Synchronization of mailboxes of different types
First Claim
1. An apparatus for indicating in one of a first mailbox of a first electronic messaging system and a second mailbox of a second electronic messaging system a content and a state of a message stored in another of the first mailbox and the second mailbox, the first electronic messaging system for handling first messages and defining at least one first mailbox for storing the first messages, each first message having a first data structure containing information expressed in a first medium and having a first format, and each stored first message having one of a plurality of states, and the second electronic messaging system for handling second messages and defining at least one second mailbox for storing the second messages, each second message having a second data structure containing information expressed in a second medium and having a second format, at least one of the second data structure, the second medium, and the second format being different respectively from the first data structure, the first medium, and the first format, and each stored second message having one of the plurality of states, the apparatus comprising:
- first means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to storing of a second message in the second mailbox, for retrieving at least some of the information from the second message, generating a corresponding first message forming a message pair with the second message and containing at least some of the information retrieved from the second message, storing the first message in the first mailbox, and also raising a partial-copy indication for the first message if the first message does not contain all of the information contained in the second message of the message pair;
second means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to a change in state of one of the stored messages of the message pair, for effecting a same said change in state of other of the stored messages of the message pair; and
third means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to deletion of one of the stored messages of the message pair from one of the mailboxes, for deleting other of the stored messages of the message pair from other of the mailboxes.
16 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The contents of a pair of mailboxes (21, 31), one of which resides in an e-mail system (29) and the other of which resides in a voice-mail system (39), are automatically synchronized both in message content and in message state by a synchronizer (10), even though messages in the two mailboxes may have different data structures and carry information expressed in different media and having different formats. Synchronization is effected by automatically creating a corresponding message in one mailbox for every message that arrives in the other mailbox of the mailbox pair. If the corresponding message does not contain all of the information carried by the original message--for example, because some information in the original message is expressed in a medium or has a format that is incompatible, or cannot be made compatible by conversion, with the other system--a partial-copy indication (217) is raised for the corresponding message, and the behavior of synchronization is altered to protect the original message contents. The behavior of synchronization may also be tailored to accommodate automatic message expiration, or to synchronize message-header notifications only.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for indicating in one of a first mailbox of a first electronic messaging system and a second mailbox of a second electronic messaging system a content and a state of a message stored in another of the first mailbox and the second mailbox, the first electronic messaging system for handling first messages and defining at least one first mailbox for storing the first messages, each first message having a first data structure containing information expressed in a first medium and having a first format, and each stored first message having one of a plurality of states, and the second electronic messaging system for handling second messages and defining at least one second mailbox for storing the second messages, each second message having a second data structure containing information expressed in a second medium and having a second format, at least one of the second data structure, the second medium, and the second format being different respectively from the first data structure, the first medium, and the first format, and each stored second message having one of the plurality of states, the apparatus comprising:
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first means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to storing of a second message in the second mailbox, for retrieving at least some of the information from the second message, generating a corresponding first message forming a message pair with the second message and containing at least some of the information retrieved from the second message, storing the first message in the first mailbox, and also raising a partial-copy indication for the first message if the first message does not contain all of the information contained in the second message of the message pair; second means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to a change in state of one of the stored messages of the message pair, for effecting a same said change in state of other of the stored messages of the message pair; and third means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to deletion of one of the stored messages of the message pair from one of the mailboxes, for deleting other of the stored messages of the message pair from other of the mailboxes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus comprising:
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a first electronic messaging system for handling first messages and defining at least one first mailbox for storing the first messages, each first message having a first data structure containing information expressed in a first medium and having a first format, and each stored first message having one of a plurality of states; a second electronic messaging system for handling second messages and defining at least one second mailbox for storing the second messages, each second message having a second data structure containing information expressed in a second medium and having a second format, at least one of the second data structure, the second medium, and the second format being different respectively from the first data structure, the first medium, and the first format, and each stored second message having one of the plurality of states; and means for indicating in one of a first mailbox of the first messaging system and a second mailbox of the second messaging system a content and a state of a message stored in another of the first mailbox and the second mailbox, including first means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to storing of a second message in the second mailbox, for retrieving at least some of the information from the second message, generating a corresponding first message forming a message pair with the second message and containing at least some of the information retrieved from the second message, storing the first message in the first mailbox, and also raising a partial-copy indication for the first message if the first message does not contain all of the information contained in the second message of the message pair, second means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to a change in state of one of the stored messages of the message pair, for effecting a same said change in state of other of the stored messages of the message pair, and third means, cooperative with the first mailbox and the second mailbox and responsive to deletion of one of the stored messages of the message pair from one of the mailboxes, for deleting other of the stored messages of the message pair from other of the mailboxes. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method of indicating in one of a first mailbox of a first electronic messaging system and a second mailbox of a second electronic messaging system a content and a state of a message stored in another of the first mailbox and the second mailbox, the first electronic messaging system for handling first messages and defining at least one first mailbox for storing the first messages, each first message having a first data structure containing information expressed in a first medium and having a first format, and each stored first message having one of a plurality of states, and the second electronic messaging system for handling second messages and defining at least one second mailbox for storing the second messages, each second message having a second data structure containing information expressed in a second medium and having a second format, at least one of the second data structure, the second medium, and the second format being different respectively from the first data structure, the first medium, and the first format, and each stored second message having one of the plurality of states, the method comprising the steps of:
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in response to storing of a second message in the second mailbox, retrieving at least some of the information from the second message; generating a corresponding first message forming a message pair with the second message and containing at least some of the information retrieved from the second message; storing the first message in the first mailbox; raising a partial-copy indication for the first message, if the first message does not contain all of the information contained in the second message of the message pair; in response to a change in state of one of the stored messages of the message pair, effecting a same said change in state of other of the stored messages of the message pair; and in response to deletion of one of the stored messages of the message pair from one of the mailboxes, deleting other of the stored messages of the message pair from other of the mailboxes. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification