COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDING MESSAGE AGGREGATION FEATURES AND RELATED METHODS

• US 20070203994A1
• Filed: 07/21/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• 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: McCarthy, Steven, Gardner, Darren, Zakharoff, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,689,656 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

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of source message servers for storing electronic mail (e-mail) messages;

a target message server having a target message box associated therewith; and

an aggregation server for aggregating the e-mail messages from said source message servers to the target message server;

said aggregation server increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon an e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful e-mail delivery;

said aggregation server selectively re-sending e-mail messages.

24. The communications system of claim 23 wherein said aggregation server comprises an intelligent checker module for aggregating the e-mail messages from said source servers to said target message box.

25. The communications system of claim 24 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 e-mail messages to the target message box;

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

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

26. The communications system of claim 25 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.

27. The communications system of claim 26 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.

28. The communications system of claim 23 further comprising a communications device associated with a user for accessing the messages from the target message box.

29. The communications system of claim 28 wherein said communications device comprises a mobile wireless communications device.

30. An electronic mail (e-mail) message aggregation server comprising:

an aggregation module for aggregating e-mail messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box;

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful e-mail delivery;

said aggregation module selectively re-sending e-mail messages.

31. The e-mail aggregation server of claim 30 wherein said aggregation module comprises:

an intelligent checker module for periodically aggregating e-mail 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 delivery failure messages with the target message box;

said intelligent checker module sending the unique address with the e-mail messages to the target message box.

32. The e-mail aggregation server of claim 31 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.

33. An electronic mail (e-mail) message aggregation method comprising:

periodically aggregating e-mail messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box;

increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based at least one e-mail of delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful delivery e-mail; and

selectively re-sending e-mail messages.

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

an aggregation module for periodically aggregating electronic mail (e-mail) messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box; and

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon a successful e-mail delivery;

said aggregation module selectively re-sending e-mail messages for which delivery failure messages are received.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34 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 delivery failure messages with the target message box;

said intelligent checker module sending the unique address with the messages to the target message box.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 35 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.