Mailbox pooling pre-empting criteria

• US 20050164703A1
• Filed: 01/22/2004
• Published: 07/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Huynh, Truyen
• Granted Patent: US 7,184,753 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/432.300
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database

Abstract

Mailbox pooling pre-emptive criteria is set forth for use in an adaptive polling system for synchronizing data between a mail server and a mobile communication device. The polling engine stores an indication of the number of messages in the mailbox, the total mailbox size (i.e. the used storage size in bytes), and the last message ID from the last poll. In the next poll, the polling engine retrieves this information from the mailbox and checks against the values stored from the last poll. If the information is the same, then there is no need to compare the message ID list. Whenever either the number of messages in the mailbox or the mailbox size or last message ID has changed, then the full comparision of the message ID list is performed.

Claims

1. In an adaptive polling method for updating data between at least one data server and a mobile communication device, the improvement comprising:

retrieving current pre-emptive criteria from said at least one data server;

comparing said current pre-emptive criteria to previously stored pre-emptive criteria; and

in the event said current pre-emptive criteria does not equal said previously stored pre-emptive criteria then updating said data between said data server and mobile communication device, and otherwise pre-empting said updating of said data between said data server and mobile communication device.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said data server is a mail server with a mailbox for storing e-mails identified by respective message IDs, and said pre-emptive criteria are selected from the group comprising number of messages in said mailbox, mailbox size, and most recent message ID.

3. In an adaptive polling method for updating e-mails between a main mailbox in a mail server and multiple external mailboxes, the improvement comprising:

retrieving current pre-emptive criteria from said multiple mailboxes;

comparing said current pre-emptive criteria to previously stored pre-emptive criteria for respective ones of said multiple mailboxes; and

in the event said current pre-emptive criteria does not equal said previously stored pre-emptive criteria then updating said e-mails between said main mailbox and said multiple mailboxes, and otherwise pre-empting said updating of said e-mails between said main mailbox and said multiple mailboxes.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said e-mails are identified by respective message IDs, and said pre-emptive criteria are selected from the group comprising number of messages in respective ones of said external said mailboxes, mailbox size of respective ones of said external said mailboxes, and most recent message ID in respective ones of said external said mailboxes.

5. A wireless communication system comprising:

a mobile device accessible via a wireless network;

a mobile mailbox for storing user e-mails;

a wireless service engine for controlling data communication over said wireless network between said mobile device and said mobile mailbox;

a plurality of external user mailboxes; and

a polling engine in communication with said mobile mailbox and said plurality of external user mailboxes, for retrieving current pre-emptive criteria from said plurality of external user mailboxes, comparing said current pre-emptive criteria to previously stored pre-emptive criteria for respective ones of said plurality of external user mailboxes, and in the event said current pre-emptive criteria does not equal said previously stored pre-emptive criteria then updating said e-mails between said mobile mailbox and said plurality of external user mailboxes, and otherwise pre-empting said updating of said e-mails between said mobile mailbox and said plurality of external user mailboxes.