Email SMS notification system providing enhanced message retrieval features and related methods

• US 7,363,026 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Clarke, David James, Kamat, Harshad N., Hanson, David Jaray
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Duc M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Win; Aung T.
• Application Number:
  US11/165,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20060293032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 455/466, 455/412.2
• 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 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 at least one electronic mail (email) server 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 the at least one email server and, based thereon, sending a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique message identifier (ID) of the new email message to the at least one wireless communications device. Moreover, 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 the new email message based upon the unique message ID.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

at least one wireless communications device;

at least one electronic mail (email) server for storing email messages for said at least one wireless communications device; and

an email relay server for detecting a new email message on said at least one email server and, based thereon, sending a short message service (SMS) notification with a unique message identifier (ID) of the new email message and an original SMS identifier 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, without user input, instructing said email relay server to retrieve the new email message based upon the unique message ID;

said at least one wireless communications device also sending an instruction to said email relay server to thereafter send any subsequent SMS notification with a different SMS identifier rather than the original SMS identifier.

2. The communications system of claim 1 wherein the email retrieval request instructs said email relay server to retrieve only the new email message.

3. The communications system of claim 1 further comprising a wide area network through which said at least one email server 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 at least one electronic mail (email) server 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 the at least one email server; and

a device interface module for

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

receiving an email retrieval request from the wireless communications device generated without user input and including the unique message ID, and cooperating with said server interface module to retrieve the new email message based thereon, and

sending subsequent SMS notifications to the at least one wireless communications device with a different SMS identifier rather than the original SMS identifier based upon receiving an instruction from the at least one wireless communications device.

7. The email relay server of claim 6 wherein said device interface module cooperates with said server interface module to retrieve only the new email message 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 at least one wireless communications device on at least one electronic mail (email) server;

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

detecting the SMS notification and sending an email retrieval request to the email relay server, without user input, instructing the email relay server to retrieve the new email message based upon the unique message ID; and

sending an instruction from the at least one wireless communications device to the email relay server to thereafter send any subsequent SMS notification with a different SMS identifier rather than the original SMS identifier.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the email retrieval request instructs the email relay server to retrieve only the new email message.

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 14 wherein the wireless communications network comprises a cellular network.