WO2001035237A1 - A system for webpage connection of using electronic mail address and a method of the same - Google Patents

A system for webpage connection of using electronic mail address and a method of the same Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001035237A1
WO2001035237A1 PCT/KR2000/001278 KR0001278W WO0135237A1 WO 2001035237 A1 WO2001035237 A1 WO 2001035237A1 KR 0001278 W KR0001278 W KR 0001278W WO 0135237 A1 WO0135237 A1 WO 0135237A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
electronic mail
web page
url
client
mail address
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/KR2000/001278
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Seok-Jin Kim
Yong-Seung Cho
Original Assignee
Kim Seok Jin
Cho Yong Seung
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kim Seok Jin, Cho Yong Seung filed Critical Kim Seok Jin
Priority to JP2001536703A priority Critical patent/JP2003514303A/en
Publication of WO2001035237A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001035237A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
    • G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F15/00—Digital computers in general; Data processing equipment in general

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a web page accessing apparatus and method using electronic mail addresses. More specifically, the present invention relates to a web page accessing apparatus and method for searching for a uniform resource location (URL) corresponding to an electronic mail address provided by a client and providing a web page corresponding to the searched URL to the client.
  • URL uniform resource location
  • ISP Internet service providers
  • ISP Internet service providers
  • the user In order to access web pages, the user must exactly know the URL of the web page address or search using a search engine such as Yahoo, but there are a lot of web pages, it is not easy to search the web pages, and further in the case of personal web pages, they are rarely searched by the search engine, and hence, the user must exactly know the exact URL of the personal homepages. Therefore, in most cases, the personal homepage managers and their acquaintances are the only ones to access the personal homepages.
  • a web page address access apparatus in a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, comprises a database server for storing users' electronic mail addresses and URL information of web pages corresponding to the electronic mail addresses; and a contents server for requesting, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client, to referral to the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the database server, receiving URL information of the searched web page, generating an access file for accessing the URL of the searched received web page, and transmitting the access file to the client.
  • the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query statement for searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the
  • a web page address access apparatus in a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, comprises a contents server for generating, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via a client, a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and generating an access file for accessing a URL of a web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address; and a directory server having a directory corresponding to the electronic mail address, and storing the access file in a corresponding directory.
  • the apparatus further comprises a database server for storing user information, user electronic mail address and URL information of the web page corresponding to the user's electronic mail address by using a key value.
  • FIG. 1 shows a web page address accessing system according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
  • FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 4 shows a web page address accessing system according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 5 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 8 shows a web page address accessing system according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 shows a web page address accessing system according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the electronic mail accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a client 100, a contents server 200, a database server 300 and a target server 400.
  • the web page address accessing apparatus according to the first preferred embodiment comprises the contents server 200 and the database server 300.
  • the client 100 is a system for a user to access web servers using a web browser such as Netscape or Explorer, and a personal computer is used as for the client 100.
  • the client comprises a contents server access unit 120 that generates a query statement for searching for the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address and accesses the contents server 200 when the user inputs an electronic mail address instead of the URL.
  • the contents server 200 When receiving the query statement from the client 100, the contents server 200, directly accessed by the client 100 via the web browser, requests to referral to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail from to the database server 300.
  • the contents server 200 When receiving the URL from the database server 300, the contents server 200 generates a file for accessing the URL and transmits the file to the client 100.
  • the database server 300 stores users's personal information such as user IDs, passwords, residence registration numbers, telephone numbers and addresses, and electronic mail addresses and URLs corresponding to the electronic mail addresses.
  • the database server 300 searches for the URL corresponding to the requested electronic mail and transmits search results to the contents server 200.
  • FIG. 2 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the user accesses the contents server 200 via the web browser of the client 100 in step S100, and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL to be corresponded to the electronic mail address in step S110. At this time, the user can match a plurality of electronic mail addresses to the respective web page URLs.
  • the contents server 200 When the user information is input via the client 100, the contents server 200 generates a key value in step S120, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and web page URL corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 300.
  • the user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 100 using a plug-in method, an application method, a hypertext markup language (HTML) method or a pop-up method via a click operation of a mouse in step
  • a plug-in method an application method
  • a hypertext markup language (HTML) method or a pop-up method via a click operation of a mouse in step
  • the contents server access unit 120 of the client 100 analyzes syntax of the input electronic mail address and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S210.
  • the contents server access unit 120 When it is determined that the data provided by the client 100 correspond to the electronic mail syntax, the contents server access unit 120 generates a query statement for referral ing to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail, and accesses the contents server 200 in step S220.
  • the web browser of the client 100 uses the query statement to access the contents server 200 in step S220.
  • the contents server 200 requests the database server to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address, that is, abc@mail.com provided by the client 100, and the database server 300 searches the URL(e.g., www.abc.co.kr) of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client and transmits the same to the contents server 200 in step S230.
  • the database server 300 searches the URL(e.g., www.abc.co.kr) of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client and transmits the same to the contents server 200 in step S230.
  • the contents server 200 generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page provided by the database server 300 and transmits the same to the client 100 in step S240.
  • the web browser of the client 100 receives the URL access file, accesses the target server 400 using the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address, and requests a URL resource in step S250.
  • the target server 400 In response to the URL resource request, the target server 400 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 100 in step S260.
  • the web browser of the client 100 outputs the transmitted URL resource in order for the user to read the URL resource.
  • the process according to the first preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
  • the input syntax is not an electronic mail address syntax but a URL syntax such as www.domain.com
  • the browser of the client executes the original function of going to the web site corresponding to the syntax.
  • the web page address accessing apparatus transmits the URL access file of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the client in order for the client to access the web page.
  • any one can easily know the electronic mail address as opposed to differing from the URL (particularly, the URL of the personal homepage) of the web page (particularly, the URL of a personal homepage), the user can easily access desired web pages by inputting the electronic mail address.
  • FIG. 4 shows a web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the web page address accessing system comprises a client 500, a contents server 600, a database server 700, a directory server 800 and a target server 900.
  • the web page address accessing device according to the second preferred embodiment comprises the contents server 600, the database server 700 and the directory server 800.
  • the client 500 is a system for a user to access the web server using a the web browsers such as Netscape or Explorer and comprises a contents server access unit 520.
  • the contents server access module 520 When a user inputs an electronic mail address, the contents server access module 520 according to the second preferred embodiment generates a syntax for accessing the directory server 800 storing information on the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address.
  • the contents server 600 is a server for the client 500 to initially access using a web browser, and when a user inputs the electronic mail address and the URL of the web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address and stores the file in the directory.
  • the database server 700 stores personal information such as user IDs, passwords, residence registration numbers and addresses, electronic mail addresses and URL information corresponding to the electronic mail addresses.
  • the directory server 800 has directories corresponding to the respective electronic mails generated by the contents server 600, and stores URL access files in the respective directories.
  • FIG. 5 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • a user accesses the contents server 200 via a web browser of the client 500 in step S300 and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address in step S310.
  • the contents server 600 When the user information is input by the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a key value in step S320, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 700. Also, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address using the key value, and generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address in step S340. For example, in the case the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com, a directory of AAA/abc@mail.com is generated.
  • the AAA represents a root directory, and the name of the root directory is identical with the URL (e.g., domain.com) of the contents server 600 according to the second preferred embodiment.
  • the contents server 600 according to the second preferred embodiment generates the input electronic mail address in the name of a subdirectory of the URL (root directory) of the contents server, and the directory can be generated through other methods.
  • the contents server 600 stores the generated URL access file in the directory (e.g., www.domain.com/abc@mail. com) in step S350.
  • the directory e.g., www.domain.com/abc@mail. com
  • a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 500 in step S400.
  • the inputting methods include the plug-in method, application method, HTML method and pop-up menu method via a mouse click.
  • the contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address, and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S410. When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 do not correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S410, the process according to the second preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
  • the contents server access unit 520 When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S410, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax for accessing the directory that stores information on the URL corresponding to the electronic mail in step S420. For example, when it is set that the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com,
  • the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax of www.domain.com/abc@mail. com.
  • the web browser of the client 500 uses the above-noted syntax to access the directory server 800 via the contents server 600, and receives a file for accessing the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address from the directory server.
  • the web browser of the client 500 uses the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address to access the target server (or web page) 900 and requests a URL resource in step S440.
  • the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500.
  • the web browser of the client 500 outputs the transmitted URL in order for the user to read the URL resource.
  • the contents access unit 520 differing from the first preferred embodiment wherein the contents access unit stores the URL access file corresponding to the input electronic mail address, the contents access unit 520 according to the second preferred embodiment generates a syntax for directly accessing the directory server 800, and the client 500 uses this syntax to directly access the directory server 800, and therefore, the client can receive the URL access file faster than that of the first preferred embodiment. That is, in the first preferred embodiment, the contents access unit generates a query syntax and transmits the same for searching for the URL corresponding to the electronic mail, and the contents server requests the database server to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address, receives requested results, generates a file for accessing the received URL and transmits the file to the client.
  • the URL access file is previously stored in the directory server, and the client directly accesses the directory server and receives the URL access file stored in the directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and therefore, the client can receive the file faster than that of the first preferred embodiment.
  • the query access method can be applied to the web page address access system shown in FIG. 4, and this will be described referring to FIG. 7.
  • FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. Since the membership registration method according to the third preferred embodiment is identical with that as shown in FIG. 5, no repeated description will be provided.
  • a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client in step S500.
  • the contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S510.
  • the process according to the third preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
  • the contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 generates a query syntax for referral ing to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail and accesses the contents server 600 in step S520.
  • the web browser of the client 500 uses the above-noted query syntax to access the contents server 600.
  • the contents server 600 requests the database server 700 to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client, that is, abc@mail.com, and the database server 700 checks the states of the electronic mail address provided by the client according to the request of the contents server 600, and reports check results to the contents server 600.
  • the contents server 600 accesses the directory server 800, and brings a file for accessing the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address from a corresponding directory, and transmits the access file to the client 500 in step S530.
  • the web browser of the client 500 uses the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address to access the target server (web page) and requests a URL resource in step S550.
  • the target server 900 In response to the URL resource request, the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500.
  • the web browser of the client 500 outputs the transmitted URL in order for the user to read the URL resource in step S560.
  • the contents server generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address and stores the same in the directory server, and the client receives the web page address access file and accesses the URL of the corresponding web page. Further, the contents server can directly access the target server and output the corresponding URL resource to the client. This will be described referring to FIGs. 8 to 10.
  • FIG. 8 shows a web page address accessing system according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the contents server 600 when a user inputs an electronic mail address and a URL of a web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and sets the directory to be redirected to the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address.
  • the directory server 800 has directories corresponding to the respective electronic mails generated by the contents server 600, and the directories are redirected to the URLs of the corresponding web pages.
  • FIG. 9 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • a user accesses the contents server 200 via the web browser of the client 500 in step S500 and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address in step S510.
  • the contents server 600 When the user information is input via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a key value in step S520, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and web page URL corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 700. Also, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the electronic mail address using the key value, and sets the respective directories to be redirected to the URLs of the web pages corresponding to the input electronic mail addresses in step S530.
  • the contents server 600 when it is set that the input address of the electronic mail is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com, the contents server 600 generates a directory of www.domain.com/abc@mail. com corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and sets the directories to be redirected to the URLs of the web
  • FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 500 in step S600.
  • the inputting methods include the plug-in method, application method, HTML method and pop-up menu method via a mouse click.
  • the contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address, and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S610.
  • the process according to the fourth preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
  • the contents server access unit 520 When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S610, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax for accessing the directory that stores information on the URL corresponding to the electronic mail in step S620. For example, when it is set that the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax of www. domain. com/abc@mail. com. The contents server 600 is redirected to the URL of the target server corresponding to the electronic mail from the directory server 800 to request a URL resource in step S630.
  • the target server 900 In response to the URL resource request, the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500.
  • the web browser of the client 100 outputs the transmitted URL resource in order for the user to read the URL resource in step S640.
  • the web page address access apparatus transmits the URL access file corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the client in order for the client to access the web page.
  • the user can easily access the desired web page by inputting the electronic mail address.

Abstract

Disclosed is a web page address access apparatus, in a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, which comprises a database server for storing users' electronic mail addresses and URL information of web pages corresponding to the electronic mail addresses; and a contents server for requesting, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client, to referral to the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the database server, receiving URL information of the searched web page, generating an access file for accessing the URL of the searched received web page, and transmitting the access file to the client. The client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query statement for searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the contents server.

Description

A System For Webpage Connection of Using Electronic Mail Address and a Method of the Same
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a web page accessing apparatus and method using electronic mail addresses. More specifically, the present invention relates to a web page accessing apparatus and method for searching for a uniform resource location (URL) corresponding to an electronic mail address provided by a client and providing a web page corresponding to the searched URL to the client.
(b) Description of the Related Art
As Internet users have increased, companies and individuals that build web pages and provide information are also increasing. Particularly, some of recent Internet service providers (ISP) assign a predetermined portion of their server to subscribers to provide e-mail service or personal homepage service, and accordingly, the number of users who manage their own personal homepages are greatly increasing. In order to access web pages, the user must exactly know the URL of the web page address or search using a search engine such as Yahoo, but there are a lot of web pages, it is not easy to search the web pages, and further in the case of personal web pages, they are rarely searched by the search engine, and hence, the user must exactly know the exact URL of the personal homepages. Therefore, in most cases, the personal homepage managers and their acquaintances are the only ones to access the personal homepages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a web page address accessing system and method for inputting an electronic mail address and accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address.
In one aspect of the present invention, in a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, a web page address access apparatus comprises a database server for storing users' electronic mail addresses and URL information of web pages corresponding to the electronic mail addresses; and a contents server for requesting, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client, to referral to the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the database server, receiving URL information of the searched web page, generating an access file for accessing the URL of the searched received web page, and transmitting the access file to the client.
The client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query statement for searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the
contents server.
In another aspect of the present invention, in a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, a web page address access apparatus comprises a contents server for generating, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via a client, a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and generating an access file for accessing a URL of a web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address; and a directory server having a directory corresponding to the electronic mail address, and storing the access file in a corresponding directory.
The apparatus further comprises a database server for storing user information, user electronic mail address and URL information of the web page corresponding to the user's electronic mail address by using a key value.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiments of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention:
FIG. 1 shows a web page address accessing system according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a web page address accessing system according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 shows a web page address accessing system according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiments of the invention have s been shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best modes contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.
FIG. 1 shows a web page address accessing system according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the electronic mail accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a client 100, a contents server 200, a database server 300 and a target server 400. Here, the web page address accessing apparatus according to the first preferred embodiment comprises the contents server 200 and the database server 300. The client 100 is a system for a user to access web servers using a web browser such as Netscape or Explorer, and a personal computer is used as for the client 100. The client comprises a contents server access unit 120 that generates a query statement for searching for the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address and accesses the contents server 200 when the user inputs an electronic mail address instead of the URL.
When receiving the query statement from the client 100, the contents server 200, directly accessed by the client 100 via the web browser, requests to referral to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail from to the database server 300. When receiving the URL from the database server 300, the contents server 200 generates a file for accessing the URL and transmits the file to the client 100.
The database server 300 stores users's personal information such as user IDs, passwords, residence registration numbers, telephone numbers and addresses, and electronic mail addresses and URLs corresponding to the electronic mail addresses. When receiving a request on the URL from the contents server 300, the database server 300 searches for the URL corresponding to the requested electronic mail and transmits search results to the contents server 200. FIG. 2 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The user accesses the contents server 200 via the web browser of the client 100 in step S100, and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL to be corresponded to the electronic mail address in step S110. At this time, the user can match a plurality of electronic mail addresses to the respective web page URLs.
When the user information is input via the client 100, the contents server 200 generates a key value in step S120, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and web page URL corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 300.
Referring to FIG. 3, a web page address accessing method using an electronic mail address will now be described.
First, the user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 100 using a plug-in method, an application method, a hypertext markup language (HTML) method or a pop-up method via a click operation of a mouse in step
S200.
The contents server access unit 120 of the client 100 analyzes syntax of the input electronic mail address and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S210.
When it is determined that the data provided by the client 100 correspond to the electronic mail syntax, the contents server access unit 120 generates a query statement for referral ing to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail, and accesses the contents server 200 in step S220.
For example, in the case the address of the input electronic mail is set to be abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 200 is set to be www.domain.com, the contents server access unit 120 generates a query statement such as www.domain.com/query.cgi? mail=abc@mail.com. The web browser of the client 100 uses the query statement to access the contents server 200 in step S220.
The contents server 200 requests the database server to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address, that is, abc@mail.com provided by the client 100, and the database server 300 searches the URL(e.g., www.abc.co.kr) of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client and transmits the same to the contents server 200 in step S230.
The contents server 200 generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page provided by the database server 300 and transmits the same to the client 100 in step S240.
The web browser of the client 100 receives the URL access file, accesses the target server 400 using the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address, and requests a URL resource in step S250.
In response to the URL resource request, the target server 400 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 100 in step S260. The web browser of the client 100 outputs the transmitted URL resource in order for the user to read the URL resource.
When it is determined that the data input by the client 100 do not correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the previous step S210, the process according to the first preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function. For example, in the case the input syntax is not an electronic mail address syntax but a URL syntax such as www.domain.com, the browser of the client executes the original function of going to the web site corresponding to the syntax.
As described above, when the user inputs the electronic mail address via the client according to the first preferred embodiment, the web page address accessing apparatus according to the first preferred embodiment transmits the URL access file of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the client in order for the client to access the web page.
Since any one can easily know the electronic mail address as opposed to differing from the URL (particularly, the URL of the personal homepage) of the web page (particularly, the URL of a personal homepage), the user can easily access desired web pages by inputting the electronic mail address.
A web page address accessing system and method according to a
second preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described.
FIG. 4 shows a web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As shown, the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment comprises a client 500, a contents server 600, a database server 700, a directory server 800 and a target server 900. Here, the web page address accessing device according to the second preferred embodiment comprises the contents server 600, the database server 700 and the directory server 800.
The client 500 is a system for a user to access the web server using a the web browsers such as Netscape or Explorer and comprises a contents server access unit 520. When a user inputs an electronic mail address, the contents server access module 520 according to the second preferred embodiment generates a syntax for accessing the directory server 800 storing information on the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address. The contents server 600 is a server for the client 500 to initially access using a web browser, and when a user inputs the electronic mail address and the URL of the web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address and stores the file in the directory.
The database server 700 stores personal information such as user IDs, passwords, residence registration numbers and addresses, electronic mail addresses and URL information corresponding to the electronic mail addresses.
The directory server 800 has directories corresponding to the respective electronic mails generated by the contents server 600, and stores URL access files in the respective directories. FIG. 5 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
A user accesses the contents server 200 via a web browser of the client 500 in step S300 and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address in step S310.
When the user information is input by the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a key value in step S320, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 700. Also, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address using the key value, and generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address in step S340. For example, in the case the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com, a directory of AAA/abc@mail.com is generated. Here, the AAA represents a root directory, and the name of the root directory is identical with the URL (e.g., domain.com) of the contents server 600 according to the second preferred embodiment. As described above, the contents server 600 according to the second preferred embodiment generates the input electronic mail address in the name of a subdirectory of the URL (root directory) of the contents server, and the directory can be generated through other methods.
The contents server 600 stores the generated URL access file in the directory (e.g., www.domain.com/abc@mail. com) in step S350.
Next, referring to FIG. 6, a web page address accessing method using an electronic mail address will now be described.
First, a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 500 in step S400. In this case, the inputting methods include the plug-in method, application method, HTML method and pop-up menu method via a mouse click.
The contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address, and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S410. When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 do not correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S410, the process according to the second preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S410, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax for accessing the directory that stores information on the URL corresponding to the electronic mail in step S420. For example, when it is set that the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com,
π the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax of www.domain.com/abc@mail. com.
The web browser of the client 500 uses the above-noted syntax to access the directory server 800 via the contents server 600, and receives a file for accessing the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address from the directory server.
The web browser of the client 500 uses the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address to access the target server (or web page) 900 and requests a URL resource in step S440. In response to the URL resource request, the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500. The web browser of the client 500 outputs the transmitted URL in order for the user to read the URL resource.
As described above, differing from the first preferred embodiment wherein the contents access unit stores the URL access file corresponding to the input electronic mail address, the contents access unit 520 according to the second preferred embodiment generates a syntax for directly accessing the directory server 800, and the client 500 uses this syntax to directly access the directory server 800, and therefore, the client can receive the URL access file faster than that of the first preferred embodiment. That is, in the first preferred embodiment, the contents access unit generates a query syntax and transmits the same for searching for the URL corresponding to the electronic mail, and the contents server requests the database server to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address, receives requested results, generates a file for accessing the received URL and transmits the file to the client. (This method will be referred to as a 'query access method' hereinafter.) However, in the second preferred embodiment, the URL access file is previously stored in the directory server, and the client directly accesses the directory server and receives the URL access file stored in the directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and therefore, the client can receive the file faster than that of the first preferred embodiment. (This method according to the second preferred embodiment will be referred to as a 'link access method' hereinafter.) The query access method can be applied to the web page address access system shown in FIG. 4, and this will be described referring to FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. Since the membership registration method according to the third preferred embodiment is identical with that as shown in FIG. 5, no repeated description will be provided.
First, a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client in step S500. The contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S510.
When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 do not correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S510, the process according to the third preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function. When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S510, the contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 generates a query syntax for referral ing to the URL corresponding to the electronic mail and accesses the contents server 600 in step S520.
For example, when it is set that the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax of www.domain.com/query.cgi? mail=abc@mail.com. The web browser of the client 500 uses the above-noted query syntax to access the contents server 600.
The contents server 600 requests the database server 700 to search the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client, that is, abc@mail.com, and the database server 700 checks the states of the electronic mail address provided by the client according to the request of the contents server 600, and reports check results to the contents server 600. Next, the contents server 600 accesses the directory server 800, and brings a file for accessing the URL corresponding to the input electronic mail address from a corresponding directory, and transmits the access file to the client 500 in step S530.
By using the URL access file, the web browser of the client 500 uses the URL corresponding to the electronic mail address to access the target server (web page) and requests a URL resource in step S550.
In response to the URL resource request, the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500. The web browser of the client 500 outputs the transmitted URL in order for the user to read the URL resource in step S560.
In the above-described preferred embodiment, the contents server generates a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address and stores the same in the directory server, and the client receives the web page address access file and accesses the URL of the corresponding web page. Further, the contents server can directly access the target server and output the corresponding URL resource to the client. This will be described referring to FIGs. 8 to 10.
FIG. 8 shows a web page address accessing system according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 8, when a user inputs an electronic mail address and a URL of a web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and sets the directory to be redirected to the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address.
The directory server 800 has directories corresponding to the respective electronic mails generated by the contents server 600, and the directories are redirected to the URLs of the corresponding web pages.
Operations of the client 500 and database server 700 are identical with those of the web page address accessing system according to the second preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 4, so no repeated description will be provided.
FIG. 9 shows a registration process of the web page address accessing system according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. A user accesses the contents server 200 via the web browser of the client 500 in step S500 and inputs the user's personal information, electronic mail address and URL of the web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address in step S510.
When the user information is input via the client 500, the contents server 600 generates a key value in step S520, and stores the user's personal information, electronic mail address and web page URL corresponding to the electronic mail address in the database server 700. Also, the contents server 600 generates a directory corresponding to the electronic mail address using the key value, and sets the respective directories to be redirected to the URLs of the web pages corresponding to the input electronic mail addresses in step S530.
For example, when it is set that the input address of the electronic mail is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com, the contents server 600 generates a directory of www.domain.com/abc@mail. com corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and sets the directories to be redirected to the URLs of the web
pages.
FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of a web page address accessing method according to the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. First, a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client 500 in step S600. In this case, the inputting methods include the plug-in method, application method, HTML method and pop-up menu method via a mouse click. The contents server access unit 520 of the client 500 analyzes the syntax of the input electronic mail address, and determines whether the input data correspond to the electronic mail syntax in step S610.
When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 do not correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S610, the process according to the fourth preferred embodiment is terminated, and it returns to the original browser function.
When it is determined that the data input by the client 500 correspond to the electronic mail syntax in the step S610, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax for accessing the directory that stores information on the URL corresponding to the electronic mail in step S620. For example, when it is set that the input electronic mail address is abc@mail.com and the URL of the contents server 600 is www.domain.com, the contents server access unit 520 generates a syntax of www. domain. com/abc@mail. com. The contents server 600 is redirected to the URL of the target server corresponding to the electronic mail from the directory server 800 to request a URL resource in step S630.
In response to the URL resource request, the target server 900 outputs a URL resource such as an HTML document, files and frames to the client 500. The web browser of the client 100 outputs the transmitted URL resource in order for the user to read the URL resource in step S640.
As described above, when the user inputs an electronic mail address via the client, the web page address access apparatus transmits the URL access file corresponding to the input electronic mail address to the client in order for the client to access the web page. Hence, the user can easily access the desired web page by inputting the electronic mail address.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. In a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, a web page address access apparatus comprising: a database server for storing users' electronic mail addresses and uniform resource location (URL) information of web pages corresponding to the electronic mail addresses; and a contents server for requesting, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via the client, to referral to a the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address from to the database server, receiving URL information of the searched web page, generating an access file for accessing the URL of the searched received web page, and transmitting the access file to the client.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query statement for searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the contents server.
3. In a web page address access apparatus accessed via a client and a network, a web page address access apparatus comprising: a contents server for generating, when a user inputs an electronic mail address via a client, a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and generating an access file for accessing a uniform resource
location (URL) of a web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address; and a directory server having a directory corresponding to the electronic mail address, and storing the access file in a corresponding directory.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the apparatus further comprises a database server for storing user information, user electronic mail address and URL information of the web page corresponding to the user's electronic
mail address by using a key value.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a syntax for accessing the directory that stores the access file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the user.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the directory structure sets the
URL name of the contents server as a root directory and the electronic mail address name as a subdirectory, and the access file is stored in the corresponding subdirectory.
7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query syntax for searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the contents server.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the contents server receives the query syntax from the contents server access unit and requests a confirmation on the states of the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address included in the query syntax, and when receiving information on that the corresponding URL of the web page from the database server, accesses the directory server, brings the access file for accessing the web page, and transmits the access file to the client.
9. In an access method of a web page address access apparatus comprising a contents server for a client to directly access via a web browser, and a database server for storing users' electronic mail addresses and
uniform resource location (URL) information of web pages corresponding to the users' electronic mail addresses, a web page address access method
comprising: requesting the database server to search for the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the client; searching for the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address, and transmitting the URL of the searched web page to the contents server; and generating an access file for accessing the URL of the web page transmitted by the database server and transmitting the access file to the client so that the client accesses the web page.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a query syntax for searching for the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the user, and accessing the contents server.
11. In an access method of a web page address access apparatus comprising a contents server for a client to directly access via a web browser, and a directory server having a directory corresponding to an electronic mail address, and storing an access file for accessing a uniform resource location (URL) of a web page corresponding to the electronic mail address in a corresponding directory, a web page address access method comprising: generating a syntax for accessing a directory that stores the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by a user, and accessing the contents server; accessing the directory server using the syntax, and the contents server bringing a URL access file of the web page corresponding to the input electronic mail address; and transmitting the access file to the client so that the client accesses the URL of the web page.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises: the user accessing the contents server via the client and inputting the user's electronic mail address and the URL of the web page to be corresponded to the electronic mail address; generating a directory corresponding to the input electronic mail address, and generating a file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address; and storing the access file in the corresponding directory.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the client comprises a contents server access unit for generating a syntax for accessing the directory that stores the access file for accessing the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mail address provided by the user.
14. In an access method of a web page address access apparatus comprising a contents server for a client to directly access via a the web browser, and a directory server having a directory corresponding to an electronic mail address, the directory being redirected to a uniform resource location (URL) of a web page corresponding to the electronic mail address, a web page address access method comprising: generating a syntax that stores the URL of the web page corresponding to the electronic mal address provided by the user, and accessing the contents server; accessing the directory server using the syntax and redirecting to the URL of a target server corresponding to the electronic mail; and requesting a URL resource from to the target server and outputting it to the client.
PCT/KR2000/001278 1999-11-09 2000-11-08 A system for webpage connection of using electronic mail address and a method of the same WO2001035237A1 (en)

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JP2001536703A JP2003514303A (en) 1999-11-09 2000-11-08 Web page address connection device and connection method using electronic mail address

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KR1999/49553 1999-11-09
KR10-1999-0049553A KR100377208B1 (en) 1999-11-09 1999-11-09 An apparatus and a method for connecting uniform resource locator using e-mail address

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