Electronic mail delivery system, mail server, and mail client

• US 20060015559A1
• Filed: 06/17/2003
• Published: 01/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yabe, Toshiyasu, Soga, Makoto, Enatsu, Tomoko
• Granted Patent: US 7,640,321 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Mobile device MS displays an unreceived mail list acquired from gateway server GWS by executing a browser. A user selects a desired e-mail by referring to the unreceived mail list. Prior to that gateway server GWS transmits e-mails to mobile device MS, gateway server GWS transmits to mobile device MS, an HTML header including predetermined character strings which are a field name (X-IMTMAIL) and a field value (WEB). Then, mobile device MS activates a mailer, and prepares to receive and store e-mails transmitted from gateway server GWS.

Claims

1. An e-mail processing method comprising:

sending, from a mail server for performing a mail delivery process to mail clients, mail attribute information indicating an attribute of an e-mail for said mail client in a data format, the data format enabling said mail client to display said mail attribute information by executing a document browsing program;

receiving, in said mail client, mail attribute information transmitted from said mail server, and displaying the received mail attribute information in accordance with said document browsing program;

accepting, in said mail client, an operation to select an e-mail selected by a user from among e-mails corresponding to said displayed mail attribute information;

sending from said mail client to said mail server, identification information for identifying an e-mail selected by said user;

receiving in said mail server, identification information transmitted from said mail client, and sending to said mail client, predetermined character strings for instructing said mail client to process data transmitted from the mail server to said mail client in accordance with an e-mail processing program, prior to or along with sending an e-mail specified by the identification information

when receiving predetermined character strings transmitted from predetermined character strings, storing, in accordance with an e-mail processing program by said mail client in a nonvolatile memory, an e-mail transmitted from said mail server.

2. An e-mail delivery method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in said mail client, an instruction to suspend delivery from said mail server of an e-mail selected from among said displayed e-mails, and sending from said mail client identification information for specifying the selected e-mail to said mail server;

wherein said mail server receives identification information transmitted from said mail client, and in the next mail attribute sending step, sends mail attribute information of an e-mail whose delivery is to be suspended, the e-mail being specified by the identification information.

3. An e-mail delivering method according to claim 1,

wherein said mail server and said mail client mutually send and receive data in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol;

and said predetermined character strings are written in a header of a hyper text transfer protocol.

4. An e-mail delivering method according to claim 1,

wherein said mail server and said mail client mutually send and receive data in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol;

and said mail client, in the step of sending identification information, sends to said mail server identification information for specifying said selected e-mail by using a POST method of a hyper text transfer protocol.

5. An e-mail delivering method according to claim 1,

wherein said mail server and said mail client mutually send and receive data in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol;

and when said mail server sends to said mail client said predetermined character strings prior to sending an e-mail identified by said identification information, said mail client requests said mail server to transmit said e-mail by transmitting a request to said mail server, the request using a GET method of a hyper text transfer protocol.

6. An e-mail delivering method according to claim 5,

wherein when sending said e-mail to said mail client, said mail server writes in a header of a hyper text transfer protocol in a predetermined order identification information for identifying an e-mail to be transmitted this time, and identification information for identifying an e-mail to be transmitted subsequently and transmits them to said mail client;

and

said mail client writes in a request header of a hyper text transfer protocol in a predetermined order, said two pieces of identification information written in a header of the received hyper text transfer protocol, and requests said mail server to send said e-mail to be subsequently transmitted by transmitting a request header of a hyper text transfer protocol to said mail server; and

said mail server identifies an e-mail to be sent on the basis of said predetermined order of said two pieces of identification information in a request header of the received hyper text transfer protocol, and sends the specified e-mail to said mail client.

7. A mail server for performing a mail delivering process to a mail client;

said mail server comprising;

an attribute information sending means for sending to the mail client mail attribute information in a displayable data format enabling the mail client to indicate the e-mail attribute information in accordance with a document browsing program, the mail attribute information indicating an e-mail attribute for said mail client;

an identification information reception means for receiving identification information of an e-mail transmitted from said mail client; and

a character string sending means for sending to said mail client, predetermined character strings for instructing said mail client to process data transmitted from the mail server to said mail client in accordance with an e-mail processing program, prior to or along with sending an e-mail specified by the identification information.

8. A mail server according to claim 7,

wherein a mail server sends and receives data with said mail client in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol;

and said character string sending means sends said predetermined character strings to said mail client by writing the predetermined character strings in a header of a hyper text transfer protocol.

9. A mail client which receives e-mails from a mail server;

said mail client comprising;

an attribute information reception means for receiving, mail attribute information transmitted from said mail server, the mail attribute information indicating an e-mail attribute for the mail client;

a display means for displaying said received mail attribute information by following the processes written in a document browsing program;

an accepting means for accepting an operation to select an e-mail selected by a user from among e-mails corresponding to said displayed mail attribute information;

an identification information sending means for sending from said mail client to said mail server, identification information for identifying an e-mail selected by said user; and

a storing means for, upon receiving predetermined character strings transmitted from predetermined character strings, storing, in accordance with an e-mail processing program by said mail client in a nonvolatile memory, an e-mail transmitted from said mail server.

10. A mail client according to claim 9,

wherein a mail client sends and receives data with said mail client in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol;

and said identification information sending means sends to said mail server identification information for specifying said selected e-mail by using a POST method of a hyper text transfer protocol.

11. A mail client according to claim 9,

wherein said mail server and said mail client mutually send and receive data in accordance with a hyper text transfer protocol, and said mail server sends to said mail client said predetermined character strings prior to sending an e-mail identified by said identification information;

said mail client comprising,

requesting means for requesting said mail server to transmit said e-mail by transmitting a request to said mail server, the request using a GET method of a hyper text transfer protocol.