KR100739497B1 - Mail management system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mail management system and method, wherein the system according to the present invention includes a mail web server for providing a mail-related web page including an interface for requesting permanent mail setting / release for a specific mail; A mail server processing a mail transmission request from the mail web server and processing received mail data; A mail box for storing mail data provided from the mail server; A mail index database for storing mail index information; The mail index is extracted from the mail index database and provided to the mail web server. The mail index receives permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from the mail web server or the user client and reflects it in the mail index database. And a server, wherein the mail index server determines whether there is a mail set to be permanently stored among the mails requested to be deleted when receiving deletion request information about specific mails from a user client or the mail web server. If there is a mail for which permanent storage is set, ID information of the mail for which permanent storage is not set is provided to the mailbox, and the mailbox deletes mail data corresponding to the provided mail ID.

Spam, mail, management

Description

System and Method for Managing Mail

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mail management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the module configuration of a mail web server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of a mail server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing the module configuration of the mail index server according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of a mail index server according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting up a permanent mail according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a mail deletion process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting up a permanent mail according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a mail deletion process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a view showing an example of a mail list web page provided by a mail web server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a mail data storage structure of a mailbox according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a mail data storage structure of a mailbox according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a mail management system and method, and more particularly to a mail management system and method for facilitating mail management of users.

The e-mail service is one of the most used Internet services by users, and is one of services that can quickly deliver text and files to other users.

In recent years, the capacity of electronic web mail services has gradually increased, and the types of services have been gradually diversified.

In the early days, e-mail services were mainly used for personal use. However, as convenience and advantages of e-mail are known, in recent years, e-mail has become an essential means of communication in business.

The openness to free text and file exchanges with anyone is an advantage of e-mail, but spam emails that exploit this advantage are causing great inconvenience for e-mail users.

E-mail users have to designate and delete such spam mails, and it takes a lot of time to delete spam mails. Therefore, there is a demand for a method to efficiently delete spam mails and mails that are not needed by users. .

In the present invention, to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, it is proposed a mail management system and method that can efficiently delete spam mail and mail that is not required by the user in a faster time.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a mail management system and method that can efficiently remove spam mail even when a user does not specify spam mail.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a mail web server for providing a mail-related web page including an interface for requesting to set / release permanent mail for a particular mail; A mail server processing a mail transmission request from the mail web server and processing received mail data; A mail box for storing mail data provided from the mail server; A mail index database for storing mail index information; The mail index is extracted from the mail index database and provided to the mail web server. The mail index receives permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from the mail web server or the user client and reflects it in the mail index database. And a server, wherein the mail index server determines whether there is a mail set to be permanently stored among the mails requested to be deleted when receiving deletion request information about specific mails from a user client or the mail web server. If there is a mail for which permanent storage is set, the mail box provides ID information of the mail for which permanent storage is not set, and the mail box is provided with a mail management system for deleting mail data corresponding to the provided mail ID.

The mail-related web page provided by the mail web server may include a script for transmitting permanent mail setting / release information to the mail web server or the mail index server in response to a user's request for setting / releasing a permanent mail using the interface. Can be.

The permanent mail setting / release information may include mail ID information of a mail associated with setting or setting and an identifier indicating setting or setting.

The mail index server updates mail index information corresponding to a mail ID included in the permanent mail setting / release information in response to the permanent mail setting / release information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a mail web server for providing a mail-related web page that includes an interface for requesting to set / release permanent mail for a particular mail; A mail server processing a mail transmission request from the mail web server and processing received mail data; A mail box that stores a plurality of mail data provided from the mail server as a file and manages file pointer information of each mail data; A mail index database for storing mail index information; Extract the index information of the mail from the mail index database and provide it to the mail web server, receive permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from the mail web server or user client, and set the permanent mail received in the mail index database. A mail index server that reflects / release information and converts ID information of the mail included in the permanent mail setting / release information into pointer information in the mailbox and provides the mailbox to the mailbox; Permanent mail setting / cancellation information is stored in a preset field, and when the mail index server receives the deletion request information for specific mails from the user client or the mail web server, the mail index information of the mails requested to be deleted is stored. To pointer information on the mailbox. This provides mail management system is provided.

The mail-related web page provided by the mail web server may include a script for transmitting permanent mail setting / release information to the mail web server or the mail index server in response to a user's request for setting / releasing a permanent mail using the interface. Can be.

The mail index server updates mail index information corresponding to a mail ID included in the permanent mail setting / release information in response to the permanent mail setting / release information.

The mail index server deletes information of mails other than mails for which permanent storage is set, among the mails included in the mail deletion request information, from the mail index database, and stores ID information of mails included in the mail deletion request information. The message information is converted into pointer information on a box and transmitted to the mailbox, wherein the mailbox information includes flag information of a field for storing the permanent mail setting / cancellation among the mail data corresponding to the mail pointer transmitted from the mail index server. Delete only mail data that is not set to.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step of receiving from the user permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail (a); (B) reflecting the permanent mail setting / release information in a mail index database; When receiving the deletion request information on the specific mail from the user, determining whether there is a mail for which permanent storage is set among the mails included in the deletion request information; And (d) performing a deletion process only on mails for which permanent mail is not set among the mails included in the deletion request information when there is a mail for which permanent storage is set.

The step (d) may include extracting ID information of mails except for mails for which permanent storage is set among the mails included in the deletion request information; And transmitting the extracted mail ID information to a mailbox, wherein the mailbox searches for and deletes mail data corresponding to the transmitted mail ID information.

Converting the mail ID information of the mails related to the permanent mail setting / release information into file pointer information on the mailbox. The mailbox stores a plurality of mail data as one file and manages file pointer information of each mail data. Further comprising-the mailbox stores the permanent mail on / off information in a preset field.

The step (d) may include converting mail ID information of mails included in the deletion request information into file pointer information on the mailbox; And transmitting the converted file pointer information to the mailbox, wherein the mailbox has permanent flag information of a field for storing the permanent mail setting / release information among the mail data corresponding to the transmitted file pointer. Only delete mail data not set as mail.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the mail management system and method according to the present invention.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a mail management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mail management system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mail web server 100, a mail server 102, a mail box 104, a mail index server 106, and a mail index database 108. It may include.

In FIG. 1, a user user 110 connected to a mail management system and a network according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a mail user agent (MUA). MUA is a client program used by a user to send and receive e-mail. MUA can include Microsoft's Outlook Express, Netscape's Netscape, and Unix-like / usr / ucb / mail. The present invention mainly applies to webmail, in which case the web browser plays the role of MUA. However, since the web browser alone cannot perform the MIME format generation and the SMTP protocol communication for the communication with the mail server, the web browser and the mail web server 100 serve as MUAs together.

The user client 110 may include both a general PC and a device capable of communicating with and processing digital data by being connected to a network such as a notebook, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like. In addition, the network may include both a wired network such as an internet network and a private network, as well as a wireless network such as a mobile communication network and a wireless internet network.

The mail web server 100 transmits a web page related to mail to the user client 110 so that the user can use the webmail service, and communicates with the mail server 102 when the user requests to send or view the mail. Process the user's request information.

The mail web server 100 transmits various types of mail-related web pages, such as a mail list, a mail body, and a mail write, to the user client 100 according to a user's request, and the MUA of the user client is the mail web server 100. Display a web page sent from.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mail related web page provided by the mail web server 100 provides a function for setting a user to permanently store a specific mail. Mail set by the user for permanent storage (hereinafter referred to as "permanent mail") is not deleted immediately upon the user's request to delete the mail.

As described in the related art, a considerable number of spam mails are often transmitted to a user, and the user has no choice but to delete spam mails in order to prevent a necessary mail from being deleted. Such deletion of spam mails was one of the major inconveniences for users.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mail set as the permanent mail is not deleted despite the delete command of the user. For example, if a user selects a mail list displayed on a web page that provides a mail list and deletes it, it is determined whether there are any mails set as permanent mail among the mails requested for deletion, and the permanent mail is included. If it is, the permanent mail is not deleted. Only the mails except the permanent mail are deleted.

To delete a permanent mail, the user must request the deletion of the permanent mail after canceling the permanent mail setting.

As described above, the user can manage the mail more easily by enabling the permanent mail setting for a specific mail, and processing the permanent mail and the normal mail differently when deleting the mail.

The web page provided by the mail web server 100 according to the present invention includes an interface for setting a specific mail as a permanent mail in order to perform the above-described function. Such an interface may be provided in various forms such as a button or an icon. In addition, the web page provided by the mail web server 100 according to the present invention may include a script that can process the user's permanent mail settings.

The mail server 102 receives the user's request information from the mail web server 100 and processes the user's request information related to the mail. When a mail is delivered to a mail account of a specific user like a general mail server, a mail server stores the mail in a mailbox, and when a user requests a mail transmission using a mail writing page provided by a mail web server, Sends mail to the mail address.

The mailbox 104 is a database that stores electronic mail. The mailbox 104 generally stores mail data of the MIME type. Typically, the mailbox 104 stores each mail data in a separate file. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mail data may be managed as one file, and the storage location of each mail data may be managed through a file pointer. When the mail data is managed as one file and the storage location is managed through the file pointer, the mail management service according to the present invention can be provided more efficiently. A detailed embodiment thereof will be described later.

The mail index server 106 manages mail index information including some or all of information included in a mail header such as a mail sender, a mail subject, a mail receiver, and a date, and the mail index information is stored in the mail web server 100 or a user. Function to provide to the client (110). The mail index information may include a relatively large amount of information in the mail header information or only a few pieces of information, depending on the configuration.

The mail related web page provided by the mail web server 100 may include a mail list web page providing a mail list and a mail body web page providing a body of the mail. A mail list web page generally displays only basic index information among header information of a mail, such as a mail subject and a sender. If both the mail list and the body of the mail are provided by accessing the mailbox, processing may be delayed. Therefore, the mail index server 106 provides the mail index web page with basic index information provided by the mail list web page. By storing information in the index database 108 and providing information stored in the mail index database 108 when a user's mail list web page is requested, the mail list web page can be provided more quickly.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mail index server 106 receives information on the permanent mail setting or the permanent mail setting from the user client 110 or the mail web server 100, the permanent mail setting or permanent mail Information on the setting release is reflected in the mail index database 108. The script of the web page provided by the mail web server 100 provides the setting information to the mail web server 100 or the mail index server 106 when the user sets a specific mail as a permanent mail.

In addition, the mail index server 106 receives mail management information such as mail deletion and mailbox emptying from the user client or the mail web server 100, and determines whether permanent mail is included among the mails which have been requested to be deleted. . If the mail requested by the user includes the permanent mail, the mail index server 106 inquires again whether the deleted permanent mail is deleted, and processes the permanent mail according to the user's confirmation information. .

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the mail data of the mailbox 104 is stored in a separate file as in the general mailbox.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a mail data storage structure of a mail box according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. As shown in Fig. 11, each mail data is stored independently in each file.

In the first embodiment, the permanent mail setting information at the request of the user is recorded only in the mail index database 108 and not in the mailbox 104. The mail index server 106 determines a mail to be deleted and a mail not to be deleted according to whether a permanent mail is set when a user deletes a mail. The mail index server 106 provides the mailbox 104 with ID information of the mails to be deleted according to the determination result. To be done. In this case, the mail ID means an identification code uniquely assigned to each mail data. This first embodiment has the advantage that the mail management service according to the present invention can be provided without changing the data structure of the mailbox 104. However, when the mail is deleted from the mailbox, the mailbox must search for the mail to be deleted. The time may be delayed.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the mail data of the mailbox 104 is managed as one file, and pointer information of each mail data is managed. Pointer information refers to address information in terms of programming languages. In addition, for each mail data included in the file of the mailbox, a separate field for identifying whether the mail is a permanent mail is added.

12 is a diagram showing a mail data storage structure of a mailbox according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 11, the mail data is managed as one file, and a field for recording whether or not permanent mail is set for each mail data is formed.

In the second embodiment, the permanent mail setting information at the request of the user is recorded in the added field not only in the mail index database 108 but also in the mailbox 104. In addition, the mail index server 106 converts the ID information of the mail into pointer information in the mailbox when the mail deletion request is made, and provides the mailbox 104 with pointer information of the mail to be deleted. The mail box 104 deletes mail data only for mails which are not set as permanent mails among mails corresponding to the provided pointers. According to the second embodiment, the data structure of the existing mailbox is different, but the mail index server does not need to send a query to the mailbox by judging the mail to be deleted and the mail not to be deleted. The advantage is that it doesn't have to be done in.

More detailed procedures of the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described with reference to separate drawings.

2 is a block diagram showing the module configuration of a mail web server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, a mail web server according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a client communication unit 200, a MIME generation unit 202, a mail server communication unit 204, a web page generation unit 206, and a mail index server communication unit. 208.

The client communication unit 200 receives the request information from the user client and provides the information requested by the client. For example, when a user requests a mail list web page, the user's request information is transmitted to the client communication unit 200 of the mail server, and the mail web server transmits the mail list page to the client through the client communication unit 200. . The client communication unit 200 may communicate with a user client through a general HTTP protocol.

The MIME generation unit 202 converts the electronic mail data into MIME format data when the user requests the electronic mail transmission through a mail writing page or the like. Since the MIME data format is already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The mail server communication unit 204 functions to transmit the mail data of the MIME format generated by the MIME generation unit 202 to the mail server. The mail server communication unit may transmit the data of the MIME format through the SMTP protocol which is a transmission protocol related to mail.

The web page generation unit 206 functions to generate various kinds of web pages provided through a mail web server. For example, the web page generation unit 206 generates a mail related web page such as a mail list view page, a mail body view page, and a mail writing page and provides the same to a user client.

The web page generation unit 206 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention generates a mail list web page or a mail body web page including an interface for setting a specific mail as a permanent mail. The user can set a permanent archive for a specific mail of a mail list view page or a mail of a mail body view page. In addition, the web page generation unit 206 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention generates a mail list view page or a mail body view page including a script for transmitting the user's permanent storage setting information to a mail index server or a mail web server do.

The mail index server communication unit 208 receives mail list index information from a mail index server when a mail list web page is provided. The mail index server communication unit 208 requests and receives mail list information corresponding to the user who requested to view the mail list from the mail index server. In addition, the mail index server communication unit 208 transmits mail management information of the user such as mail deletion and mailbox emptying to the mail index server. When mail setting information such as permanent mail setting or permanent mail release is transmitted to the mail index server through the mail web server, the mail index server communication unit 208 may also provide the mail setting information to the mail index server.

The controller 210 receives the user's request information from the client communication unit 200 and controls the overall operation of the mail web server so that the user's request information is executed.

3 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of a mail server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a mail server according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an MTA 300, an MDA 302, and an MRA 304.

The Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) 300 receives e-mail from a mail web server or other mail server via the SMTP communication protocol and calls the MDA 302 to send the received e-mail to a mail box of the MTA or mail server of another mail server. Function to pass on. In general, send mail and qmail may be used as the MTA.

The MDA (Mail Delivery Agent) 302 is an agent program module that delivers an e-mail received by an MTA to an actual user. The MDA is generally divided into an external delivery and an internal delivery. In case of external transmission, each MDA exists according to channel (TCP, uucp, etc.). In case of Unix, it can be driven by / bin / sh.

In the case of internal delivery, the MTA that delivers the mail received by the MTA to the user's mailbox is referred to as a local MDA. Typically, a local MDA delivers e-mail information to a mailbox on the local file system, using a filtering program that can process the e-mail. The local MDA performs MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) parsing when storing e-mail in a mailbox. This means parsing data to be stored in a mailbox from MIME type mail data.

If the mail delivered from the MTA is delivered internally, the MDA delivers the mail to the mailbox. The MDA may transmit a part or information of the header information of the mail to the mail index server, and a separate module for delivering the mail header information to the mail index server may be provided.

Mail Retrieval Agent (MRA) 304 is a program that allows a user to access to check e-mail from outside, and includes POP3 DEAMON and IMAP4 DEAMON.

4 is a block diagram showing the module configuration of the mail index server according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mail index server according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a mail setting information processing unit 400, a mail index extracting unit 402, a mail management information processing unit 404, and a notification message transmitting unit 406. And a mail management information transmission unit 408.

The mail setting information processing unit 400 receives permanent mail setting information or permanent mail setting release information for a specific mail from a user client or a mail web server, and updates the mail index database according to the received information. Scripts included in a mailing list web page or mail body web page can be used to configure persistent mail settings or persistent mail settings, including mail ID information and configuration information identifiers, when a user requests that messages be turned on or off for a particular message. The release information is transmitted to the mail web server or the mail index server, and the mail setting information processing unit 400 receives the corresponding information. The mail setting information processing unit 400 determines the mail ID information for which permanent mail or permanent mail release is set, and updates the setting information for the corresponding mail stored in the mail index database. The mail index database includes a field for identifying whether the mail is permanent or not, and data update may be performed by updating a flag of the field. As described above, in the first embodiment, information on whether to set a permanent mail is not provided to the mailbox.

When the user requests a mail list web page from the mail web server, the mail index extracting unit 402 extracts a mail list corresponding to the requested user from the mail index database and provides the mail list web page to the mail web server. As described above, the mail index information may include information such as a mail sender, a subject, a date, etc. of the header information of the mail, and may also include information on whether the corresponding mail is a permanent mail.

The mail management information processing unit 404 functions to receive and process mail management information such as mail deletion information and mailbox emptying information. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mail management information processing unit 404 determines whether the permanent mail is included among the mails requested to be deleted.

For example, when a user requests a deletion request by collectively specifying 10 mails, the mail management information processing unit 404 determines whether there is a mail set by the user as a permanent mail among the 10 mails.

In the case where the mail requested by the user does not include the permanent mail, the mail management information processing unit 404 reflects the user's deletion request information in the mail index database 404. In addition, the mail management information processing unit 404 calls the mail management information transmitting unit 408 to transmit the mail ID information to be deleted to the mailbox. The mailbox retrieves the mail data file corresponding to the mail ID and deletes the mail data file.

If the mails requested by the user include N permanent mails, the mail management information processing unit 404 does not delete the N permanent mails from the mail index database, and the mail index database only for the mails not set as permanent mails. Delete from In addition, the mail management information processing unit 404 calls the notification message transmission unit 406 to transmit a message to the user that N permanent mails are not deleted. In addition, the mail management information processing unit 404 transmits the mail ID information to be deleted except the permanent mail to the mailbox.

5 is a block diagram showing a module configuration of a mail index server according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the mail index server according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a mail setting information processing unit 500, a mail ID / pointer converting unit 502, a mail setting information transmitting unit 504, and a mail management information processing unit. 506, the notification message transmitter 508 and the mail management information transmitter 510 may be included.

In FIG. 5, the basic operation of the mail setting information processing unit 500 is the same as that of the first embodiment of FIG. 4. The mail setting information processing unit 500 reflects the user's permanent mail setting or permanent mail setting release information for a specific mail in the mail index database.

The mail ID / pointer converting unit 502 stores mail setting information (including, for example, permanent mail setting and permanent mail setting cancellation) or mail management information (eg, deleting mail and mailboxes) from a user client or a mail web server. When empty information is received), ID information of mails included in the mail setting information or the mail management information is converted into pointer information on the mailbox. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the conversion may be performed using the mail ID / pointer conversion table, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other conversion methods may be used.

Unlike the first embodiment, when the mail setting information processing unit 500 receives the mail setting information, the mail ID / pointer converting unit 502 is called to convert the mail IDs included in the mail setting information into pointer information on the mail box. To be converted.

The mail setting information transmission unit 504 transmits the mail setting information transmitted from the user client or the mail web server to the mailbox using the pointer conversion information of the mail ID / pointer conversion unit 502. The mail setting information transmitted to the mailbox by the mail setting information transmitting unit 504 includes pointer information of a target mail and identifier information for setting / releasing permanent mail. The mailbox updates the setting information of the mail corresponding to the point by using the mail setting information transmitted from the mail setting information transmission unit 504.

The mail management information processing unit 506 basically functions to receive mail management information such as mail deletion and mailbox emptying and reflect them in the mail index database as in the first embodiment.

In addition, as in the first embodiment, when the mail requested by the user includes the permanent mail, the mail management information processing unit 506 deletes the mail index data except the permanent mail from the mail index database and sends a notification message transmission unit. Call 508 to notify the user that the permanent mail has not been deleted.

In the first embodiment, the mail management information transmission unit, when the permanent mail is included, re-extracts a mail list to be substantially deleted among the mails that the user requests to delete the mail, and provides the mail list information to the mailbox. .

However, according to the second embodiment, the mail management information transmission unit 510 does not extract the mail list to be deleted again and provide it to the mailbox as in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the mailbox stores information on whether each mail is set as a permanent mail by the information provided by the mail setting information transmission unit 502. When the mail management information transmission unit 510 of the second embodiment receives the user's mail management information (including mail deletion and emptying the mailbox), the mail ID / pointer conversion unit 502 is called to request the deletion of the mail. Convert the information to pointer information in the mailbox. The mail management information transmitter 510 transmits only the pointer information of the mail which the user requests to delete.

The mailbox receives only file pointer information and updates the data stored in the mailbox. The mailbox deletes only the data for which the permanent mail is not set, but the data for which the permanent mail is not set.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting up a permanent mail according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a user first requests a mail web page from a mail web server (step 600). The user may request various types of mail web pages from the mail web server, but for the convenience of description, a case of requesting a mail list web page will be described as an example.

Upon receiving the mail list web page request information, the web server requests mail index information corresponding to the requested user from the mail index server (step 602), and receives mail index information from the mail index server (step 604).

The mail web server generates a mail web page using the received mail index information (step 606), and sends the generated web page to a user client (step 608).

10 is a diagram showing an example of a mail list web page provided by a mail web server according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, a web page provided by a mail web server according to the present invention includes an interface 1100 for setting a specific mail as a permanent mail. The user may set a specific mail as a permanent mail or release a permanent mail using the illustrated interface.

In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the mail list web page provided by the mail web server provides a separate indicator 1110 capable of identifying mail set as permanent mail. These indicators allow the user to check whether a particular mail has been set as a permanent mail.

After the user receives the mail list web page, the user sets a specific mail as a permanent mail by using the interface of the mail list web page (step 610).

As described above, the mail list web page includes a script for transmitting the permanent mail setting or the permanent mail setting information, and the permanent mail setting information is transmitted to the mail index server by the operation of the script (step 612). Although FIG. 6 illustrates a case in which permanent mail setting information is directly transmitted from a user client to a mail index server, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the mail may be transmitted via a mail web server.

The received mail index server stores the permanent mail setting information in the mail index database (step 614).

Although FIG. 6 illustrates a permanent mail setting process using the mail list web page as an example, the permanent mail setting process as shown in FIG. 6 may be performed in other types of web pages such as a mail body web page instead of a mail list web page. .

7 is a flowchart illustrating a mail deletion process according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the user requests to delete a specific mail through an interface of a mail web page (including a mail list web page and a mail body web page) (step 700), and the mail deletion request information is transmitted to the mail web server. (Step 702). The mail web server sends the user's mail deletion request information to the mail index server (step 704). Unlike FIG. 7, the mail deletion request information may be directly transmitted from the user client to the mail index server.

Upon receiving the mail deletion request information, the mail index server determines whether there is a mail set as a permanent mail among the mails requesting deletion (step 706).

As a result of the determination in step 706, the mail index server deletes the index information of the mail except the permanent mail from the mail index database (step 708). In addition, a notification message is sent to the user client indicating that the permanent mail is not deleted (step 710). If the mail for which deletion is requested does not contain permanent mail, index information for all mails included in the deletion request information is deleted from the mail index database (step 712).

In addition, the mail index server extracts a mail ID list to be deleted according to the determination result in step 706, and transmits the extracted information to the mailbox (step 714). The mailbox searches for and deletes a mail data file corresponding to a mail ID included in the list.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting up a permanent mail according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Compared to FIG. 6 showing the first embodiment, the contents of steps 800 to 814 are the same as in FIG.

In the second embodiment, the operation of converting the ID of the mail set as the permanent mail into a file pointer on the mailbox is further proceeded (step 816). When the conversion to the file pointer is completed, the mail index server sends the permanent mail setting information including the file pointer information of the mail data set as the permanent mail and the identifier information for requesting the permanent mail setting to the mailbox (step 818). ). In step 816 to step 818, the mailbox may reflect the permanent mail setting information in the mailbox without any retrieval operation.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a mail deletion process according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In comparison with FIG. 7 showing the first embodiment, the process from step 900 to step 912 is the same as in FIG.

In a second embodiment, an operation of converting a mail ID of a mail requesting deletion to a file pointer on a mailbox is performed (step 914). In this case, the mail ID / pointer conversion operation is performed on all mails included in the mail deletion request information transmitted in step 902. That is, the mail index server converts all mail IDs corresponding to the mail deletion request information into file pointers on the mailbox without determining whether the mail requested to be deleted includes permanent mail. That is, the mail index server does not need to determine whether or not the permanent mail is included and actually extract the mail list to be deleted.

The mail index server sends the file pointer information converted in step 916 to the mailbox (step 916). Since the permanent mail setting information is already reflected in the mailbox, the mailbox does not delete the data set as the permanent mail among the mail data corresponding to the file pointer, and deletes only the mail data set as the permanent mail.

As described above, according to the mail management system and method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently delete spam mail and mail not required by the user at a faster time, and specify the spam mail to be deleted by the user one by one. There is an advantage that you do not have to.

Claims (13)

A mail web server providing a mail related web page including an interface for requesting permanent mail setting / release for a specific mail; A mail server processing a mail transmission request from the mail web server and processing received mail data; A mail box for storing mail data provided from the mail server; A mail index database for storing mail index information; The mail index is extracted from the mail index database and provided to the mail web server. The mail index receives permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from the mail web server or the user client and reflects it in the mail index database. Include servers, When deletion request information for one or more mails is received from a user client or the mail web server, the mail index server determines whether there is a mail for which permanent storage is set among the mails requested to be deleted, and thus, permanent storage is set. And mail data corresponding to the provided mail ID are deleted by the mailbox by providing only the ID information of the unmailed mail to the mailbox. The method of claim 1, The mail-related web page provided by the mail web server includes a script for transmitting permanent mail setting / release information to the mail web server or the mail index server in response to a user's request for setting / releasing permanent mail using the interface. Mail management system. The method of claim 1, The permanent mail setting / release information includes mail ID information of a mail associated with setting or setting and an identifier indicating setting or setting. The method of claim 3, And the mail index server updates mail index information corresponding to a mail ID included in the permanent mail setting / release information in response to the permanent mail setting / release information. A mail web server providing a mail-related web page including an interface for requesting to turn on / off permanent mail for a specific mail; A mail server processing a mail transmission request from the mail web server and processing received mail data; A mail box that stores a plurality of mail data provided from the mail server as a file and manages file pointer information of each mail data; A mail index database for storing mail index information; Extract the index information of the mail from the mail index database and provide it to the mail web server, receive permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from the mail web server or user client, and set the permanent mail received in the mail index database. A mail index server reflecting / releasing information and converting ID information of a mail included in the permanent mail setting / release information into pointer information in the mailbox and providing the mail to the mailbox; When the mail index server receives deletion request information about one or more mails from a user client or the mail web server, the mail index server displays the information of the mails other than the mail whose permanent storage is set among the mails corresponding to the deletion request information. Deleting from the index database, converting ID information of mails included in the mail deletion request information into pointer information on the mailbox, and transmitting the same to the mailbox; The mailbox for storing the permanent mail setting / cancellation information in a preset field has flag information of a field for storing the permanent mail setting / cancellation among the mail data corresponding to the mail pointer transmitted from the mail index server. Mail management system, characterized in that for deleting only the mail data that is not set. The method of claim 5, The mail-related web page provided by the mail web server includes a script for transmitting permanent mail setting / release information to the mail web server or the mail index server in response to a user's request for setting / releasing permanent mail using the interface. Mail management system The method of claim 5, And the mail index server updates mail index information corresponding to a mail ID included in the permanent mail setting / release information in response to the permanent mail setting / release information. delete (A) receiving permanent mail setting / release information for a specific mail from a user client; (B) reflecting the permanent mail setting / release information in a mail index database; (C) determining whether there is a mail for which permanent storage is set among the mails corresponding to the deletion request information when the deletion request information regarding the one or more mails is received from the user client; And And (d) performing deletion processing only on mails for which permanent mail is not set among the mails included in the deletion request information when there is a mail for which permanent storage is set. The method of claim 9, Step (d) is, Extracting ID information of mails except for mails for which permanent storage is set among the mails included in the deletion request information; And The method may further include transmitting the extracted mail ID information to a mailbox. And the mail box searches for and deletes mail data corresponding to the transmitted mail ID information. The method of claim 9, Converting the mail ID information of the mails related to the permanent mail setting / release information into file pointer information on the mailbox. The mailbox stores a plurality of mail data as one file and manages file pointer information of each mail data. Include more, The mail box stores the permanent mail setting / cancellation information in a preset field. The method of claim 11, Step (d) is, Converting mail ID information of mails included in the deletion request information into file pointer information on the mailbox; Transmitting the converted file pointer information to the mailbox, And the mail box deletes only the mail data whose flag information of a field for storing the permanent mail setting / release information is not set as a permanent mail among the mail data corresponding to the file pointer. A recording medium on which a program for performing the method of any one of claims 9 to 12 is tangibly embodied, and which records a program that can be read by an electronic information processing apparatus device.

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