Personal e-mail system and method

• US 20030231207A1
• Filed: 05/20/2002
• Published: 12/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gopher King, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gopher King, Inc.
• Inventors: Huang, Baohua
• Application Number:
  US10/147,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20030231207A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A personal e-mail system comprises an ad-hoc computer host platform loaded with a personal e-mail application program. The host has Internet access and a user has previously established e-mail accounts at a variety of provider sites. The user is periodically delivered e-mail messages that are collected from such provider sites, and such are displayed according to any display limitations that exist with the particular host platform. The personal e-mail application program automatically and dynamically adjusts the protocols it uses to suit the particular provider site it is accessing, and uses user-provided user names and passwords to access the provider site to appear as if the user themselves has properly logged in. The personal e-mail application program then can send responses or issue new messages that are accepted by the provider site and issued by it as if originated from there.

Claims

1. A personal e-mail system, comprising:

a single interface mechanism for providing one standardized user interface for the same user experience on any mobile or desktop device and computer in the sending and receiving of e-mail messages through a plurality of remote e-mail servers;

an e-mail messaging abstraction mechanism for providing a generic interface to higher-level system calls, and connected to the single interface mechanism;

a first e-mail protocol engine for accessing a preexisting user e-mail account at a first proprietary and unique e-mail server connected to the Internet, and connected between Internet and the e-mail messaging abstraction mechanism; and

a second e-mail protocol engine for accessing another preexisting user e-mail account at a second proprietary e-mail server having a protocol not compatible with the first proprietary e-mail server, and connected between the internet and the e-mail messaging abstraction mechanism.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the single interface mechanism formats and converts a graphical user interface to suit a particular ad-hoc user computer platform.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the e-mail messaging abstraction mechanism includes authentication, mailbox-manipulation, message-manipulation, and logout processing.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the e-mail messaging abstraction mechanism includes authentication processing that supplies user id entity and passwords that satisfy at each of said first and second proprietary e-mail servers.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the first and second e-mail protocol engines respectively handshake satisfactorily with the peculiar protocol requirements of each respective one of said first and second proprietary e-mail servers.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the first and second e-mail protocol engines handshake satisfactorily with the peculiar protocol requirements of at least one of America On-Line, MSN Webmail, and HOTMAIL proprietary e-mail servers connected to the Internet.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

e-mail accounts and e-mail messages from different e-mail systems and servers are consolidated through download and synchronization, with duplicate detection for the removal of duplicated messages.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a user is enabled to receive e-mails from all their corporate, ISP, AOL, Hotmail, and MSN e-mail accounts on any of a mobile device, Palm computer, PocketPC, cell phone, Blackberry wireless device, NTTDoCoMo, pager, and a personal computer.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a user is enabled to reply, send, and forward e-mails such that the recipient appears to receive it from a respective corporate, ISP, AOL, Hotmail, and MSN e-mail account, while the sender is actually using any of a mobile device, Palm computer, PocketPC, cell phone, Blackberry wireless device, NTTDoCoMo, pager, and a personal computer.