Email linkage program and email linkage device

Abstract

To provide an email linkage program and the like for easily and centrally managing email information between users on a business support server.SOLUTION: An email linkage program according to the present invention is an email linkage program connected via a network to a business support server that manages information on received emails, and causes a computer to function as receiving means for receiving emails, analysis means for analyzing the emails and extracting values corresponding to respective predetermined information items managed by the business support server from the emails, and linkage means for transmitting the predetermined information items and values to the business support server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an email linkage program and an email linkage device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, business support systems have become known that allow members to share information in a centralized manner to improve business efficiency (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Some business support systems are equipped with groupware functions, allowing members to exchange messages in chat format, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-345953 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In contrast, email using general-purpose mailers remains the norm when exchanging messages with external parties. It is said that the average business person receives 66.87 emails per day, and that it takes an average of 1 minute and 24 seconds to read one email. Depending on the content of an email, it may be necessary to forward it to other members so that it can be shared, making efficient management of the vast amount of emails that is generated in business a major issue.

[0005] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and one aspect of the present invention aims to provide an email linkage program or the like for easily and centrally managing email information between users on a business support server. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the email linkage system of the present invention is a business support server that manages information on received emails, and an email linkage program connected via a network, which causes a computer to function as a receiving means for receiving the emails, an analyzing means for analyzing the emails and extracting values ​​corresponding to each specified information item managed by the business support server from the email, and a linkage means for transmitting the specified information items and the values ​​to the business support server.

[0007] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the email integration device of the present invention includes a business support server that manages information on received emails, an email integration device connected via a network, and includes a receiving means for receiving the emails, an analysis means for analyzing the emails and extracting values ​​corresponding to each specified information item managed by the business support server from the emails, and an integration means for transmitting the specified information items and the values ​​to the business support server. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an email linking program or the like for easily and centrally managing email information between users in a business support server. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network configuration of an email linkage system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a mail linking server according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of a mail link server according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an email analysis collaboration process according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a mail analysis collaboration process according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an example of setting information in a setting DB according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a result of email analysis processing according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. <System configuration> (Network configuration) 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration of an email linkage system according to this embodiment. The email linkage system 100 in FIG. 1 includes a business support server 10, an email linkage server 20, and a user terminal 30, which are connected via a network 60.

[0011] The business support server 10 is a server device for sharing information in a management database among member users in a unified manner to improve business efficiency. In particular, the business support server 10 according to this embodiment cooperates with the email linking server 20 via API, and stores information about emails M (e.g., headers, text, attachments, etc.) related to business in the management database for each information item, enabling users to share information about emails M in a unified manner without using a general-purpose email client.

[0012] The email connection server 20 receives the business-related email M that has been sent, analyzes the information of the email M (e.g., header, body, attached files, etc.), and extracts information items to be stored in the management DB. The email connection server 20 also transmits the extracted information items to the business support server 10 via the API (Application Programming Interface) of the business support server 10.

[0013] The user terminal 30 is, for example, a PC, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal, and is a client device of a user who uses the business support server 10. The user accesses and logs in to the business support server 10 using the user terminal 30, and performs business by centrally sharing and referencing information stored in the management DB. In order to access the business support server 10, a predetermined application program (a general-purpose web browser, a dedicated application, etc.) is installed in advance on the user terminal 30.

[0014] The network 60 is a communication network that may be wired or wireless, and may include, for example, the Internet, a public line network, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the like.

[0015] (Hardware configuration) 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an email linking server according to this embodiment. The email linking server 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 21, a read-only memory (ROM) 22, a random access memory (RAM) 23, a hard disk drive (HDD) 24, and a communication device 25.

[0016] The CPU 11 executes various programs and performs arithmetic processing. The ROM 22 stores programs required at startup, etc. The RAM 23 is a work area for temporarily storing processing by the CPU 21 and storing data. The HDD 24 stores various data and programs. The communication device 25 communicates with other devices via the network 60.

[0017] (Software configuration) 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the email linking server according to this embodiment. The email linking server 20 has an email receiving unit 201, an email analyzing unit 202, an email linking unit 203, and a storage unit 209 as its main functional units.

[0018] The email receiving unit 201 has a function of receiving emails to be managed by the business support server 10. The email analyzing unit 202 has a function of analyzing the emails and extracting values ​​corresponding to each predetermined information item managed by the business support server 10 from the emails. The email linking unit 203 has a function of sending the predetermined information item and the extracted value to the business support server 10. The storage unit 209 has a function of storing the setting DB in the HDD 24.

[0019] Each functional unit is realized by a program executed on hardware resources such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM of a computer constituting the email link server 20. These functional units may be referred to as "means," "module," "unit," or "circuit." Each DB of the storage unit 209 may also be placed in an external storage device on the network 60. The computer program and application program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0020] <Email analysis and collaboration processing> 4 is a diagram illustrating the email analysis collaboration process according to this embodiment. An email M generally consists of two parts: a header and a body (main text). The header contains information such as "Date" (date and time of email creation), "To" (destination address), "Cc" (address for mass email), "Bcc" (address for mass email with undisclosed recipients), "From" (sender address), "Subject" (email subject), and "Message ID" (message ID) (some parts not shown). The body includes the main text (Content-Type) written in text or HTML, and any attached emails.

[0021] In contrast, the specified information items (fields) managed (defined) in the management DB include, for example, "inquiry number," "received date and time," "company name," "contact person's name," "contact person's name (kana)," "email," "product name," "contents," and "attached files."

[0022] When the mail link server 20 receives the mail M, it analyzes the information (for example, the header, the body, etc.) of the mail M and extracts information corresponding to each information item in the management DB. More specifically, an example will be given below. The numeric string "29283" in the "Subject" field of the email header is analyzed and extracted as the value of the "Inquiry Number" information item in the management database. The date and time "2024 / 05 / 01 10:05" in the "Date" field of the email header is analyzed and extracted as the value of the "Received Date and Time" information item in the management database. The text "ABCD Co., Ltd." following "Your Company Name:" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the field value for the information field "Company Name" in the management database. The text "Suzuki Ichiro" following "Contact Name:" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the field value for the information field "Contact Name" in the management database. The text "Suzuki Ichiro" following "Contact Name (Kana):" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the item value for the information item "Contact Name (Kana)" in the management database. The text "suzuki@abcd.co.jp" following "Email:" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the field value for the information field "Email" in the management database. The text "M-02" following "Product Name:" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the item value for the information item "Product Name" in the management database. The text "xxxxxx..." following "Content:" in the email body is analyzed and extracted as the value of the information item "Content" in the management database. The attached file "Order Form.pdf" attached to the email body is analyzed and extracted as the item value of the information item "Attachment" in the management database.

[0023] When the email link server 20 extracts item values ​​for each information item in the management DB from the email M, it transmits the extracted information items and item values ​​via the API of the business support server 10. The business support server 10 stores the received item values ​​for each information item in the management DB.

[0024] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the email analysis collaboration process according to this embodiment. The CPU 21 reads and executes a program capable of realizing the flowchart shown in Fig. 5, thereby realizing each step (hereinafter referred to as "S").

[0025] S1: The mail connection server 20 determines (detects) whether an email has been received. For example, if the email is an inquiry email from a web form, the email address of the mail connection server 20 can be directly specified as the destination (To) of the inquiry email, or the email can be forwarded. For example, if the email is an order email from an e-commerce site, the email address of the mail connection server 20 can be directly specified as the destination (To) of the order email, or the email can be forwarded. For example, if the email is addressed to a representative of a company, etc., the email address of the mail connection server 20 can be specified as the destination (To) of the email addressed to the representative, or the email can be forwarded. For example, if the email is addressed to a group of a company, etc., the email address of the mail connection server 20 can be specified as the destination (To) of the email addressed to the group, or the email can be forwarded.

[0026] S2: When the email connection server 20 receives an email, it executes email analysis processing for the received email. As described above, the email analysis processing is a process of analyzing the header and body information of the email and extracting item values ​​for each information item in the management DB.

[0027] 6 is a diagram showing an example of setting information in the setting DB according to this embodiment. The setting DB is a DB in which setting information related to email analysis linkage processing is registered in advance. The setting DB according to this embodiment has data items such as "linkage ID," "destination email address," "linkage storage destination," "extracted keyword," and "field code (field name)."

[0028] "Linked ID" is a unique identifier assigned to each piece of setting information in the setting DB. "Destination email address" is the email address (To) of the email. "Linked storage destination" is allocated according to the email destination. "Linked storage destination" indicates the linked storage destination of the information items extracted from the email (for example, the address of the business support server 10, DB identifier, application identifier, folder, etc.). "Extracted keyword" indicates the keyword corresponding to the information item extracted from the email header and body information during the email analysis process. "Field code (field name)" indicates the information item or its identifier in the management DB corresponding to each extracted keyword.

[0029] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the results of email analysis processing according to this embodiment. The email connection server 20 can analyze values ​​(information item values) extracted from the information in the header and body of an email for each "field code (field name)" indicating an information item based on the extracted keywords in accordance with the setting information.

[0030] S3: The email linking server 20 executes DB linking processing. Specifically, the email linking server 20 identifies the "linked storage destination" of the email corresponding to the email destination ("destination email address") by referring to the setting information, and specifies the identified "linked storage destination" to send the email analysis processing result (FIG. 7) to the business support server 10. The email analysis processing result is a set of a "field code (field name)" indicating the information item and a value (information item value) extracted from the information in the email header and body based on the extracted keyword.

[0031] When the business support server 10 receives the email analysis processing results from the email linking server 20 via API, it stores values ​​(information item values) for each "field code (field name)" in the management DB of the linked storage destination. This allows information about email M related to business to be stored for each information item in the management DB of the business support server 10, making it possible for each user to share the information about email M in a centralized manner without using a general-purpose email client (Fig. 4).

[0032] In the email analysis process according to this embodiment, for example, in the case of standard emails from web forms or e-commerce sites, the form in the body is specified, such as "Your company name:", "Name of person in charge:", "Name of person in charge:", etc., so it is relatively easy to extract specific information items from the text in the body. On the other hand, in the case of unstandard emails where the form in the body is not specified, there are several methods available for the email analysis process in S2. All text in the body (main text) is stored as one information item in the management DB of the business support server 10. Since there are no omissions, the content can be reliably supplemented from the email. All text in the body is summarized using a generation AI or the like, and the summary is stored as a single information item in the management DB of the business support server 10. Even if the email is lengthy, it can be narrowed down to the main points and its contents can be supplemented. All text in the body (main text) is linguistically analyzed, and text is extracted as information items related to extracted keywords defined according to the type of email, and stored in the management DB of the business support server 10. Similar to standard emails, it is possible to efficiently supplement only the predetermined necessary information from the email.

[0033] <Summary> In this embodiment, the email connection server 20 receives business-related emails, analyzes the information in the email M, and extracts information items to be stored in the management DB of the business support server 10. The email connection server 20 also transmits the extracted information items to the business support server 10, which stores the information items in the management DB for each information item. This allows email information to be shared centrally on the business support server 10, without each user having to use a general-purpose email client.

[0034] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is apparent that various modifications and changes can be made to these examples without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. In other words, the details of the examples and the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10 Business support server 20 Email connection server 30 User terminals 60 Network 100 Email Integration System 201 Mail Receiving Department 202 Email Analysis Unit 203 Email Connection Department 209 Memory section

Claims

1. A business support server that manages information on received emails and an email linkage program connected via a network, Computer, receiving means for receiving the email; an analysis means for analyzing the email and extracting from the email a value corresponding to each predetermined information item managed by a business support server; a linking means for transmitting the predetermined information items and the values ​​to a business support server; An email integration program to make it work.

2. The predetermined information item is a field of a DB in the business support server, the analyzing means extracts a value corresponding to the field from the text of the email; 2. The email linking program according to claim 1,

3. A business support server that manages information on received emails and an email linkage device connected via a network, receiving means for receiving the email; an analysis means for analyzing the email and extracting from the email a value corresponding to each predetermined information item managed by a business support server; a linking means for transmitting the predetermined information items and the values ​​to a business support server; An email linking device comprising:

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