Method and apparatus for processing electronic messages

• US 7,765,263 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2003
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Alfke, Jens Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Nghi V
• Application Number:
  US10/741,948
• Time in Patent Office: 2,412 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for processing electronic messages are described herein. In one aspect of the invention, for an outgoing message addressed to a mail address of a recipient, the mail client determines whether is an alternative messaging system available to the mail address of the recipient. If there is an alternative messaging system available, the mail client determines whether the recipient'"'"'s alternative messaging system is online. If so, the mail client sends the mail message to the recipient via the alternative messaging system. Otherwise, the mail client sends the message via normal mail system. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

Claims

1. A method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message already addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the detection being transparent to the user, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message from the email client to the recipient via the alternative delivery mechanism, if the availability of the alternative delivery mechanism is detected.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the outgoing email message to a email server which forwards the outgoing email message to the recipient, if the alternative delivery mechanism is unavailable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is capable of directly and substantial instantly delivering the outgoing email message to the recipient and wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is capable of substantial instantly receiving a confirmation of arrival of the outgoing email message at the remote site.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available comprises looking up, in a database, an alternative address of the recipient used in the alternative delivery mechanism based on the email address of the recipient.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is enabled.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is capable of receiving the outgoing email message according to a successful registration of a email client with the alternative delivery capability at the recipient.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the outgoing email message to a message in accordance with a communication protocol of the alternative delivery mechanism.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising tagging the message with an identification indicating the message delivered by the alternative delivery mechanism is a email message.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising substantial instantly receiving, at the email client, a confirmation of an arrival of the outgoing email message at the recipient via the alternative delivery mechanism.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein an email system corresponding to the email client operates independently with respect to the alternative delivery mechanism.

12. A method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

sending an online status of an instant messaging (IM) client used by a user;

receiving a message, subsequent to the sending of the online status, at the IM client from an originator over a network through a delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols, the message sent out from the originator designated to an application communicably coupled to the IM client, the message including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address, the email message being deliverable from the originator via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols;

determining, at the IM client, which application the message is designated to, the determination being transparent to the user; and

delivering the message to the designated application via an application programming interface (API).

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising presenting the message at a display of the IM client if the message is not designated to an application other than the IM client.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising examining a signature tagged with the message to determine which application the message is designated to.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising converting the message to a message compatible with the designated application prior to the delivering.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the designated application is an email client, wherein the method further comprises repackaging the message as the email message, such that the message is displayed at the email client as if it is received from a corresponding email server.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the designated application is capable of receiving data from a remote application.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising updating the designated application based on the message delivered transparently to a user of the designated application.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining whether the designated application is running.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein if the designated application is not running, the method further comprises returning an error indicating a failure of a delivery of the message.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein if the designated application is not running, the method further comprises:

launching the designated application;

establishing a connection between the IM client and the designated application; and

transmitting the message to the designated application over the established connection.

22. A method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

operating an application of a client used by a user, the application capable of sending out and receiving data with another application;

determining whether the client has an instant messaging (IM) capability; and

registering the application with the client'"'"'s IM capability, such that the application is able to detect automatically availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols to send out and receive data including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to a email address, the ability to detect being transparent to the user, the email message being deliverable via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, via the client'"'"'s IM capability, with another application over a network through the alternative delivery mechanism.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising advertising, in a community associated with the IM capability, that the client'"'"'s IM capability is capable of handling data associated with the application, upon a completion of the registration.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining whether the client'"'"'s IM capability is activated;

activating the client'"'"'s IM capability; and

establishing a connection between the application and the IM capability.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the application and IM capability operate independently with respect to each other.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the application is an electronic email application.

27. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

detecting automatically, at an email client, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message addressed according to standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, the ability to detect being transparent to a user of the email client; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the alternative delivery mechanism, if the availability of the alternative delivery mechanism is detected.

28. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 27, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

29. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 27, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available comprises looking up, in a database, an alternative address of the recipient used in the alternative delivery mechanism based on the email address of the recipient.

30. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 29, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is enabled.

31. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 30, wherein determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is capable of receiving the outgoing email message according to a successful registration of the email client with the alternative delivery capability at the recipient.

32. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises converting the outgoing email message to a message in accordance with a communication protocol of the alternative delivery mechanism.

33. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 32, wherein the method further comprises tagging the message with an identification indicating the message delivered by the alternative delivery mechanism is a email message.

40. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein further comprising means for tagging the message with an identification indicating the message delivered by the alternative delivery mechanism is an email message.

34. An apparatus for processing electronic messages, the apparatus comprising:

means for detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message addressed according to standard email system protocols to a email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the detection being transparent to the user, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols; and

means for sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the alternative delivery mechanism, if the availability of the alternative delivery mechanism is detected.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein means for determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available comprises means for looking up, in a database, an alternative address of the recipient used in the alternative delivery mechanism based on the email address of the recipient.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein means for determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises means for determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is enabled.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein means for determining whether the alternative delivery mechanism is available further comprises means for determining whether the alternative delivery capability of the recipient is capable of receiving the outgoing email message according to a successful registration of the email client with the alternative delivery capability at the recipient.

39. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein further comprising means for converting the outgoing email message to a message in accordance with a communication protocol of the alternative delivery mechanism.

41. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions that causes the processor to perform operations of processing electronic messages, the operations including;

detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message addressed according to standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the detection being transparent to the user, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the alternative delivery mechanism, if the availability of the alternative delivery mechanism is detected.

42. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

sending an online status of an instant messaging (IM) client used by a user;

receiving a message, subsequent to the sending of the online status, at the IM client from an originator over a network through a delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols, the message being sent out from the originator designated to an application communicably coupled to the IM client, the message including an email message according to the standard email system protocols to an email address, the email message being deliverable from the originator via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols;

determining, at the IM client, which application the message is designated to, the determination being transparent to the user; and

delivering the message to the designated application via an application programming interface (API).

43. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 42, wherein the method further comprises examining a signature tagged with the message to determine which application the message is designated to.

44. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 42, wherein the method further comprises converting the message to a message compatible with the designated application prior to the delivering.

45. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 42, wherein the designated application is an email client, wherein the method further comprises repackaging the message as the email message, such that the message is displayed at the email client as if it is received from a corresponding email server.

46. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 42, wherein the method further comprises determining whether the designated application is running.

47. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 46, wherein if the designated application is not running, the method further comprises returning an error indicating a failure of a delivery of the message.

48. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 47, wherein if the designated application is not running, the method further comprises:

launching the designated application;

establishing a connection between the IM client and the designated application; and

transmitting the message to the designated application over the established connection.

51. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising means for converting the message to a message compatible with the designated application prior to the delivering.

52. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the designated application is an email client, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for repackaging the message as the email message, such that the message is displayed at the email client as if it is received from a corresponding email server.

53. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising means for determining whether the designated application is running.

54. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein if the designated application is not running, the apparatus further comprises returning an error indicating a failure of a delivery of the message.

55. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein if the designated application is not running, the apparatus further comprises:

means for launching the designated application;

means for establishing a connection between the IM client and the designated application; and

means for transmitting the message to the designated application over the established connection.

49. An apparatus for processing electronic messages, the apparatus comprising:

means for sending an online status of an instant messaging (IM) client used by a user;

means for receiving a message, subsequent to the sending of the online status, at the IM client from an originator over a network through a delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols, the message being sent out from the originator designated to an application communicably coupled to the IM client, the message including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address, the email message being deliverable from the originator via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols;

means for determining, at the IM client, which application the message is designated to, the determination being transparent to the user; and

means for delivering the message to the designated application via an application programming interface (API).

50. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising means for examining a signature tagged with the message to determine which application the message is designated to.

56. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions that causes the processor to perform operations of processing electronic messages, the operations including;

sending an online status of an instant messaging (IM) client used by a user;

receiving a message, subsequent to the sending of the online status, at the IM client from an originator over a network through a delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols, the message being sent out from the originator designated to an application communicably coupled to the IM client, the message including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols, the email message being deliverable from the originator via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols;

determining, at the IM client, which application the message is designated to, the determination being transparent to the user; and

delivering the message to the designated application via an application programming interface (API).

57. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

operating an application of a client used by a user, the application capable of transmitting and receiving data with another application;

determining whether the client has an instant messaging (IM) capability; and

registering the application with the client'"'"'s IM capability, such that the application is able to detect availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols to transmit and receive data including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address, the ability to detect being transparent to the user, the email message being deliverable via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, via the client'"'"'s IM capability, with another application over a network through the alternative delivery mechanism.

58. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 57, wherein the method further comprises advertising, in a community associated with the IM capability, that the client'"'"'s IM capability is capable of handling data associated with the application, upon a completion of the registration.

59. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 57, wherein the method further comprises

determining whether the client'"'"'s IM capability is activated;

activating the client'"'"'s IM capability; and

establishing a connection between the application and the IM capability.

60. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 57, wherein the application is an electronic email application.

61. An apparatus for processing electronic messages, the apparatus comprising:

means for operating an application of a client used by a user, the application capable of transmitting and receiving data with another application;

means for determining whether the client has an instant messaging (IM) capability; and

means for registering the application with the client'"'"'s IM capability, such that the application is able to detect availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols to send out and receive data including an email message addressed to an email address according to the standard email system protocols, the ability to detect being transparent to the user, the email message being deliverable via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, via the client'"'"'s IM capability, with another application over a network through the alternative delivery mechanism.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein further comprising means for advertising, in a community associated with the IM capability, that the client'"'"'s IM capability is capable of handling data associated with the application, upon a completion of the registration.

63. The apparatus of claim 61, further comprising:

means for determining whether the client'"'"'s IM capability is activated;

means for activating the client'"'"'s IM capability; and

means for establishing a connection between the application and the IM capability.

64. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the application is an electronic email application.

65. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions that causes the processor to perform operations of processing electronic messages, the operations including;

operating an application of a client used by a user, the application capable of transmitting and receiving data with another application;

determining whether the client has an instant messaging (IM) capability; and

registering the application with the client'"'"'s IM capability, such that the application is able to detect availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols to send out and receive data including an email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address, the ability to detect being transparent to the user, the email message being deliverable via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, via the client'"'"'s IM capability, with another application over a network through the alternative delivery mechanism.

66. A method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

detecting automatically, at a email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message already addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, the detection being transparent to the user;

identifying the alternative delivery mechanism from the one or more alternative delivery mechanisms if the availability is detected, the alternative delivery mechanism being most appropriate for delivering the outgoing email message; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the identified alternative delivery mechanism.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein the identifying the alternative mechanism comprises selecting the alternative delivery mechanism that can transport the outgoing email message in one of a fastest manner and a secure manner.

68. The method of claim 66, wherein the identifying the alternative mechanism comprises determining whether the alternative mechanism of the recipient is enabled.

69. The method of claim 66, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

70. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method for processing electronic messages, the method comprising:

detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for an outgoing email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to a email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, the detection being transparent to the user;

identifying the alternative delivery mechanism from the one or more alternative delivery mechanisms if the availability is detected, the alternative delivery mechanism being most appropriate for delivering the outgoing email message; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the identified alternative delivery mechanism.

71. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 70, wherein the identifying the alternative mechanism comprises selecting the alternative delivery mechanism that can transport the outgoing email message in one of a fastest manner and a secure manner.

72. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 70, wherein the identifying the alternative mechanism comprises determining whether the alternative mechanism of the recipient is enabled.

73. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 70, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

74. An apparatus for processing electronic messages, the apparatus comprising:

means for detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols for a outgoing email message addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols, the detection being transparent to the user;

means for identifying the alternative delivery mechanism from the one or more alternative delivery mechanisms if the availability is detected, the alternative delivery mechanism being most appropriate for delivering the outgoing email message; and

means for sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the identified alternative delivery mechanism.

75. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein means for identifying the alternative mechanism comprises means for selecting the alternative delivery mechanism that can transport the outgoing email message in one of a fastest manner and a secure manner.

76. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein means for identifying the alternative mechanism comprises means for determining whether the alternative mechanism of the recipient is enabled.

77. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein the alternative delivery mechanism is an instant messaging (IM) system.

78. A data processing system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions that causes the processor to perform operations of processing electronic messages, the operations including;

detecting automatically, at an email client used by a user, availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to standard email system protocols, for an outgoing email message already addressed according to the standard email system protocols to an email address of a recipient at a remote site from the email client, the detection being transparent to the user, the outgoing email message being deliverable from the email client via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols;

identifying the alternative delivery mechanism from the one or more alternative delivery mechanisms if the availability is detected, the alternative delivery mechanism being most appropriate for delivering the outgoing email message, the alternative delivery mechanism being based on an alternative to the standard email system protocols; and

sending automatically the outgoing email message to the recipient via the identified alternative delivery mechanism.

79. An apparatus for processing electronic email messages, the apparatus comprising:

an email processing module to prepare an outgoing email message for a user addressed according to standard email system protocols to a recipient of a remote site from the email processing module, the email processing module being capable of sending the outgoing email message for a user to the recipient via an email server via a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols; and

at least one alternative message delivery mechanism communicatively coupled to the email processing module, the at least one alternative delivery mechanism being based on an alternative to the standard email system protocols, wherein the email processing module automatically detects availability of one of the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism that is able to send the outgoing email message to the recipient, the detection being transparent to the user, wherein the email processing module selects the one of the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism if the availability is detected, and

wherein the email processing module automatically transmits the outgoing email message to the selected alternative message delivery mechanism to send the outgoing email message to the recipient via a communication mechanism associated with the selected alternative message delivery mechanism.

80. The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the email processing module communicates with the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism to determine whether one of the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism is available to send the outgoing email message to the recipient in a more appropriate manner before transmitting the outgoing email message to the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism.

81. The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism includes an instant messaging system.

82. The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the email processing module performs a lookup operation in a database to determine an alternative address of the recipient used in the alternative message delivery mechanism based on the email address of the recipient.

83. The apparatus of claim 82, wherein the email processing module determines, via the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism, whether a respective alternative message delivery mechanism of the recipient is enabled before transmitting the outgoing email message to the selected alternative message delivery mechanism.

84. The apparatus of claim 83, wherein the email processing module further determines, via the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism, whether a respective alternative message delivery mechanism of the recipient is capable of forwarding the outgoing email message to a respective email processing module of the recipient according to a successful registration with the respective alternative message delivery mechanism at the recipient.

85. An apparatus for processing electronic email messages, the apparatus comprising:

an email processing module capable of receiving an email message addressed according to standard email system protocols to an email address from a sender via an email server through a delivery mechanism based on the standard email system protocols; and

at least one alternative message delivery mechanism communicatively coupled to the email processing module from the sender, the at least one alternative delivery mechanism being based on an alternative to the standard email system protocols,

wherein the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism sends an online status to receive and forward an incoming message sent out from the sender to the email processing module if the incoming message is an email message, the incoming message being received via a communication mechanism associated with the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism.

86. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism includes an instant messaging system.

87. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism determines whether the incoming message is an email message by examining an identification tagged with the incoming message.

88. The apparatus of claim 87, wherein if the incoming message is not an email message, the at least one alternative message delivery mechanism forwards the message to an associated user interface.

89. A method for processing electronic messages at a server, the method comprising:

receiving a message from a first messaging client of a first user, the message being sent out from a first email client of the first user communicatively coupled to the first messaging client, the message including an email message addressed according to standard email system protocols to an email address, the email message being deliverable from the first messaging client via a delivery mechanism based on standard email system protocols;

detecting availability of an alternative delivery mechanism based on an alternative to the standard email system protocols;

substantially instantly sending out the message to a second messaging client of a second user via the alternative delivery mechanism if the availability is detected, the second messaging client being communicatively coupled to a second email client of the second user,

wherein the detection being transparent to the first user and the second user, and

wherein the message is forwarded to the second email client from the second messaging client and the second email client processes the message as an ordinary email message that would have been received from the first email client of the first user via an email server via the delivery mechanism.

90. The method of claim 89, wherein the message is an instant message and the server is an instant messaging server.