Download support device

Abstract

To enable an attachment file of a past reception mail to be downloaded even if a download valid period of a storage service storing attachment files of mails passes.SOLUTION: A download support device 10 stores a file as a backup file in a file server 30 when file download is successful, stores its request URL (a first request URL) in association with a storage URL of the backup file stored in the file server 30, and after that, notifies an information terminal 20 of a request source of a storage URL corresponding to its request URL (a second request URL) in the case that the file download fails.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a download support technology used to support the downloading of files from a storage server. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, emails sent and received by a user are stored on a mail server or on the user's information terminal. Patent Document 1 proposes an email management system that collectively stores emails sent and received by users in a specified group. This allows users to view emails received in the past even if some time has passed since they received the email.

[0003] In addition, in a typical email application launched on an information terminal, if an incoming email contains a URL (link information) for an attachment, selecting the URL of the incoming email displayed on the screen of the email application on the information terminal will send a download request for the attachment to the storage server, and in response, the file corresponding to the URL can be downloaded from the storage server (see, for example, non-patent document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-044124 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, depending on the operating mode of the storage server, a download expiration date may be specified, and files may be deleted when the expiration date has passed. In such cases, if the expiration date has not yet passed, the file can be downloaded from the storage server by viewing the received email in an email application and selecting the URL. However, if the expiration date has passed and the user views the received email again in an email application and selects the URL, the storage server will return an error such as HTTP404 (not found) indicating that the specified file cannot be found, making it impossible to download the file.

[0006] The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and aims to provide a download support technology that enables attachments to previously received emails to be downloaded even if the download validity period of the storage server where the email attachments are stored has expired. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve this object, the download support device of the present invention is a download support device that supports the download of a file when the URL of the file on a storage server is contained in an email received by an information terminal, and is equipped with a file storage unit that is configured to, when a file corresponding to a first request URL specified in a first download request sent from the information terminal is downloaded from the storage server in response to the first download request, extract the file and store it on the file server, and associate the first request URL with a storage URL indicating the storage location of the file and store them in a memory unit, and a URL notification unit that is configured, when an error is returned from the storage server in response to a second download request sent from the information terminal, obtain from the memory unit the storage URL associated with the second request URL specified in the second download request, and notify the information terminal of the storage URL.

[0008] In addition, one configuration example of the above download support device further includes an email storage unit configured to store at least the URL of the file from the email received by the information terminal as email data in the memory unit when the download deadline for the file is stated in the email, and the file storage unit is configured to store the file corresponding to the first request URL in the file server when the first request URL matches the URL of the email data.

[0009] In addition, one configuration example of the above download support device further includes a mail storage unit configured to store in the storage unit as mail data at least a portion of the mail received by the information terminal that contains the URL of the storage destination of the file, and when notifying the storage URL, the URL notification unit is configured to retrieve the mail data that includes the second request URL from the storage unit, and create a support mail to the information terminal using new mail data in which the second request URL in the retrieved mail data has been rewritten to the storage URL.

[0010] In addition, in one configuration example of the above download support device, the URL notification unit is configured to, when notifying the information terminal of the storage URL, instruct the information terminal to display the storage URL on the screen of an email application running on the information terminal.

[0011] In addition, in one configuration example of the above download support device, when notifying the information terminal of the stored URL, the URL notification unit is configured to instruct the information terminal to display the stored URL on the screen of a browser application launched when the second download request is made.

[0012] In addition, in one configuration example of the above download support device, when notifying the information terminal of the stored URL, the URL notification unit is configured to instruct a browser application launched on the information terminal when the second download request is made to redirect to the stored URL. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, even if the valid download period of the storage server has expired, it is possible to download attachments of previously received emails. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a download support device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the structure of URL corresponding data. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of creating a support email. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the download support device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Download support device] First, a download support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0016] This download support device 10 is composed of a relay device such as a Unified Threat Management (UTM) device or a gateway device, and is configured to store files downloaded from a storage server as backup files in a file server.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, a download support device 10 is connected to a communication network NW such as the Internet via a communication line L1, and is also connected to an information terminal 20 used by a user and a file server 30 via a local communication network LAN.

[0018] The file server 30 is configured to accumulate the copy files stored by the download support device 10 and to return the copy file designated in response to a download request from the information terminal 20 .

[0019] The storage server 40 is connected to the communication network NW, and is configured to store various files and return a specified file in response to a download request from the information terminal 20. The mail server 50 is configured to store mail addressed to the information terminal 20 and to return a specified mail in response to a reception request from the information terminal 20.

[0020] [Principle of the present invention] The download request sent from the information terminal 20 and the corresponding download response from the storage server 40 include the requested URL and file data of the desired file. Also, if an error is returned in the download response to the download request, the request URL is included in the download response.

[0021] Therefore, when an error such as HTTP404 (not found) is returned from the storage server 40 indicating that the specified file cannot be found, the file data can be identified based on the request URL of the file for which the error occurred.

[0022] The present invention focuses on the request URL and file data contained in such download requests and download responses, and when a file is successfully downloaded from storage server 40, the downloaded file is stored as a copy file in file server 30, and the request URL (first request URL) is associated with the storage URL of the copy file stored in file server 30 and stored.If the file download subsequently fails, the storage URL corresponding to the request URL (second request URL) is notified to information terminal 20 that made the request.

[0023] The connection configuration between the download support device 10 in this embodiment and the file server 30, storage server 40, and mail server 50 is not limited to this, and may be changed as appropriate depending on the application that operates the download support device 10.

[0024] [Configuration of the download support device] The configuration of download support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the block diagram of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, download support device 10 includes, as main circuitry, a communication I / F 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13.

[0025] [Communication I / F] The communication I / F 11 is connected to the communication network NW via a communication line L1, and is configured to relay and connect the information terminal 20 connected to the local communication network LAN to the communication network NW.

[0026] [Storage] The storage unit 12 is generally made up of a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and is configured to store various data and programs 12P used in the download support process in the control unit 13.

[0027] The program 12P is a program that realizes various processing units that execute download support processing in the control unit 13 by working in cooperation with the CPU of the control unit 13. The program 12P is read from an external device or a recording medium (neither of which is shown) and stored in the storage unit 12 in advance.

[0028] The main data stored in the storage unit 12 include target URL data 12A, URL correspondence data 12B, and mail data 12C.

[0029] [Target URL data] The target URL data 12A is a URL that indicates a file stored in the storage server 40 and that is attached to an email received by the information terminal 20. The URL stored in the target URL data 12A is the target file for download assistance.

[0030] [URL-compatible data] 2, the URL correspondence data 12B is data indicating the correspondence between a request URL and a storage URL. Of these, the request URL is a URL indicating a file stored in the storage server 40. The storage URL is a URL indicating a file stored in the file server 30.

[0031] [Email data] The email data 12C is data indicating an email that the information terminal 20 has received from the email server 50. The email data 12C is used when notifying the information terminal 20 of a storage URL by email. For this reason, the entire email may be saved as email data 12C, but in order to prevent an increase in storage capacity, it may be omitted to the extent that the user can understand, and at least the part of the email body that describes the URL of the file may be saved as email data 12C.

[0032] [Control Unit] The control unit 13 has a CPU and its peripheral circuits, and is configured to realize various processing units that execute the download support process in the control unit 13 by having the program 12P in the storage unit 12 and the CPU work together.

[0033] The main processing units realized by the control unit 13 include a relay processing unit 13A, a mail saving unit 13B, a file storage unit 13C, and a URL notification unit 13D.

[0034] [Relay Processing Unit] The relay processing unit 13A is configured to control the communication I / F 11 to relay the information terminal 20 to the communication network NW, and to capture emails, download requests, and download responses exchanged by the information terminal 20 and output them to the control unit 13.

[0035] [Email Storage] When the body of an email received by the information terminal 20 contains a URL for a file, the email storage unit 13B is configured to extract from the body of the email at least the portion that contains the URL attached to the file, store it in the memory unit 12 as email data 12C, and store the attached URL in the memory unit 12 as a target URL 12A indicating that the file is the subject of download assistance.

[0036] The mail storage unit 13B may be configured to store the URL of the file in the storage unit only when the download deadline is described together with the URL of the file storage location in the received mail. By limiting the URLs to be stored to URLs that include a download deadline, it is possible to limit the capacity of files stored in the file server.

[0037] [File storage section] When a file corresponding to a specified request URL (first request URL) is returned from the storage server 40 in response to a download request (first download request) sent to the storage server 40, the file storage unit 13C is configured to extract the file and store it in the file server 30, and to associate the request URL (first request URL) with a storage URL indicating the storage location of the file and store the associated file in the URL correspondence data 12B of the memory unit 12.

[0038] [URL notification section] When an error is returned from the storage server 40 in response to a download request (second download request) sent to the storage server 40, the URL notification unit 13D is configured to obtain the stored URL associated with the request URL (second request URL) specified in the download request (second download request) from the URL correspondence data 12B in the memory unit 12, and notify the requesting information terminal 20, which is the source of the download request (second download request).

[0039] Regarding the notification to requesting information terminal 20, URL notification unit 13D may be configured to notify requesting information terminal 20 of an instruction to display the stored URL on the screen of a mail application running on requesting information terminal 20.

[0040] Alternatively, the URL notification unit 13D may be configured to retrieve email data 12C including the requested URL (second requested URL) from the storage unit 12, create a support email addressed to the requesting information terminal 20 using new email data in which the requested URL (second requested URL) of the email data 12C has been rewritten with the stored URL, and send the support email from the communication I / F 11 to the email server 50 via the communication network NW.

[0041] In the support email shown in Figure 3(b), the request URL in the body of the original email shown in Figure 3(a) has been rewritten with the stored URL. In this example, the download deadline is stated in the email body, so the download deadline is crossed out in the support email.

[0042] [Operation of this embodiment] The operation of the download support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0043] When a user launches an email application on the information terminal 20, accesses the email server 50 via the download support device 10, and receives an email (step 100), the download support device 10 captures the received email using the communication I / F 11, and the email storage unit 13B of the control unit 13 checks the received email.

[0044] If the body of the received email contains a URL for a file, the part of the email body containing at least the URL attached to the file is extracted and stored in the memory unit 12 as email data 12C (step 101), and the attached URL is stored in the memory unit 12 as a target URL 12A (step 102).

[0045] When the user views the received email received from the mail server 50 via the download support device 10 and selects the URL of the file, a download request is sent from the information terminal 20 to the storage server 40 via the download support device 10 (step 103).

[0046] Here, the URL of the file may be stored in the storage unit only if the download deadline is stated together with the URL of the file storage location in the received email.By limiting the URLs to be stored to URLs that state the download deadline, it is possible to limit the capacity of files stored on the file server.

[0047] Download support device 10 captures a download request from information terminal 20 via communication I / F 11, and file storage unit 13C of control unit 13 extracts the request URL (first request URL) included in the download request and compares it with target URL data 12A in storage unit 12. If the request URL matches target URL data 12A, it recognizes that the file requested for download support is a target for download support (step 104).

[0048] After that, when a download response is returned from the storage server 40 (step 105), the download support device 10 captures the download response using the communication I / F 11, and the file storage unit 13C of the control unit 13 acquires the file contained in the download response (step 106) and stores it as a copy file in the file server 30 (step 107), and also associates the request URL (first request URL) with a storage URL indicating the storage location of the file, and saves it in the URL correspondence data 12B of the memory unit 12 (step 108).

[0049] Next, after the download deadline has passed in the storage server 40, if the user launches an email application on the information terminal 20, views a previously received email, and selects the attached file URL listed, a download request is sent from the information terminal 20 to the storage server 40 via the download support device 10 (step 110).

[0050] After that, when a download response is returned from the storage server 40 (step 111), the download support device 10 captures the download response with the communication I / F 11, and since the download response indicates an error, the URL notification unit 13D of the control unit 13 extracts the request URL (second request URL) specified in the download request (second download request) (step 112), and obtains the stored URL associated with the request URL (second request URL) from the URL correspondence data 12B of the memory unit 12 (step 113).

[0051] Next, URL notification unit 13D notifies request source information terminal 20 via communication I / F 11 of an instruction to display the stored URL on the screen of the email application running on request source information terminal 20 (step 114).

[0052] At this time, the URL notification unit 13D may obtain email data 12C including the requested URL (second requested URL) from the memory unit 12, create a support email addressed to the requesting information terminal 20 using new email data in which the requested URL (second requested URL) of the email data 12C has been rewritten with the stored URL, and send the support email from the communication I / F 11 to the email server 50 via the communication network NW.

[0053] Furthermore, when the URL notification unit 13D notifies the requesting information terminal 20 of the stored URL (step 114), the requesting information terminal 20 may be configured to launch a browser application when a second download request is made, and to instruct the browser application to display the stored URL on the screen of the launched browser application.

[0054] Furthermore, when the URL notification unit 13D notifies the requesting information terminal 20 of the stored URL (step 114), the requesting information terminal 20 may be configured to launch a browser application when a second download request is made, and to instruct the launched browser application to redirect to the stored URL.

[0055] The requesting user checks the storage URL notified by the download support device 10 on the screen of the email application of the requesting information terminal 20, and if the requesting user selects the URL, a download request is sent from the requesting information terminal 20 to the file server 30 (step 115). As a result, a copy file corresponding to the storage URL, that is, a file attached to a previously received email, is returned to the information terminal 20 by a download response from the file server 30 (step 116).

[0056] [Advantages of this embodiment] In this way, in this embodiment, when the download support device 10 successfully downloads a file, it stores the file as a backup file in the file server 30, and stores the request URL (first request URL) in association with the storage URL of the backup file stored in the file server 30, and if the file download subsequently fails, it notifies the requesting information terminal 20 of the storage URL corresponding to the request URL (second request URL).

[0057] This makes it possible to download attachments to previously received emails even if the download validity period of the storage server where the email attachments are stored has expired.

[0058] [Extended embodiment] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 10...download support device, 11...communication I / F, 12...memory unit, 12A...target URL data, 12B...URL corresponding data, 12C...email data, 12P...program, 13...control unit, 13A...relay processing unit, 13B...email storage unit, 13C...file storage unit, 13D...URL notification unit, L1...communication line, LAN...local communication network, NW...communication network.

Claims

1. 1. A download support device that supports downloading of a file when a URL of a file in a storage server is described in an email received by an information terminal, comprising: When a file corresponding to a first request URL specified in a first download request transmitted from the information terminal is downloaded from the storage server, a file storage unit configured to extract the file and store it in a file server, and to associate the first request URL with a storage URL indicating a storage destination of the file and store the extracted file in a storage unit; When an error is returned from the storage server in response to the second download request transmitted from the information terminal, a URL notification unit configured to obtain the stored URL associated with the second request URL specified in the second download request from the storage unit and notify the information terminal of the obtained URL. A download support device characterized by:

2. a mail storage unit configured to store at least a URL of the file from the mail received by the information terminal in the storage unit as mail data when a download deadline for the file is described in the mail; The file storage unit When the first request URL matches the URL of the mail data, the file corresponding to the first request URL is stored in the file server.

2. The download support device according to claim 1.

3. a mail storage unit configured to store, in the storage unit as mail data, at least a portion of the mail received by the information terminal, the portion including the URL of the storage destination of the file; The URL notification unit When notifying the storage URL, the mail data including the second request URL is acquired from the storage unit, and the second request URL of the acquired mail data is rewritten to the storage URL to create a support mail for the information terminal using new mail data.

2. The download support device according to claim 1.

4. The URL notification unit When the storage URL is notified to the information terminal, the storage URL is instructed to be displayed on the screen of a mail application running on the information terminal.

2. The download support device according to claim 1.

5. The URL notification unit When the storage URL is notified to the information terminal, the storage URL is instructed to be displayed on the screen of a browser application that is started up at the information terminal when the second download request is made.

2. The download support device according to claim 1.

6. The URL notification unit When the storage URL is notified to the information terminal, the information terminal is configured to instruct a browser application that has been started up in response to the second download request to redirect to the storage URL.

2. The download support device according to claim 1.

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