System and method for mobile e-mail management

• US 20060155811A1
• Filed: 03/10/2004
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National University of Singapore
• Original Assignee: National University of Singapore
• Inventors: Tan, Kok Kong, Goh, Han Leong
• Application Number:
  US10/549,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155811A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for e-mail management utilising a mobile device comprising the steps of establishing a link between the mobile device and a computer device, establishing a link between the computer device and a mail server, browsing through data files on the computer device under the control of the mobile device and attaching one or more of the data files, under the control of the mobile device, to an e-mail to be send utilising the mail server.

Claims

1. A method for e-mail management utilising a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a link between the mobile device and a computer device;

establishing a link between the computer device and a mail server;

browsing through data files on the computer device, under the control of the mobile device; and

attaching one or more of the data files, under the control of the mobile device, to an e-mail to be send utilising the mail server.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of establishing the link between the mobile device and the computer device comprises the steps of:

establishing a link between the mobile device and an authentication server;

verifying, at the authentication server, identification information provided through the mobile device; and

establishing the link between the mobile device and the computer device upon successful verification.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

instructing the computer device to periodically send a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet to the authentication server when on-line;

extracting, at the authentication server, a public Internet Protocol (IP) address allocated to the received UDP packets; and

utilizing the extracted public IP address for establishing the link between the mobile device and the computer device.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, the method further comprising the step of monitoring the arrival of new e-mails at the mail server

and sending one or more messages to the mobile device when there are new e-mails.

5. The as claimed in any one of claims 4, wherein the authentication server monitors the arrival of new e-mails at the mail server and sends one or more messages to the mobile device when there are new e-mails.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, the method further comprising the step of downloading a data file attached to an e-mail received at the mail server to the mobile device for viewing.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, the method further comprising a file conversion technique to convert the data file to an image file.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the file conversion technique comprises the steps of:

connecting to an application running the data file;

instructing the application to copy a fraction or whole part of the data file into a data storage; and

converting the fraction or whole part of the data file stored in the data storage to the image file using an Application Programming Interface (API).

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, the method further comprising an image processing technique to resample the image file so as to create a clearer image of the image file when viewed on the mobile device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, the image processing technique further comprises employing Gaussian blurring process to smoothen out artifacts on the image file.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the mobile device comprises a zoom function to improve readability of the image file.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the zoom function segments the image of the image file when viewed on the mobile device into one or more selectable regions.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein one of the selected regions is cropped from the image of the image file when viewed on the mobile device and magnified for viewing on the mobile device.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the image is segmented with a single row of one or more columns for text base images.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the image is segmented with two or more rows and two or more columns for picture base images.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile device resumes a network gateway connection after an assigned access time on the network gateway maintaining the connection has expired.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein a WML code is downloaded into the mobile device for resuming the network gateway connection after the assigned access time on the network gateway maintaining the connection has expired.

18. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a user of the mobile device boots up the computer device utilizing the wake on ring function of the computer device.

19. The as claimed in claim 18, the method further comprising an authentication device working on dial-tone principle that will authenticate the user before booting up the computer device utilizing the wake on ring function of the computer device.

20. A system for e-mail management, the system comprising:

a computer device;

a mail server;

a mobile device;

an agent on the computer device to, under the control of the mobile device, browse through data files on the computer device and attach one or more of the data files to an e-mail to be sent utilising the mail server.

21. The system as claimed in claim 20, further comprising an authentication server, wherein the mobile device establishes a link to the authentication server;

the authentication server verifies identification information provided through the mobile device and establishes the link between the mobile device and the computer device upon successful verification.

22. The system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the computer device, in an on-line state, periodically sends a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet to the authentication server, under the control of the agent.

23. The system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the authentication server extracts a public Internet Protocol (IP) address allocated to the received UDP packets and utilizes the extracted public IP address for establishing the link between the mobile device and the computer device.

24. The as claimed in claim 21, wherein the authentication server monitors the arrival of new e-mails at the mail server and sends one or more messages to the mobile device in response to receipt of new e-mails.

25. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the mobile device downloads and views a data file attached to an e-mail received at the mail server.

26. The system as claimed in claim 25, wherein the system utilizes a file conversion technique to convert the data file to an image file.

27. The system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the file conversion technique comprises the steps of:

connecting to an application of the system running the data file;

instructing the application to copy a fraction or whole part of the data file into a data storage; and

converting the fraction or whole part of the data file stored in the data storage to the image file using an Application Programming Interface (API).

28. The system as claimed in claim 26, the system further utilizes an image processing technique to resample the image file so as to create a clearer image of the image file viewed on the mobile device.

29. The system as claimed in claim 28, the image processing technique further comprises employing Gaussian blurring process to smoothen out artifacts on the image file.

30. The system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the system utilizes a zoom function to improve readability of the image file.

31. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the zoom function comprises segmenting the image of the image file.

32. The system as claimed in claim 31, wherein a selected region is cropped from the image of the image file and magnified for viewing on the mobile device.

33. The system as claimed in claim 31, wherein the image is segmented with a single row of one or more columns for text base images.

34. The system as claimed in claim 31, wherein the image is segmented with two or more rows and two or more columns for picture base images.

35. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the mobile device resumes a network gateway connection after an assigned access time on the network gateway maintaining the connection has expired.

36. The system as claimed in claim 35, wherein the mobile device executes a WML code for resuming the network gateway connection after the assigned access time on the network gateway maintaining the connection has expired.

37. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the mobile device boots up the computer device utilizing the wake on ring function of the computer device.

38. The system as claimed in claim 37, the computer device authenticates the mobile device before booting up.

39. A data storage device containing computer readable code means for instructing a computer system to execute a method for e-mail management utilising a mobile device, the method comprising the steps of:

establishing a link between the mobile device and a computer device;

establishing a link between the computer device and a mail server;

browsing through data files on the computer device, under the control of the mobile device, and attaching one or more of the data files, under the control of the mobile device, to an e-mail to be send utilising the mail server.