to transmit the received identification information of the information provider over the first communication network; and a relay apparatus configured to receive the identification information of the information provider transmitted from the terminal station over the first communication network, and store the received identification information in association with an email address of a user of the terminal station; the relay apparatus further configured to control the terminal station to communicate with the information provider to register the email address of the user of the terminal station as a recipient email address at the transmitting apparatus of the information provider identified with the identification information; the relay apparatus further configured to receive all emails forwarded from the second communication network to the first communication network; and the relay apparatus further configured to forward to the terminal station only those emails that include the identification information stored by the relay apparatus in association with the email address of the user of the terminal station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A relay apparatus, comprising:
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a first communication unit configured to receive identification information from a terminal station over a first communication network, the identification information identifying a sender of an email which a user of the terminal station wishes to receive; a storage unit configured to store the identification information received by the first communication unit in association with an email address of the user of the terminal station; a processor configured to direct the terminal station to transmit a request to register the email address of the user as a recipient email address at a transmitting apparatus of the sender identified with the identification information; and a second communication unit configured to receive emails over a second communication network, the second communication network different from the first communication network; the processor further configured to forward to the terminal station over the first communication network those received emails confirmed to include the identification information of the sender stored in association with the email address of the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of selectively delivering email messages to a terminal station, the method comprising:
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a relay device communicating with the terminal station over a first communication network; the relay device also communicating with an information providing server over a second communication network; the relay device receiving from the terminal station identification information of the information providing server, the identification information obtained by the terminal station from the information providing server; the relay device storing the identification information in association with an identifier of a user of the terminal station; the relay device directing the terminal station to register with the information providing server to receive communications from the information providing server; the relay device receiving over the second communication network an email addressed to the user of the terminal station based on registration by the terminal station with the information providing server; confirming with the relay device that the email includes the identification information of the information providing server stored in association with the identifier of the user of the terminal station; and the relay device, responsive to confirmation, relaying the email to the terminal station over the first communication network. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification