Email SMS notification system providing selective server message retrieval features and related methods

• US 20060293031A1
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: TeamOn Systems Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Clarke, David James, Kamat, Harshad N., Hanson, David Jaray
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,319 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.2
• 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: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

A communications system may include at least one wireless communications device and a plurality of electronic mail (email) servers for storing email messages for the at least one wireless communications device. The system may further include an email relay server for detecting a new email message on a given one of the email servers and, based thereon, sending a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique server identifier (ID) of the given email server to the at least one wireless communications device. The at least one wireless communications device may detect the SMS notification and send an email retrieval request to the email relay server instructing the email relay server to retrieve email messages from the given server based upon the unique server ID.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

at least one wireless communications device;

a plurality of electronic mail (email) servers for storing email messages for said at least one wireless communications device; and

an email relay server for detecting a new email message on a given one of said email servers and, based thereon, sending a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique server identifier (ID) of the given email server to said at least one wireless communications device;

said at least one wireless communications device detecting the SMS notification and sending an email retrieval request to said email relay server instructing said email relay server to retrieve at least one email message from the given server based upon the unique server ID.

2. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the email retrieval request instructs said email relay server to retrieve the at least one email message only from the given server.

3. The communications system of claim 1 further comprising a wide area network through which said plurality of email servers and said email relay server communicate.

4. The communications system of claim 1 further comprising a wireless communications network through which said at least one wireless communications device and said email relay server communicate.

5. The communications system of claim 1 wherein said wireless communications network comprises a cellular network.

6. An email relay server for cooperating with at least one wireless communications device and a plurality of electronic mail (email) servers for storing email messages for the at least one wireless communications device, the email relay server comprising:

a server interface module for detecting a new email message on a given one of said email servers; and

a device interface module for

sending a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique server identifier (ID) of the given email server to the at least one wireless communications device based upon detection of the new email message by said server interface module, and

receiving an email retrieval request from the at least one wireless communications device including the unique server ID, and cooperating with said server interface module to retrieve at least one email message from the given email server based thereon.

7. The email relay server of claim 6 wherein said device interface module cooperates with said server interface module to retrieve the at least one email message only from the given server upon receiving the email retrieval request.

8. The email relay server of claim 6 wherein said device interface module communicates with the at least one email server via a wide area network.

9. The email relay server of claim 6 wherein said device interface module communicates with the at least one wireless communications device via a wireless communications network.

10. The email relay server of claim 9 wherein the wireless communications network comprises a cellular network.

11. A communications method comprising:

storing email messages for the at least one wireless communications device on a plurality of electronic mail (email) servers;

using an email relay server to detect a new email message on a given one of the email servers and, based thereon, send a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique server identifier (ID) of the given email server to the at least one wireless communications device; and

detecting the SMS notification and sending an email retrieval request to the email relay server instructing the email relay server to retrieve at least one email message from the given server based upon the unique server ID.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the email retrieval request instructs the email relay server to retrieve the at least one email message only from the given server.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the at least one email server and the email relay server communicate via a wide area network.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the at least one wireless communications device and the email relay server communicate via a wireless communications network.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the wireless communications network comprises a cellular network.