Methods for sending an email and distributing an email and an email server

• US 8,032,603 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2009
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zheng, Yan, Liu, Xue Zhe, Yang, Zhi Lei, Li, Jane
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza; Faruk
• Application Number:
  US12/412,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-207
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

The present application relates to methods for sending an email and distributing an email, and an email server. According to the application, a summary is generated for an email to be sent, with the email stored in a sender side server; the summary of the email is sent to a receiver side server; and the email is sent to the receiver side server in response to receiving, by the sender side server, a request for sending the email, the request being sent by a recipient based on the summary. Thus, the network bandwidth, the storage space of the email server and user terminals may be saved.

Claims

1. A method for distributing an email to a user from an email server, comprising steps of:

generating a summary of an email to be distributed that is separate from the e-mail, the email being stored in a sender side server;

putting the summary of the email into an email box of the user; and

distributing the email to the user in response to receiving, by the email server, a request for reading the email sent by the user based on the summary,

wherein generating the summary of the email to be distributed further comprises the steps of;

determining whether to generate the summary of the email according to at least one of a number of recipients and a number of domains; and

,

distributing the email directly to the user if a result of the determining step is not to generate the summary of the email, mail but otherwise generating the summary of the email if the result of the determining step is generate the summary of the email.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

generating an access list based on recipient information of the email, the access list containing every recipient in the email; and

,

accepting the request for sending the email only when the request is sent by a user in the access list.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising deleting the email from the email server in response to a lapse of time of the email in the email server exceeding a threshold.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising, before deleting the email from the email server, notifying each recipient in the access list that the email is to be deleted from the email server.