Communications system providing message aggregation features and related methods

• US 20050033812A1
• Filed: 02/13/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: TeamOn Systems Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Gardner, Darren L., Zakharoff, Michael Jack, McCarthy, Steven J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,111,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A communications system may include a plurality of source message servers for storing messages for delivery to a user, a target message server having a target message box associated therewith, and an aggregation server for periodically aggregating the messages from the source message servers to the target message box for retrieval by the user. The target message server may provide a delivery failure message to the aggregation server based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box. As such, the aggregation server may increase a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a delivery failure message therefrom, and thereafter decrease the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of source message servers for storing messages for delivery to a user and a target message server having a target message box associated therewith; and

an aggregation server for periodically aggregating the messages from said source message servers to the target message box for retrieval by the user;

said target message server providing a delivery failure message to said aggregation server based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box;

said aggregation server increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a delivery failure message therefrom, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

2. The communications system of claim 1 wherein said aggregation server selectively re-sends messages for which delivery failure messages are received.

3. The communications system of claim 1 wherein said aggregation server comprises an intelligent checker module for aggregating the messages from said source servers to said target message box.

4. The communications system of claim 3 wherein said aggregation server further comprises a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith;

wherein said intelligent checker module sends the unique address with the messages to the target message box;

wherein said target message server sends the delivery failure messages to the unique address; and

wherein said software agent module associates the delivery failure messages with the target message box.

5. The communications system of claim 4 wherein said aggregation server further comprises a knowledge base module for cooperating with said software agent module for storing delivery failure information for the target message box, and wherein said intelligent checker module cooperates with said knowledge base module to increase or decrease the period of sending based upon the stored delivery failure information.

6. The communications system of claim 5 wherein said knowledge base module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.

7. The communications system of claim 1 further comprising a communications device associated with the user for accessing the messages from the target message box.

8. The communications system of claim 7 wherein said communications device comprises a mobile wireless communications device.

9. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the messages comprise electronic mail (e-mail) messages.

10. An aggregation server comprising:

an aggregation module for periodically aggregating messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box associated with a target message server for retrieval by a user, the target message server providing a delivery failure message to said aggregation module based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box; and

a knowledge base module for cooperating with said aggregation module to store delivery failure information for the target message box;

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon stored delivery failure information therefor, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

11. The aggregation server of claim 10 wherein said aggregation module selectively re-sends messages for which delivery failure messages are received.

12. The aggregation server of claim 10 wherein said aggregation module comprises:

an intelligent checker module for periodically aggregating messages stored on the plurality of source message servers to the target message box; and

a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith for associating the delivery failure messages with the target message box;

said intelligent checker module sending the unique address with the messages to the target message box, and the target message server sending the delivery failure messages to the unique address.

13. The aggregation server of claim 12 wherein said knowledge base module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.

14. The aggregation server of claim 10 wherein the messages comprise electronic mail (e-mail) messages.

15. A message aggregation method comprising:

periodically aggregating messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box for retrieval by a user;

generating delivery failure information based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box; and

increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon the generation of delivery failure information therefor, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising selectively re-sending messages for which delivery failure messages are received.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the messages comprise electronic mail (e-mail) messages.

18. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable modules comprising:

an aggregation module for periodically aggregating messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box associated with a target server for retrieval by a user, the target message server providing a delivery failure message to said aggregation module based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box; and

a knowledge base module for cooperating with said aggregation module to store delivery failure information for the target message box;

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon stored delivery failure information therefor, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said aggregation module selectively re-sends messages for which delivery failure messages are received.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein said aggregation module comprises:

an intelligent checker module for aggregating messages stored on the plurality of source message servers to the target message box; and

a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith for associating the delivery failure messages with the target message box;

said intelligent checker module sending the unique address with the messages to the target message box, and the target message server sending the delivery failure messages to the unique address.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein said knowledge base module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the messages comprise electronic mail (e-mail) messages.