Patent Publication Number: US-2005120086-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for selectively fetching e-mail

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-86050, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Nov. 29, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for receiving e-mails. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for selectively fetching and printing e-mails which are received by a mail server via a network during a time period specified by a user.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
       FIG. 1  is a view illustrating a system for transmitting and/or receiving facsimiles or e-mails by using a network, such as the Internet or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The system comprises an internet fax machine  100 , a G3 fax machine  110 , a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) server  120  and  150 , a post office protocol  3  (POP 3 ) server  130  and  160 , the Internet  140 , and an e-mail user  180 .  
      An e-mail fetching procedure of the Internet fax machine  100  will now be described in greater detail.  
      When the e-mail user  180  sends the e-mails to the Internet fax machine  100 , the e-mails are temporarily stored in the SMTP server  150 . The e-mails stored the SMTP server  150  are transmitted to and stored in the receiver-side POP 3  server  130  through the Internet  140 . The internet fax machine  100  is connected to the receiver-side POP 3  server  130  to fetch the e-mails stored in the receiver-side POP 3  server  130 . In this case, the internet fax machine  100  fetches the e-mails stored in the POP 3  server  130  in sequential order only, that is, fetching the next e-mail after the last fetching is performed by the internet fax machine  100 .  
      The e-mails fetched from the POP 3  server  130  are directly printed or stored. In some cases, the e-mails fetched from the POP server  130  may be erased in accordance with selected options in the internet fax machine  100 .  
      In a conventional approach, the internet fax machine  100  retrieves header sections of the e-mails in order to fetch the e-mail stored in a mail server, that is, the POP 3  server  130 . Arrival time, that is, a time when the e-mail is received by the POP 3  server  130  is recorded in the header section of the e-mail.  
      By comparing the arrival times recorded in the header sections of the previously fetched e-mails with the arrival times recorded in the header sections of the e-mails stored in the POP 3  server  130 , the internet fax machine  100  fetches the e-mails stored in the POP 3  server  130  in sequential order only, that is, fetching the next e-mail after the last fetching is performed by the internet fax machine  100 .  
      In this conventional approach, there is a problem in that, when a user loses a previously fetched e-mail, the user cannot fetch the lost e-mail from the POP 3  server  130 . Additionally, there is no means to fetch e-mails in a non-sequential order, such as fetching e-mails received during a specific period. Prior solutions have attempted to provide systems which can fetch e-mails received from a specific sender. For example, an internet fax machine fetching only the e-mails received by a user-specified client out of e-mails stored in a mail server connected to a local area network (LAN), is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2000-0073172, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. However, the above device does not solve the above problems in that it fetches all e-mails from a user-specified client server.  
      Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for selectively fetching and printing e-mails which are received during a time period specified by a user.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention solves the above and other problems by providing a method and apparatus for selectively fetching and printing e-mails which are received by a mail server via a network during a time period specified by a user.  
      According to an object of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for selectively fetching and printing e-mails received by a mail server connected with a network during a time period specified by a user. The apparatus comprises an e-mail fetching unit which sequentially fetches the e-mails received by the mail server, an operating panel used to input the time period, a control unit which extracts header sections of the e-mails and allows the e-mail fetching unit to select the e-mails received by the mail server during the specified time period, and a printing unit which prints the e-mails fetched by the e-mail fetching unit.  
      The apparatus can further comprise a storage unit which stores the fetched e-mails.  
      In the apparatus, the control unit can extract header sections of the e-mails, determine whether or not each of the e-mails was received by the mail server during the specified time period, and if the e-mail was received during the specified time period, allow the e-mail fetching unit to fetch the e-mail, and if not, then direct the e-mail fetching unit to not fetch the e-mail.  
      In the apparatus, the specified time period can be specified by any suitable parameter, such as date or time.  
      According to another object of the present invention, a method is provided for selectively fetching and printing e-mails received by a mail server connected with a network during a time period specified by a user, the method comprising (a) specifying the time period, (b) accessing the mail server, (c) sequentially fetching the e-mails stored in the mail server, (d) selectively fetching the e-mails received in the mail sever during the specified time period from the sequentially-fetched e-mails, and (e) printing the fetched e-mails.  
      In the method, the specified time period can also be specified by any suitable parameter, such as date or time.  
      In the method, the step (b) can be a step for manually accessing the mail server by the user&#39;s operation or a step for automatically accessing the mail sever in accordance with a user&#39;s specified accessing period.  
      In the method, the step (d) can further comprise steps (aa) for extracting header sections of the e-mails, (bb) for determining whether or not each of the e-mail is received by the mail server during the specified time period, and (cc) for fetching the e-mail if the e-mail is received during the specified time period, and if not, then not fetching the e-mail and moving to the next e-mail.  
      In the method, the step (d) can further comprise a step for storing the e-mails in a storage unit.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram for explaining an internet fax machine fetching e-mails through a conventional network;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a device, such as an internet fax machine, for selectively fetching e-mails according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart for explaining a step for specifying a time period according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart for explaining a method for selectively fetching e-mails stored in a POP 3  server in a time period specified by a user.  
      Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention and operational advantages thereof can be fully understood by referring to the accompanying drawings and explanations thereof.  
      Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to explain the present invention in detail.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a device, such as an internet fax machine  100 , for selectively fetching e-mails according to an embodiment of the present invention. The internet fax machine  100  comprises a control unit  200 , a G3 fax transceiver unit  210 , an e-mail transmitting unit  220 , an e-mail fetching unit  230 , an operating panel  240 , a display/printing unit  250 , and a storage unit  260 .  
      The control unit  200  controls the components of the internet fax machine  100  to carry out the following operations in order to selectively fetch e-mails received by a mail server (not shown). Firstly, header sections of e-mails received by the e-mail fetching unit  230  are extracted. Arrival times recorded in the header sections of the e-mails are then checked to determine if they correspond to a predetermined receiving time period. If the arrival time of an e-mail corresponds to the specified time period, the e-mail is fetched. If not, the e-mail is not fetched and the arrival time of the next e-mail is checked.  
      The G3 fax transceiver unit  210  has a G3 fax transceiving function, which is a general facsimile function carried out through a public switched telephone network (PSTN).  
      The e-mail transmitting unit  220  of the internet fax machine  100  converts an e-mail into a predetermined format in order to transmit the e-mail to a particular user through the Internet.  
      In response to a command from the control unit  200 , the e-mail fetching unit  230  then connects with and logs-in to the mail server and fetches the e-mails corresponding to the specified time period.  
      More specifically, in response to an e-mail fetching command from the control unit  200 , the e-mail fetching unit  230  connects with the mail server and logs-in to the mail server by inputting ID and password information.  
      After this step, the e-mail fetching unit  230  then sequentially fetches the e-mails stored in the mail server. The e-mails stored in the mail server include header sections where e-mail information is recorded. The e-mail information recorded in the header section of an e-mail includes an e-mail transmitting path, addresses of a sender and a receiver, and an arrival time of the e-mail.  
      The control unit  200  then extracts header sections of the e-mails and determines whether or not the arrival time recorded in the header sections of the e-mails corresponds to the predetermined receiving time period. More preferably, the user can input the receiving time period of the mail server by using the operating panel  240 .  
      If the arrival time of the e-mail corresponds to the specified time period, the control unit  200  allows the e-mail fetching unit  230  to fetch the e-mail.  
      If not, the control unit  200  commands the e-mail fetching unit  230  to not fetch the e-mail and the foregoing procedure is repeated in order to fetch the next e-mail stored in the mail server.  
      Although the e-mail fetching is performed based on the specified time period, the user can directly connect with the mail server and fetch e-mails from the mail sever at any arbitrary time.  
      The display/printing unit  250  converts the e-mail fetched by the e-mail fetching unit  230  into a printable format, and prints the e-mail on a paper. The printing unit  250  can be implemented in any number of ways known to those skilled in the art. As such, a detailed description of the printing unit  250  is omitted.  
      The operating panel  240  comprises a plurality of key buttons used to input the specified time period by the user. In addition, the operating panel  240  further comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying contents of the fetched e-mail.  
      The storage unit  260  temporarily stores the e-mails fetched by the e-mail fetching unit  230  and can function as a buffer for the printing unit  250 .  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart for explaining a step for specifying a time period according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4  is a flowchart for explaining a method for then selectively fetching e-mails stored in a POP 3  server for a time period specified by a user.  
      Table 1 shows examples of 10 e-mails received and stored in the mail server, which are to be fetched by the internet fax machine  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, it is assumed that the user desires to fetch the e-mails received and stored in the mail server for a time period from 13:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003, to 16:00 hours on Sep. 27, 2003.  
                               TABLE 1                       No.   Name   Sender   Receiver   Arrival Time                                                    1    1st Mail   aaa@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.25.08:00       2    2nd Mail   bbb@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.25.13:00       3    3rd Mail   ccc@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.25.19:00       4    4th Mail   ddd@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.26.08:00       5    5th Mail   eee@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.26.14:30       6    6th Mail   fff@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.26.22:00       7    7th Mail   ggg@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.27.17:05       8    8th Mail   iii@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.27.11:40       9    9th Mail   jjj@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.27.14:50       10   10th Mail   hhh@samsung.com   rcpt@samsung.com   2003.9.27.17:00                  
 
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , the user first selects an e-mail fetching mode displayed on the liquid crystal display (LCD) screen of the operating panel  240  at step S 300 .  
      Using the keys on the operating panel  240 , the user inputs a specified time period, used by the apparatus to fetch e-mails which are received by the mail server during the specified time period, at step S 301 . As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the specified time period example is from 13:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003, to 16:00 hours on Sep. 27, 2003.  
      Next, after inputting the specified time period, the user pushes a button for finishing the e-mail fetching mode at step S 302 .  
      In an alternative embodiment, an e-mail fetching mode button and an e-mail fetching mode finishing button can be provided on the operating panel  240 . In still another alternative embodiment, the operations of selecting the e-mail fetching mode, inputting the specified time period, and finishing the e-mail fetching mode, etc., can be implemented with a touch screen on the display unit of the operating panel  240 .  
      The method for selectively fetching e-mails which are received by the mail server during the user-specified time period will now be described in greater detail with reference to  FIG. 4  and Table 1.  
      Firstly, in the example shown in Table 1 and  FIG. 4 , the user has access to the mail-server  130  through the Internet  140 , and can log-in to the mail server  130  with predetermined information, for example, ID, password, etc. Next, the state of e-mails received by the mail sever  130  is transferred to the e-mail fetching unit  230  at step S 400 . The state of e-mails includes information such as the total number (N) of e-mails received and stored in the mail server, total size of the stored e-mails, etc.  
      Next, the number of e-mails received and stored in the mail server  130  is counted. In order to count the number of e-mails which will be fetched, the initial count number is set to 1 at step S 401 .  
      An e-mail corresponding to n=1 is then fetched from the mail server  130  to the e-mail fetching unit  230  at step S 402 . Referring to the example set of Table 1, as to the e-mail corresponding to n=1, the sender&#39;s e-mail address is aaa@samsung.com, the receiver&#39;s e-mail address is rcpt@samsung.com, and the arrival time is 8:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003.  
      The header section of the e-mail (n=1) is then transferred, and the control unit  200  analyzes the header section of the e-mail (n=1) at step S 403 .  
      The control unit  200  reads the arrival time of the e-mail from its header section at step S 404 .  
      It is then determined whether or not the arrival time of the e-mail (n=1) corresponds to the user-specified time period from 13:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003, to 16:00 hours on Sep. 27, 2003 at step S 405 .  
      Since the arrival time of the e-mail (n=1) is 8:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003, the e-mail is determined to have not been received during the user-specified time period. Therefore, the e-mail (n=1) is not fetched to the e-mail fetching unit  230  and the method jumps to step S 408 . At step  408 , it is determined if there are remaining e-mails. Next, in order to analyze the next e-mail (n=2), the count value n is increased by 1 at step S 410 , and steps S 402  through S 408  are repeated.  
      The header section of the e-mail (n=2) is then transferred at step S 402 . Referring to Table 1, as to the e-mail corresponding to n=2, the sender&#39;s e-mail address is bbb@samsung.com, the receiver&#39;s e-mail address is rcpt@samsung.com, and the arrival time is 13:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003. Since the arrival time of the e-mail (n=2) does not correspond to the user-specified time period from 13:00 hours on Sep. 25, 2003, to 16:00 hours on Sep. 27, 2003, the e-mail (n=2) is not fetched and the header section of the next e-mail (n=3) is transferred.  
      Referring to Table 1, since the arrival time of the e-mails (n=1˜4) do not correspond to the user-specified time period, the e-mails (n=1˜4) are not fetched and only their header sections are transferred.  
      As to the e-mail corresponding to n=5, the sender&#39;s e-mail address is eee@samsung.com, the receiver&#39;s e-mail address is rcpt@samsung.com, and the arrival time is 14:30 hours on Sep. 26, 2003.  
      Since the arrival time of the e-mail (n=5) does correspond to the user-specified time period, detected at step S 405 , the control unit  200  directs the e-mail fetching unit  230  to fetch the e-mail (n=5) at step S 406 .  
      The fetched e-mails can be printed to the printing unit  250  at the time of fetching by the user&#39;s request. Alternatively, the fetched e-mails can be temporarily stored in the storage unit  260 . When the user desires to view the e-mails, the user can display the e-mails on the LCD screen (not shown) of the operating  240  by clicking the desired e-mails on the e-mail list displayed.  
      In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention implemented with the example data of Table 1, the e-mails (n=5˜9) are fetched.  
      In the embodiment, although the time period is specified with date, hour, minute, and second, the time period can be alternatively specified with only the date by the user. In this case, only the dates of the e-mails are analyzed in step S 404 .  
      The following Table 2 shows various types of the specified time periods which are possible, and which can be checked in step S 404 . The list of Table 2 is presented as an example, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.  
                   TABLE 2                          Start Date˜End Date   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           between start date and end date.       Start Date˜Open   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           after start date.       Open˜End Date   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           before end date.       Start Time˜End Time   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           between start time and end time.       Open˜End Time   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           before end time.       Start Time˜Open   Fetching e-mails arriving at the mail server           after start time.                  
 
      According to the embodiments of the present invention, only the e-mails received and stored during a user&#39;s specified time period are selectively fetched and printed.  
      While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.