JP3605760B2 - Voice mail transfer method for communication terminal using browser and transfer method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a voice mail transfer method and a voice mail transfer method for receiving a voice file attached to a mail among received mails stored in a mail server by using a browser built in a communication terminal, and particularly to a voice mail transfer method. A voice mail transfer method and a transfer method in which a communication terminal receives an individually designated voice file as a playback voice and a user can listen to the voice file.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a voice mail transfer method for a communication terminal using a browser, a terminal such as a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a PC) having only a communication function for connecting to the Internet, such as a browser, attaches to a specified received mail. When playing the sound file, the sound file is downloaded to the terminal via a communication function such as a browser, and is attached to the received mail using the function of converting the sound file on the terminal into sound information. An audio file was being played.
[0003]
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, in the PC terminal 110, when a predetermined mail reception request is received from the input unit 111, the control unit 114 uses the browser 112 for the Internet to connect the network 130 from the communication function unit 115. It drives a mail server (POP server) 120 for receiving data from the PC terminal 110 via the PC terminal 110. In the mail server 120, the control unit 122 extracts the corresponding mail from the mail DB (database) together with the list and its contents based on the information received by the communication function unit 121, and from the communication function unit 121 to the PC terminal 110 via the network 130. Return to. In the PC terminal 110, the control unit 114 displays only a list of the received e-mails on the display unit 113 on the screen, and displays only one e-mail specified by the user from the input unit 111 on the display unit 113. . If the mail has an attached file, the control unit 114 receives an instruction from the user from the input unit 111, displays the file content on the display unit 113 for a character / image file, and displays the file content on the display unit 113 for a voice file. The audio data conversion unit 116 converts the file data into a reproduced audio, and the audio output unit 117 such as a speaker can listen to the reproduced audio.
[0004]
On the other hand, in recent years, mobile phone terminals have built-in browsers for connecting to the Internet and exchange electronic mails. However, many mobile phone terminals do not have a function of converting a voice file into voice information in order to reduce the size, weight, and cost. As described above, in the case of a communication terminal having no voice conversion function, even if an electronic mail can be received, a voice file cannot be reproduced.
[0005]
On the other hand, in the case of a telephone terminal that does not have a browser and has only an audio transmission / reception function, a technology for accessing a server having a function of converting an audio file to audio and reproducing the received audio file is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-303969. Is disclosed. In this technique, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the telephone terminal 210 accesses the mail server 220 via the network 230 in a predetermined procedure, the voice response device 221 in the mail server 220 automatically responds by voice. Further, the voice recognition device 222 recognizes voice received from the telephone terminal 210 via the voice response device 221. Since the mail server 220 can recognize the calling telephone terminal 210, it takes out the voice mail addressed to the telephone terminal 210 stored in the voice mail device 223 according to a predetermined procedure, and outputs the voice mail via the voice conversion device 224. Is reproduced and converted into voice information, and is transferred from the voice response device 221 to the telephone terminal 210 via the voice line of the network 230.
[0006]
When the communication terminal incorporating the browser combines this function, the communication terminal can receive the voice mail from the voice-convertible mail server and listen to the reproduced voice without having the function of converting the voice mail. .
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, communication terminals including a PC terminal and a mobile phone terminal cannot be provided with a voice mail conversion function for voice mail due to size reduction, weight reduction, and economy.
[0008]
Therefore, in the conventional voice mail transfer method for a communication terminal, the mail server has a voice reproduction conversion function of a voice file, and a voice terminal receives a voice mail in a voice communication at a communication terminal having a built-in browser, and a user listens to the voice mail. Although the configuration can be adopted, there are the following problems.
[0009]
That is, when there are a plurality of audio files, the user of the communication terminal cannot specify in advance an audio file to be reproduced. Therefore, it is necessary for the communication terminal to continuously and sequentially listen to all the audio files received by the mail server. As a result, if there are audio files for a large number of mails to be received, only one of them can not be selected. In particular, when an important matter is located in the latter half, the time until it is taken out becomes a problem.
[0010]
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and when a communication terminal receives an e-mail using a browser, the communication terminal does not have a built-in sound reproduction conversion function, and a sound file attached to the e-mail. The present invention provides a voice mail transfer method and a transfer method for a communication terminal that allows a user to listen to a reproduced sound of a sound file in a desired order by individually designating and receiving the reproduced sound.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A method for transferring voice mail to a communication terminal using a browser according to the present invention comprises the steps of: playing back a voice file attached to a received mail among received mails stored in a mail server using the built-in browser of the communication terminal from the mail server A method of transferring voice mail received by voice, wherein the communication terminal stores in advance a telephone number of a mail server that stores the received mail addressed to itself, and the mail server assigns identification information for uniquely identifying each mail. And files attached to it are stored. This transfer method is characterized by the following. That is, the mail server may include a list of audio files in the mail information attached to the received mail is stored to be sent to the communication terminal, the communication terminal, when requesting the transfer of audio files to the mail server First, the received mail is requested from the mail server using a built-in browser . The incoming mail is requested mail server, Ru send the received mail and mail information including the list to the communication terminal. Received mail and a communication terminal which has received the mail information, upon receipt of an audio file specified input by the user this from the screen display to screen display, audio file by calling the mail server via the network in connection Transfer the specified information. The mail server that has received the specified information of the audio file extracts the identification information of the specified audio file from the storage information and sends it to the communication terminal via the communication line being set. When the communication terminal receives the identification information of the voice file, the communication terminal calls the mail server via the telephone network by a call connection request using the telephone number of the mail server stored in advance, and obtains the identification information of the voice file. Transfer . Mail server, based on the received identification information of the audio file, and audio converting retrieve the stored audio files sent via the telephone network to the requesting communication terminal, the communication terminal, the audio file take received by the voice converted playback voice received from the mail server.
[0012]
The embodied voice mail transfer method incorporates a browser that the communication terminal searches on the network and a server phone number memory that stores in advance the phone number of the mail server that stores mail addressed to itself. It has a mail database for storing received mails to which identification information for identification is attached and files attached thereto.
[0013]
When the communication terminal makes a predetermined received mail request to the mail server connected to the mail server via a communication network by a browser, a list of voice files attached to the received mail to be stored and the identification The mail information including the information is transferred from the mail server to the communication terminal. The next step is that, when the communication terminal receives an individual designation of an audio file included in the list, the individual designation is transferred from the communication terminal to the mail server, and the mail server receives the individual designation sound file. The identification information given to the file is extracted from the mail database and returned to the communication terminal. The next step is that, when the communication terminal receives the identification information, the telephone number of the mail server is extracted from the server telephone number memory, a call connection request is made to the telephone network, and the communication terminal and the mail server are connected by a telephone line. Transferring the identification information of the audio file from the communication terminal to the mail server, and converting the audio file corresponding to the identification information received by the mail server into reproduction audio, the reproduction audio is transmitted from the mail server. It is transferred to the requesting communication terminal.
[0014]
In a specific configuration, the communication terminal further incorporates a server telephone number memory for storing a telephone number of a mail server that stores received mail addressed to itself, accesses the network using a browser, and Means for requesting the server to send e-mail information including a list of received e-mails, means for displaying the e-mail information received in response to this request on a screen, and an attached audio file selected by the user from the list. Means for individually specifying and requesting transmission to the mail server; means for receiving identification information of the individually specified voice file from the mail server; and receiving the voice file identification information from the server telephone number memory. A means for extracting the telephone number of the mail server and requesting a call connection to the telephone network, and a telephone line established with the mail server. And means for transmitting the received identification information of the audio file, and means for receiving a reproduced sound corresponding to the identification information via the telephone line from the mail server.
[0015]
On the other hand, when the mail server receives a transmission request for the received mail information from the communication terminal, the mail server first transmits predetermined information including the presence or absence of an attached file to the received mail to the requesting user, and specifies the individual specification of the attached file. Means for returning the identification information given to the audio file to the requesting communication terminal if the file specified at the time of reception is an audio file; and identification information of the audio file from the communication terminal via the telephone network. And a means for converting a voice file based on the identification information received in response to the call into a reproduced voice and transmitting it to the requesting communication terminal via the established telephone line.
[0016]
Further, the telephone line for transferring the voice-converted file has a communication interface function for a network such as using VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology, so that the browser of the communication terminal can communicate with the mail server. The communication line set during can be shared.
[0017]
According to the above-described configuration, at the time of transmission of the received mail by the communication terminal, at least a list of mails displaying the attachment of the sound file is displayed on the screen of the communication terminal, and individual transfer of the sound file can be designated. Furthermore, the communication terminal can extract the telephone number of the mail server from which the voice file is to be transferred from the server telephone number memory, so that a telephone line can be established by a call connection request from the communication terminal. Also, an audio file individually specified by the identification information of the audio file can be reproduced as audio and transmitted to the requesting communication terminal via the audio line.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, main components related to the present invention are shown in order to clearly explain the present invention, and some components are omitted even in functionally necessary portions.
[0020]
In the voice mail receiving system of the communication terminal using the browser shown in FIG. 1, the communication terminal 10 connects to the mail server 20 via the network 30. The communication terminal 10 includes an input unit 11, a browser 12, a display unit 13, a transmission / reception unit 14, a control unit 15, a communication function unit 16, a server telephone number memory 17, and a telephone function unit 18. The mail server 20 includes a communication function unit 21, an audio file conversion unit 22, a telephone function unit 23, a control unit 24, and a mail DB (database) 25. The network 30 includes all networks such as a data network and a telephone network, and the Internet.
[0021]
A feature of the present invention is that the communication terminal 10 includes the server telephone number memory 17, and the mail server 20 includes the voice file conversion unit 22. That is, the communication terminal 10 calls the storage mail server 20 of the voice mail via the telephone line, converts the voice file specified by the mail server 20 into a reproduced voice, and transmits the voice file to the requesting communication terminal 10.
[0022]
The communication terminal 10 has, for example, a telephone number of a mail server 20 that stores received mail addressed to itself, in addition to a function substantially the same as the configuration of a PC terminal or a mobile phone capable of sending e-mails without voice reproduction software for voice mail. It is stored in the server telephone number memory 17 in advance.
[0023]
The input unit 11 of the communication terminal 10 is an interface unit for inputting by a user such as a touch panel. If the PC terminal is a PC terminal, the input unit 11 further includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. The browser 12 establishes an interconnection with the mail server 20 and converts the data sent from the mail server 20 to be displayed on the display unit 13. The display unit 13 is an interface unit with a user for visually displaying and outputting various information such as characters and images such as a liquid crystal panel and a light emitting diode. The transmission / reception unit 14 is an interface unit with a user such as a microphone, a speaker, and an earphone that inputs and outputs an audible signal by voice.
[0024]
Further, the control unit 15 controls each function of the communication terminal 10 by executing a program by the processor. The communication function unit 16 is an interface unit for communicating with various servers connected to the network 30 via the data network when the communication terminal 10 is connected to the network 30 by the browser 12. The telephone function unit 18 is an interface unit with a telephone network that makes a call to the network 30, establishes a telephone line, and sends and receives voice signals. As described above, the server telephone number memory 17 stores in advance the telephone number of the mail server 20 that stores the received mail addressed to itself. The telephone function unit 18 has a function of calling and connecting to the mail server 20, transmitting identification information, transmitting voice information received from the mail server 20 to the transmission / reception unit 14, and converting the information into information to be heard by the user. .
[0025]
The mail server 20 is a server provided to an electronic mail service on the Internet or an intranet. The communication function unit 21 is an interface unit with the data network of the network 30 described above, and is connected to the communication function unit 16 of the communication terminal 10 via the network 30. The audio file conversion unit 22 is required for the present invention, and reproduces an audio file stored in the mail DB 25 in response to a request from the communication terminal 10 and passes it to the telephone function unit 23. The telephone function unit 23 is an interface unit with the telephone network of the network 30 described above, and is connected to the telephone function unit 18 of the communication terminal 10 via the network 30.
[0026]
Further, in the control unit 24, the processor executes a program to control each function of the mail server 20. The mail DB 25 stores the received mail together with the list for each user, and when receiving the received mail request from the communication terminal 10 of the user, sends the received mail to the requesting communication terminal 10 under the control of the control unit 24. In the present invention, a mail ID (identifier) and a file ID for identifying an attached file are assigned to individual designation of a received mail as identification information for identifying the mail for each user, for example, in accordance with the order of receiving the mail. These IDs are assigned based on, for example, dial codes so that telephone lines can be transmitted.
[0027]
In the illustrated example, the network 30 has a data network for the communication function units 16 and 21 and a telephone network for the telephone function units 18 and 23, and the communication terminal 10 and the mail server 20 are separate networks. Has established a communication channel with When a communication terminal and a mail server use VoIP (Voice Over IP) technology based on IP (Internet Protocol), the communication terminal and the mail server are directly connected to a network based on IP which is a data network, and voice information is also transmitted to the Internet or the Internet. It can be transmitted and received via an intranet.
[0028]
Next, the main operation procedure of the voice mail receiving system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
[0029]
First, the input unit of the communication terminal 10 receives an input of a predetermined received mail request including the URL address of the mail server and the user ID for identifying the user (step S1). Therefore, in the communication terminal 10, the control unit 15 accesses the mail server 20 connected to the network 30 via the communication function unit 16 based on the URL address received from the input unit 11 using the browser 12 and inputs the mail server 20. The data is transmitted (procedure S2).
[0030]
In the mail server 20, the control unit 24 analyzes the received data received by the communication function unit 21 (step S3), accesses the mail DB 25 corresponding to the communication terminal 10 of the request source by the user ID, and responds to the user. The corresponding mail information such as the mail list, the contents of the mail, and the presence or absence of the attached file is extracted (step S4). The extracted information is returned to the communication terminal 10 via the communication function unit 21 and the network 30 (procedure S5).
[0031]
In the communication terminal 10, the communication function unit 16 receives the return information, and the control unit 15 displays the received information on the display unit 13 by the browser 12 (step S6). The user selects a mail desired to be reproduced from the list on the display screen of the display unit 13 and designates it by the input unit 11. In the PC terminal, for example, the display unit also serves as an input unit, and a mail can be designated on the screen by a mouse pointer or cursor.
[0032]
When the control unit 15 receives the individual designation of the attached audio file from the input unit 11 (step S7), the control unit 15 transmits the designation information of the individual audio file to the mail server 20 via the network 30 connected from the communication function unit 16. (Step S8). Attached files other than audio files are processed in the same manner as before.
[0033]
In the mail server 20, the control unit 24 checks the individually designated voice file, extracts the mail ID and file ID of the specified voice file from the mail DB 25 (procedure S9), and extracts the mail ID and file ID. It returns to the communication terminal 10 via the communication line being set (step S10).
[0034]
In the communication terminal 10, the control unit 15 reads the telephone number of the mail server 20 from the server telephone number memory 17 when receiving the mail ID and the file ID in the communication function unit 16, and reads the telephone number of the network 30 from the telephone function unit 18. Then, a call connection request (procedure S11) including the mail ID and the file ID received in step S10 is performed, and the mail server 20 is called. In the network 30, a telephone line between the communication terminal 10 and the mail server 20 is established (procedure S12).
[0035]
In the mail server 20, when the telephone function unit 23 is called and answered, the control unit 24 receives the request of the audio file by receiving the requesting mail ID and the file ID from the communication terminal 10 (step S13). The control unit 24 extracts the data of the specified audio file from the mail DB 25 based on the received mail ID and file ID, and converts the audio file into audio information by the audio file conversion unit 22 (step S14). The converted voice information is transmitted from the telephone function unit 23 to the communication terminal 10 via the telephone line of the network 30 established in step S12 (step S15).
[0036]
In the communication terminal 10, the telephone function unit 18 utters the audio file received by the audio information through the speaker of the transmission / reception unit 14 (step S16), so that the user can listen to the specified voice mail by the reproduced sound from the speaker. it can.
[0037]
In the above description, the communication function unit and the telephone function unit are separately illustrated and described as each using a separate communication line. However, the communication function unit and the telephone function unit are connected to a network using VOIP technology by a single line, and the communication terminal and the mail server are used. Can be directly interconnected by the Internet or an intranet.
[0038]
In the above description, reference is made to the illustrated functional blocks and procedures, but changes such as allocation or separation of procedures by separation / merging of functions are free as long as the above functions are satisfied, and the above description limits the present invention. However, the present invention can be applied to a communication terminal such as a PC terminal or a small communication terminal such as a mobile phone.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a communication terminal connected to a mail server via a communication network by a browser has a server telephone number memory for storing in advance a telephone number of a mail server that stores mail addressed to itself. The mail server can obtain a voice mail receiving system of a communication terminal having a voice file conversion unit for converting a specified voice file into voice.
[0040]
With this configuration, the mail server returns mail information including a list of sound files attached to the mail when a predetermined received mail request is received from the communication terminal using a browser, and then, from the list of sound files, When an individual designation of a file is received, a mail ID and a file ID for identifying the designated audio file are returned. Next, when the communication terminal establishes a voice network of the telephone network with the telephone number of the server extracted from the server telephone number memory and sends the mail ID and the file ID received by return to the mail server, the mail server performs voice file conversion. The reproduction voice can be transmitted to the requesting communication terminal through the telephone line established by the conversion unit.
[0041]
In other words, a voice mail receiving system that has an effect that a communication terminal using a browser can receive a voice file individually with a reproduced voice and listen to it by a user without having a voice mail reproduction conversion function. Obtainable.
[0042]
Furthermore, since the user can individually specify the voice file from the communication terminal to the mail server by using the mail list, the user can determine the order in which the voice files are taken out according to the urgency.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of a main operation procedure in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the related art.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing another conventional example different from FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 Communication terminal 11 Input unit 12 Browser 13 Display unit 14 Transmission / reception unit 15, 24 Control unit 16, 21 Communication function unit 17 Server telephone number memory 18, 23 Phone function unit 22 Voice file conversion unit 25 Mail DB
30 Network

Claims (4)

A method of transferring voice mail, wherein a voice file attached to the received mail among received mails stored in a mail server using a browser built in a communication terminal is received from the mail server as a reproduced voice, wherein the communication terminal Stores in advance the telephone number of the mail server that stores the received mail addressed to itself, and the mail server stores the received mail attached with identification information for uniquely identifying each and a file attached thereto, The mail information sent from the server to the communication terminal includes a list of the received mails stored,
The communication terminal , when receiving a transfer request input of the received mail by the user , requests the received mail from the mail server using a built-in browser,
The mail server requested to receive the mail , the list of the received mail stored , mail content, send mail information including attached file information to the communication terminal,
Communication terminal having received the mail information of the received mail, the received mail information to the screen display,
When the communication terminal receives a voice file designation input from the display screen by the user , calls the mail server through a connected network to transfer voice file designation information,
A mail server receiving the specified information of the audio file extracts identification information of the specified audio file from the storage information and sends it to the communication terminal via the communication line being set,
Wherein the communication terminal, when receiving the identification information of the audio file, identification of the voice file by calling the mail server via the telephone network by the call connection request using the telephone number of the mail server that is stored in advance Transfer information,
A mail server, based on the received identification information of the voice file, retrieves the stored voice file, performs voice conversion, and sends the voice file to the requesting communication terminal via the telephone network;
Communication terminal, the method voicemail transfer to the communication terminal that the voice file and wherein the receiving the playback sound which is the sound conversion received from the mail server. A communication terminal, using a built-in browser, a voice mail transfer method of receiving a voice file attached to the received mail among the received mails stored in a mail server from the mail server by a reproduced voice, The communication terminal has a built-in browser that searches the network and a server telephone number memory that stores the telephone number of the mail server that stores the received mail addressed to itself in advance, and the mail server has received mail with identification information for identifying each. And a mail database that stores the files attached to it and a list thereof ,
When the communication terminal receives a received mail request from a user, the communication terminal executes a predetermined received mail request to the mail server connected via a communication network by a browser,
The mail server receiving the received mail request transfers mail information including a list of audio files attached to the stored received mail to the communication terminal,
Wherein the communication terminal, when the individual specification of the audio files included in the list received from the user can transfer individual Designations to the mail server,
In the mail server, when the individual designation of the audio file is received, the identification information given to the received individually designated audio file is extracted from the mail database and returned to the communication terminal,
The in the communication terminal, wherein by connecting the mail server phone number extracted from the server telephone number memory and call connection request to the telephone network communication terminal and the mail server when receiving the identification information on the telephone line Transferring the identification information of the voice file from the communication terminal to the mail server,
A communication step for transferring the reproduced sound from the mail server to the requesting communication terminal when the sound file corresponding to the identification information received by the mail server is converted into a reproduced sound. Voice mail transfer method to the terminal. A communication terminal using a built-in browser to receive a sound file attached to a mail among received mails stored in a mail server from the mail server by a reproduced sound,
The communication terminal further incorporates a server telephone number memory for storing a telephone number of a mail server that stores received mail addressed to itself, accesses a network using a browser, and displays a list of received mails on the mail server. Means for requesting transmission of mail information including, means for displaying the mail information received in response to this request on the screen, and individually specifying the attached audio file selected by the user from the list to the mail server. Means for requesting transmission, means for receiving identification information of the individually designated voice file from the mail server, and extracting the telephone number of the mail server from the server telephone number memory when receiving the identification information of the voice file. Means for making a call connection request to the telephone network, and the voice file received via the telephone line established with the mail server. Means for transmitting identification information, and means for receiving a reproduced voice corresponding to the identification information from the mail server via the telephone line, and the mail server transmits received mail information from the communication terminal. A means for first transmitting predetermined information including the presence or absence of an attached file to the received mail to the requesting user at the time of receiving the request, and, when the file specified when receiving the individual specification of the attached file is an audio file, Means for returning the identification information given to the audio file to the requesting communication terminal; means for receiving and responding to the call including the identification information of the audio file from the communication terminal via the telephone network; and responding to the call. Means for converting a voice file based on the received identification information into a reproduced voice and transmitting it to the requesting communication terminal via the established telephone line. Voice mail transfer scheme for the signal terminal. 4. The voice mail transfer method for a communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein a telephone line for transferring the voice-converted file shares a communication line set by the browser of the communication terminal with the mail server.

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