Method and system for providing mobile services

• US 6,898,422 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2001
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ouzounidis, Jan, Kjellström, Jonas, Blank, Bruno, Hagberg, Anders, Häggström, Mattias, Lindroth, Jonas, Bern, Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): FERGUSON, KEITH
• Application Number:
  US09/834,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20020009986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 455/426.1, 455/426.2, 455/413, 455/466, 455/550.1, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.36, 455/414.4, 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/422.1, 455/445, 455/557, 455/403, 370/338, 370/428, 709/203, 709/206, 709/207, 709/219, 379/93.24, 379/100.08, 379/100.09, 379/93.01, 379/88.13, 379/88.14
• US Class Current: 455/412.1
• 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 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A mail server site and a method in a mail server site provide mobile e-mail services to mobile stations connected to a digital radio communication network. Furthermore, a method in a mobile station utilizes the mobile e-mail services provided by the inventive mail server site. The mail server site includes a mail server host operating in accordance with POP3- or IMAP4-like protocols with respect to the usage of unique identifiers (UIDs) for identifying e-mail messages stored by the mail server host. Modified UIDs are allocated to e-mails received by the mail server site and transmitted to mobile mail clients using a short message based service. When the mail server host communicates with these mail clients, these modified UIDs will be used in the same way as conventional UIDs are used within the scope of a POP3 or IMAP4 protocol.

Claims

1. A method at a mail server site, the mail server site being operatively connected to a digital radio communication network and arranged to provide mobile e-mail services to mobile communication stations by means of a server host operating in accordance with POP3 or IMAP4 protocols, wherein the method comprises:

allocating, in an SMTP server, a job identifier to a received e-mail;

storing said job identifier and said received e-mail in a database at a position associated with a client host to which said received e-mail was addressed;

treating, in said server host, said job identifier as a unique identifier for said received e-mail when communicating with said client host in accordance with the POP3 or IMAP4 protocol; and

transmitting a notification to a mobile communication station defined by a mobile subscription number which is associated with said client host in said database, the notification indicating that said e-mail has been received and including at least said job identifier.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said notification includes header information of an e-mail.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server host, when operating in accordance with said POP3 or IMAP4 protocol, is responsive to a received client host command in which a present unique identifier has the same format and syntax as that of said job identifier.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said server host, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, matches the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server host, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, matches the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said act of transmitting a notification includes transmitting a message using a message service provided by said digital radio communication network, said job identifier being included in the payload of said message.

7. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable components for causing a mail server site, which is operatively connected to a digital radio communication network, to provide mobile e-mail services to mobile communication stations by means of a server host operating in accordance with POP3 or IMAP4 protocols, the computer-executable components including:

a component for allocating a job identifier to a received e-mail;

a component for storing said job identifier and said received e-mail in a database at a position associated with a client host to which said received e-mail was addressed;

a component implementing a POP3 or IMAP4 server host, which server host uses said job identifier as the unique identifier for said received e-mail when communicating with said client host in accordance with the POP3 or the IMAP4 protocol; and

a component for initiating transmission of a notification including at least said job identifier to a mobile communication station, which mobile communication station is defined by a mobile subscription number being associated with said client host in said database, in order to indicate to said mobile communication station the said e-mail has been received by the mail server site.

8. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein said notification includes header information of an e-mail.

9. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein the component implementing a POP3 or IMAP4 server host is responsive to a received client host command in which a present unique identifier has the same format and syntax as that of said job identifier.

10. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 9, wherein the component implementing a POP3 or IMAP4 server host, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, matches the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

11. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein the component implementing a POP3 or IMAP4 server host, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, matches the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

12. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein the component for initiating transmission of at least said job identifier initiates the transmission of a message of the kind provided by a message service of said digital radio communication network, said job identifier being included in the payload of said message.

13. A mail server site operatively connected to a digital radio communication network and arranged to provide mobile e-mail services to mobile communication stations, the mail server site comprising:

an SMTP server arranged to allocate a job identifier to a received e-mail and to store the job identifier and the received e-mail in a database at a position associated with a client host to which the received e-mail was addressed;

a server host arranged to operate in accordance with a POP3 or IMAP4 protocol, which server host is configured to use said job identifier as the unique identifier for said received e-mail when communicating with said client host; and

means for indicating to a mobile communication station that said e-mail has been received by the SMTP server by transmitting a notification including at least said job identifier to the mobile communication station, which mobile communication station is defined by a mobile subscription number being associated with said client host in said database.

14. The mail server site as claimed in claim 13, wherein said notification includes header information of an e-mail.

15. The mail server site as claimed in claim 13, wherein said server host is configured to be responsive to a received client host command in which a present unique identifier has the same format and syntax as that of said job identifier.

16. The mail server site as claimed in claim 15, wherein said server host is arranged to, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, match the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

17. The mail server site as claimed in claim 13, wherein said server host is arranged to, when responding to a client host command which includes a unique identifier, match the unique identifier against job identifiers that are stored in said database and that are associated with the client host from which the client host command was received.

18. The mail server site as claimed in claim 13, wherein said means for indicating to a mobile communication station that said e-mail has been received is arranged to transmit a message using a message service provided by said digital radio communication network, wherein said job identifier is included in the payload of said message.

19. A method in a mobile communication station for utilizing mobile e-mail services provided by a mail server site, the services being provided via a digital radio communication network and by means of a server host operating in accordance with a POP3 or IMAP4 protocol, wherein the method comprises:

receiving a message at the mobile communication station via a message service provided by the digital radio communication network, the message being transmitted from the mail server site and comprising a unique job identifier corresponding to an e-mail stored at the mail server site;

extracting at the mobile communication station the job identifier from the received message;

conveying at the mobile communication station the extracted job identifier to a user of the mobile communication station; and

accessing at least part of the e-mail stored at the e-mail server site using a POP3 or a IMAP4 protocol by transmitting a client host command from the mobile communication station to the mail server site, in which command the job identifier is used as a unique identifier for the e-mail which is to be accessed.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, including the act of extracting e-mail header information from said received message.

21. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the mobile communication station has a mobile subscription number corresponding to an address to which the e-mail was addressed.

22. A mobile communication station comprising a program storage device storing computer-executable components which when executed causes the mobile communication station to make use of mobile e-mail services provided by a mail server site, the services being provided via a digital radio communication network and by means of a server host operating in accordance with a POP3 or IMAP4 protocol, the computer-executable components comprising:

a first component for receiving a message at the mobile communication station via a message service provided by the digital radio communication network, the message being transmitted from the mail server site and comprising a unique job identifier corresponding to an e-mail stored at the mail server site and for extracting at the mobile communication station the job identifier from the received message; and

a second component implementing a POP3- or IMAP4-like client host at the mobile communication station, which component is arranged to access at least part of the e-mail stored at the mail server site by transmitting a client host command from the mobile communication station to the server host, in which command the job identifier is used as the a unique identifier for the e-mail which is to be accessed.

23. The mobile communication station as claimed in claim 22, wherein said first component further is arranged for extracting e-mail header information from said received message.