Method and apparatus for providing electronic mail services during network unavailability

• US 6,289,212 B1
• Filed: 10/13/1998
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unwired Planet LLC (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Openwave Systems Incorporated (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Stein, Lawrence M., King, Peter F., Martin, Jr., Bruce K., Schwartz, Bruce V., Smethers, Paul A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, CHARLES CHIANG
• Application Number:
  US09/172,105
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412, 455/556, 455/557, 455/403, 455/555, 455/575, 455/567, 455/418, 455/419
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Improved techniques for providing electronic mail services across a network are disclosed. A mail server and its clients communicate through a network. Although the mail server centrally manages the electronic mail services, the clients are able to themselves locally perform certain electronic mail services when the network is unavailable. Accordingly, clients seeking to perform electronic mail services no longer endure significant delays when the network is unavailable. The network can be unavailable for a variety of reasons, including: congestion, out of range, network failure, etc. The network can be wired or wireless. The invention is particularly well suited for networks having sporadic connectivity, high latencies or excessive traffic.

Claims

1. A mobile device for use with a wireless data communication network, said mobile device comprising:

a memory storage device that stores electronic mail resources;

an electronic mail processor that performs an electronic mail operation with respect to the electronic mail resources stored in said memory storage device, and wherein the electronic mail operation can be carried out at said mobile device even when the wireless data communication network is not available to said mobile device; and

a display device that displays at least a part of one or more of the electronic mail resources.

2. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein the storage of the electronic mail resources in said memory storage device is persistent and thus not subjected to cache removal processing.

3. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein in performing the electronic mail operation when the wireless data communication network is not available, said electronic mail processor modifies the electronic mail resources stored in said memory storage device in accordance with the electronic mail operation being performed.

4. A mobile device as recited in claim 3, wherein a mail server is coupled to the wireless data communication network,

wherein the electronic mail resources are pre-stored in said memory storage device,

wherein the wireless data communication network is occasionally unavailable to said mobile device, and

wherein said mobile device further comprises:

an asynchronous message manager that sends an asynchronous message to the mail server when the wireless data communication network is available to said mobile device, the asynchronous message informing the mail server of the modification to the electronic mail resources that occurred while the wireless data communication network was not available.

5. A mobile device as recited in claim 4, wherein said mobile device further comprises:

an asynchronous message queue operatively connected to said asynchronous message manager, said asynchronous request queue stores outgoing asynchronous messages to be sent from said mobile device to the mail server.

6. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein a remote server is coupled to the wireless data communication network when the wireless data communication network is not available, and

wherein in performing the electronic mail operation, said electronic mail processor causes an asynchronous message to be created and thereafter sent to the remote server when the wireless data communication network is available to said mobile device, the asynchronous message being based on the electronic mail operation being performed.

7. A mobile device as recited in claim 6, wherein the electronic mail operation is one of delete message, view message, reply message or new message.

8. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic mail operation is one of delete message, view message, reply message or new message.

9. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein said mobile device is one of a mobile telephone, a mobile pager, a mobile personal digital assistant, and a mobile computer.

10. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein said mobile device is a mobile telephone.

11. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein said memory storage device has a limited capacity, and wherein the size of the electronic mail resources being stored in said memory storage device are limited to be less than a predetermined maximum size.

12. A mobile device as recited in claim 1, wherein a mail server is coupled to the wireless data communication network,

wherein the electronic mail resources are pre-stored in said memory storage device,

wherein the wireless data communication network is occasionally unavailable to said mobile device, and

wherein said electronic mail processor comprises a network browser that operates to retrieve the electronic mail resources from said memory storage device or the mail server.

13. A mobile device as recited in claim 12, wherein said mobile device is a mobile telephone, and wherein the network browser is a micro-browser.

14. A method for interacting with electronic mail messages on a mobile device, the mobile device being able to communicate with a mail server at least in part through a wireless data network, said method comprising:

pre-loading electronic mail message resources into a storage device of the mobile device;

receiving a request to view an electronic mail list;

determining whether the electronic mail list is available from the storage device of the mobile device;

receiving the electronic mail list from the storage device when the electronic mail list is determined to be available from the storage device of the mobile device;

requesting and subsequently receiving the electronic mail list from the mail server when the electronic mail list is determined not to be available from the storage device of the mobile device; and

displaying the received electronic mail list.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the availability of the wireless data network to the mobile device is sporadic, and

wherein when the electronic mail list is available from the storage device, the received electronic mail list can be displayed regardless of the availability of the wireless data network to the mobile device.

16. A method as recited in claim 14,

wherein the electronic mail list identifies at least one electronic mail message, and

wherein the electronic mail resources include at least the electronic mail list, and a message body for the at least one electronic mail message.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the electronic mail list includes a sender identifier and a subject for at least one electronic mail message.

18. A method as recited in claim 14,

wherein the electronic mail list identifies a plurality of electronic mail messages, and

wherein said method further comprises:

performing an operation on one of the electronic mail messages in the electronic mail list; and

modifying the electronic mail resources stored in the storage device in accordance with the operation performed on the one of the electronic mail messages.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the operation is one of delete, view or reply.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the availability of the wireless data network to the mobile device is sporadic,

wherein said method further comprises updating the electronic mail list being displayed after said modifying, and

wherein when the electronic mail list is available from the storage device, the received electronic mail list can be displayed and modified regardless of the availability of the wireless data network to the mobile device and thus without waiting for the availability of the wireless data network.

21. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein said method further comprises:

forming an asynchronous request to the mail server to inform the mail server of the modification to the one of the electronic mail messages.

22. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein said method further comprises:

forming an asynchronous request to the mail server to inform the mail server of the modification to the one of the electronic mail messages; and

thereafter sending the asynchronous request to the mail server when the wireless data network becomes available.

23. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein said method further comprises:

subsequently updating the electronic mail list being displayed.

24. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the electronic mail message resources being pre-loaded into the storage device of the mobile device are previously limited to a predetermined maximum size.

25. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the mobile device communicates with the mail server using a network browser.

26. A method as recited in claim 25, wherein the network browser is a micro-browser.

27. A method as recoted in claim 26, wherein said mobile device is a mobile telephone.

28. A method for interacting with electronic mail messages on a mobile device, the mobile device being able to connect to a remote mail server through a wireless data network, said method being performed by said mobile device and comprising:

displaying an electronic mail list on a display screen of the mobile device, the electronic mail list including one or more entries that identify particular electronic mail messages;

selecting one of the entries of the electronic mail list being displayed on the display screen of the mobile device;

performing an operation on the electronic mail message associated with the selected entry without delay due to the unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device; and

asynchronously sending a notification to the remote mail server based on the operation previously performed on the electronic mail message associated with the selected entry when the wireless data network later becomes available to the mobile device.

29. A method as recited in claim 28, wherein when the operation performed on the electronic mail message requires the electronic mail list to be updated, the electronic mail list is re-displayed in its modified form without regard to whether the wireless data network is available to the mobile device.

30. A method as recited in claim 28, wherein said asynchronously sending of the notification message is deferred until the wireless data network is available to the mobile device.

31. A method as recited in claim 28,

wherein the operation is a view operation,

wherein a message body for the electronic mail message is stored in a storage device within the mobile device, and

wherein said performing of the view operation on the electronic mail message operates to retrieve the message body from the storage device and then to display the message body on the display screen, without delay due to the unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device.

32. A method as recited in claim 28,

wherein the operation is a delete operation,

wherein data for the electronic mail message is stored in a storage device within the mobile device, and

wherein said performing of the delete operation on the electronic mail message operates to delete the data of the electronic mail message associated with the selected entry from the storage device and then to re-display the electronic mail list on the display screen of the mobile device such that the selected entry is no longer present.

33. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein the notification asynchronously sent is a delete message request that is sent to the mail server via the wireless data network, and the delete message request is sent to the mail server in a background mode so that unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device does not delay the delete operation or subsequent operations from completing on the mobile device.

34. A method as recited in claim 28,

wherein the operation is a facsimile operation,

wherein said performing of the facsimile operation on the electronic mail message operates to display a facsimile options screen and to receive destination information for a facsimile of the electronic mail message, and

wherein the notification asynchronously sent is a facsimile request that is sent to a remote server or the mail server via the wireless data network, and the facsimile request message is sent to the remote mail server in a background mode so that unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device does not delay the facsimile operation or subsequent operations from completing on the mobile device.

35. A method as recited in claim 28,

wherein the operation is a reply operation,

wherein said performing of the reply operation on the electronic mail message operates to display a reply screen and to receive reply message information for a reply message to the electronic mail message, and

wherein the notification asynchronously sent is a reply message request that is sent to the mail server via the wireless data network, and the reply message request is sent to the mail server in a background mode so that unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device does not delay the reply operation or subsequent operations from completing on the mobile device.

36. A method as recited in claim 28,

wherein the operation is a new message operation,

wherein said performing of the new message operation on the electronic mail message operates to display a message data entry screen and to receive new message information for a new electronic mail message, and

wherein the notification asynchronously sent is a new message request that is sent to the mail server via the wireless data network, and the new message request is sent to the mail server in a background mode so that unavailability of the wireless data network to the mobile device does not delay the new message operation or subsequent operations from completing on the mobile device.

37. A computer readable medium including computer program code for interacting with electronic mail messages on a computing device, the computing device being able to communicate with a mail server at least in part through a data network, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code configured to pre-load electronic mail message resources into a storage device of the computing device;

computer program code configured to receive a request to view an electronic mail list;

computer program code configured to determine whether the electronic mail list is available from the storage device of the computing device;

computer program code configured to receive the electronic mail list from the storage device when the electronic mail list is determined to be available from the storage device of the computing device;

computer program code configured to request and subsequently receive the electronic mail list from the mail server when the electronic mail list is determined not to be available from the storage device of the computing device; and

computer program code configured to display the received electronic mail list.

38. A computer readable medium for interacting with electronic mail messages on a computing device, the computing device being able to connect to a remote mail server through a data network, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code configured to display an electronic mail list on a display screen of the computing device, the electronic mail list including one or more entries that identify particular electronic mail messages;

computer program code configured to select one of the entries of the electronic mail list being displayed on the display screen of the computing device;

computer program code configured to perform an operation on the electronic mail message associated with the selected entry without delay due to the unavailability of the wireless data network to the computing device; and

computer program code configured to asynchronously send a notification to the remote mail server based on the operation performed on the electronic mail message associated with the selected entry when the data network is available to the computing device.